Promoting Competition for Contracts
Robust competition can help ensure that the taxpayer's best interests are served when the government acquires goods and services from the private sector. In fact, promoting competition—as opposed to sole-source contracts, where the government negotiates with only one source—is one of the goals of the federal acquisition system. Agencies are required to perform acquisition planning and conduct market research for all acquisitions in order to promote and provide for, among other things, full and open competition.
However, GAO's work has identified situations where the government was paying too much for contracts that had been awarded on a sole-source basis and where there was opportunity to compete the work. For example, the Army had issued contracts for security guards at U.S. military installations on a sole-source basis, and the State Department had issued a sole-source contract for installation and maintenance of security equipment at U.S. embassies worldwide. Based on GAO's recommendations, the contracts were put out for competition, which resulted in cost savings. In another example, the Coast Guard recently held a full and open competition for its new fast response cutter and is paying less than it would have under the prior "lead system integrator" approach.
^ Back to topKey Reports
- Coast Guard: Change in Course Improves Deepwater Management and Oversight, but Outcome Still Uncertain
- GAO-08-745, June 24, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 51 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Status of Selected Aspects of the Coast Guard's Deepwater Program
- GAO-08-270R, March 11, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 22 pages) Accessible Text
- Department of State Contract for Security Installation at Embassies
- GAO-07-34R, November 8, 2006
- Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 16 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Contract Security Guards: Army's Guard Program Requires Greater Oversight and Reassessment of Acquisition Approach
- GAO-06-284, April 3, 2006
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 47 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
