As discussed briefly above, one reason you should have a teaming agreement while bidding on government contracts is that, more and more often, we are seeing procuring agencies requiring them. Many times, the agency will require submission of a teaming agreement with a proposed subcontractor where the proposal relies on that subcontractor’s capabilities, past performance, or experience. This could be a situation where the proposed subcontractor will be providing a specific administrative system, certain personnel, etc. (so long as the solicitation allows it). Or it could be one where the past performance examples are coming from both the proposed prime and proposed subcontractor (again, provided such is consistent with the solicitation).

And sometimes, agencies will require submission of teaming agreements with all proposed subcontractors, regardless. Agencies are well aware of the impact subcontractors can have on contract performance–as well as the importance of subcontracting for small and disadvantaged businesses (that may not otherwise be able to meet government needs)…

It follows naturally from the above list (the reasons why an agency may review a teaming agreement), that a well-written teaming agreement would likely include the following terms:

• A detailed list of the parties’ responsibilities for proposal preparation and submission. Having a well-defined explanation of each party’s proposal responsibilities can provide the agency with important information about the parties’ compliance with certain potentially applicable regulations (i.e., where the subcontractor takes the lead on proposal drafting and submission, it may raise red flags regarding the ostensible subcontractor rule or even the limitation on subcontracting). But it also benefits the parties to set concrete expectations at the outset of the prime-subcontractor relationship (for obvious reasons). As such, a well-written teaming agreement will detail each party’s specific responsibilities for the preparation and submission of proposals, making sure the solicitation and submission requirements are met… Read the full article here.