2.7. Acquisition Strategy versus Acquisition Plan
An Acquisition Plan is prepared by the Contracting Officer and formally documents the specific actions necessary to execute the approach delineated in the approved Acquisition Strategy. The Acquisition Plan serves as the basis for contractual implementation as referenced in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 7.1 and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Subpart 207.1.
The Acquisition Strategy required by Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 5000.02 is not the same as the acquisition plan required by FAR Subpart 7.1 and DFARS Subpart 207.1. The Acquisition Strategy is a top-level description, in sufficient detail to allow senior leadership and the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) to assess whether the strategy makes good business sense, effectively implements laws and policies, and reflects management’s priorities. Once approved by the MDA, the Acquisition Strategy provides a basis for more detailed planning.
2.7.1. Federal Procurement Requirements
The Federal Acquisition Regulation requires acquisition planning for all Federal procurements, and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement requires Program Managers to prepare written Acquisition Plans (APs) for most acquisitions exceeding $10 million. An AP is execution-oriented and contract-focused-- normally relating to a singular contractual action; an Acquisition Strategy covers the entire program and may reflect the efforts of multiple contractual actions.
2.7.1.1. Distinctions between an Acquisition Strategy and an Acquisition Plan
As the Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 5000.02 requirement for an Acquisition Strategy and the FAR/DFARS requirement for an Acquisition Plan (AP) both apply to program planning, questions often arise about how they differ and how they relate to each other.
There is no DoD-level rule that precludes the Program Manager from preparing a single document to satisfy both requirements. In fact, FAR 34.004 dealing with major systems acquisition requires that the Acquisition Strategy “qualify” as the AP. However, in practice, DoD Components often prefer to provide a more general Acquisition Strategy to the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) for approval and choose to prepare a separate, more detailed AP. If a separate AP is prepared, it may not be approved until after the Acquisition Strategy has been approved.
The distinctions between the requirement for the Acquisition Strategy and the requirement for the AP are summarized in table 2.7.1.1.F1.
Table 2.7.1.1.F1. Summary of Distinctions between the Acquisition Strategy and Acquisition Plan
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ACQUISITION STRATEGY
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ACQUISITION PLAN
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Required by
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DoD Instruction 5000.02, Enclosure 2, paragraphs 5(c) and 6(a)
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FAR 7.1
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Required for
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All acquisition categories
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Contracting or procuring for development activities when the total cost of all contracts for the acquisition program is estimated at $10 million or more; procuringproducts or services when the total cost of all contracts is estimated at $50 million or more for all years or $25 million or more for any one fiscal year; and other procurements considered appropriate by the agency.
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Approval Authority
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Milestone Decision Authority
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Component Acquisition Executive or designee in accordance with Agency FAR supplements.
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Purpose
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Describes overall strategy for managing the acquisition program. The Acquisition Strategy describes the PM’s plan to achieve programmatic goals and summarizes the program planning and resulting program structure.
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Comprehensive plan for implementing the contracting strategy.
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Use
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Required at program initiation. The Acquisition Strategy should be updated for all subsequent milestones, at the full-rate production decision review, and whenever the approved strategy changes.
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Integrates the efforts of all personnel responsible for significant aspects of the contractual agreement. The purpose is to ensure that the Government meets its needs in the most effective, economical, and timely manner.
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Level of Detail
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Strategy level. Needed by MDA for decision-making. Also planning level for some discrete information requirements.
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Execution level. Provides the detail necessary to execute the approach established in the approved acquisition strategy and to guide contractual implementation and conduct acquisitions.
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Content
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Prescribed by DoD Instruction 5000.02; additional guidance in the Defense Acquisition Guidebook
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Prescribed by FAR 7.1; DFARS 207
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Individual Responsible for Preparing the Document
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PM
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Person designated as responsible.
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