A GSA Schedule Contractor Teaming Arrangement (CTA) is an arrangement in which two or more Schedule contract holders partner with one another to provide a total solution to meet a buyer’s needs. By teaming together, GSA Schedule Contractors are able to meet a customer’s requirements by combining the supplies and/or services that each member of the team offers through their individual Schedule contract. CTA’s provide significant benefit to not only Schedule Contract holders, but to the government buyer as well.
Responsibilities: Responsibility is shared among the team members in a CTA. Each member of the team maintains privity of contract, making them responsible for their portion of the work outlined in the terms and conditions in their contract. GSA Schedule contracts contain clause I-FSS-40, Contractor Team Arrangements, which states that contractors participating in contractor team arrangements must abide by all terms and conditions of their respective contracts. In a well-structured CTA teaming agreement, the agreement shall identify the role of each individual team member and their share of the work being performed at the order level. Roles and responsibilities of team members are defined by the team, not by the government. Also with CTA’s each individual team member is responsible for reporting GSA sales for purposes of the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) based on what product and/or service was sold from the contract as part of the CTA.
Elements of a CTA: At a minimum, GSA recommends the following items be addressed in a CTA agreement:
— A definition of the duration for the partnering agreement;
– An outline of who the team leader will be and their responsibilities;
– All team members and their responsibilities;
– Points of contact for each team member;
– A designation of team responsibilities for invoicing and payment;
– Documentation of the legal relationship between team members;
– A statement of who on the team will be responsible for a particular part of the project to establish delivery responsibility;
– An identification of each member of the CTA;
– A statement of the activities that will be incorporated into the teaming arrangement;
– A statement that all members remain independent contractors;
– A statement addressing the circumstances and procedures for replacement of Team Members, including the Team Leader;
– Clarification as to under whose name the government should evaluate performance in CPARS;
– A statement specifying that each team member is responsible for tracking and reporting its own sales IAW the terms and conditions of the FSS contract and for paying the related IFF;
– A statement specifying unit prices or hourly rate and how pricing is calculated; a list of the supplies/services and pricing;
– Documentation of each Team Members responsibilities and performance requirements so liability is clearly established; and
– Documentation on how the team will be handling the processing of orders from the government.