Federal Contracting Glossary
Fair Opportunity Competition
A streamlined competition run among the holders of an IDIQ or GSA Schedule to award a specific task or delivery order.
Definition
A fair-opportunity competition is the process of competing a specific task or delivery order among the holders of a multiple-award IDIQ, GWAC, or GSA Schedule. Under FAR 16.505, each awardee must be given a fair opportunity to be considered for orders above the micro-purchase threshold; FAR 8.405 sets parallel rules for the Schedules. The agency issues a short statement of work and evaluation approach, and holders submit a focused proposal or quote, typically on a much shorter timeline than a full procurement.
Fair-opportunity competitions vary in formality. Simpler ones may run through an email request or an ordering portal such as GSA eBuy; complex, higher-dollar orders can involve formal evaluation factors, oral presentations, and a documented best-value tradeoff that mirrors an open-market source selection.
How this affects your proposal
Order-level proposals should be tight, focused, and directly responsive to the specific statement of work — not a copy-paste of your vehicle proposal. Evaluators want to see you have engaged with THIS requirement, not that you are merely a vehicle holder.
Common questions about fair opportunity competition
How is a task order awarded?
On the evaluation factors stated in the order solicitation. A best-value tradeoff weighing technical merit, past performance, and price is common; lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA) is used for well-defined, commodity-like orders.
Can a fair-opportunity decision be protested?
Generally GAO protests of orders under IDIQs are limited by statute, with an exception for orders above a dollar threshold and for orders that exceed the scope of the underlying contract. Always check the current threshold and the order documents.
Related terms
IDIQ Contract
An Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contract that lets an agency place task or …
GSA Schedule (MAS)
A long-term, government-wide contract vehicle holding pre-negotiated prices and terms t…
Task / Delivery Order
An individual order placed against a parent IDIQ, GWAC, or GSA Schedule, issued by an a…
Evaluation Factors (Section M)
The published factors and subfactors an agency uses to evaluate proposals and select fo…
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