The use of Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTAs) among GSA Schedule Holders is becoming a common practice within the federal procurement marketplace.  

The use of Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTAs) among GSA Schedule Holders is becoming a common practice within the federal procurement marketplace. The CTA is defined by the GSA as an arrangement between two or more GSA Schedule contractors to work together to meet an agency requirement. The real uniqueness to the CTA is that under such an arrangement, there is no need for a prime contractor/subcontractor relationship. The individual contractors involved use their own GSA Schedule’s labor categories and rates to develop a collective bid while allowing the ordering activity to be compliant in accordance with each contractor’s GSA Schedule terms and conditions. In addition, each contractor maintains privy of contract with the procuring agency.

The CTA allows a group of contractors to come together to provide a total solution to a government agency while allowing all to use their individual contracts. This is a great vehicle for small businesses that maintain GSA Schedules, allowing them to form an alliance to go after work that they may not be able to capture independently. In addition, since each contractor bids using their GSA Schedule contract number and rates, they can claim sales against their individual Schedules – a practice that would not be possible under the traditional prime/sub relationship where only the prime would be able to report sales against its Schedule. For those GSA Schedule holders that are having a hard time meeting the annual minimum sales requirement of $25,000, it is especially helpful to be able to report the CTA sales against their own GSA Schedule.

In order to establish a CTA, the individual contractors must develop a document called a contractor team agreement, which strictly outlines how the contractors will work together to address the government’s need. A typical contractor team agreement document would include, but not be limited to, the following items:

• Identification of parties
• Allocation of responsibilities among the teaming parties
• Duration of the agreement
• General terms of the agreement
• Team ordering procedures
• List of open market items (if applicable)
• Identification and responsibilities of the team lead
• Responsibilities of each team member
• Pricing and costs structures
• Statement of contractor independence and responsibility to pay their respective IFF
• Delivery responsibility
• Invoicing and payment procedures
• Warranties
• Liabilities
• Process for handling confidential information among team members
• Process for replacing team members
• General definition of the legal relationship of the team
• Copies of each team member’s GSA Schedule price list

CTAs provide flexibility and convenience to GSA Schedule Holders. They are a great strategy for small businesses seeking larger contracts, as well as an excellent vehicle for maintaining more autonomy while still teaming with other companies.