Do you know the limits to a Program Officer’s authority?

 Why should you care?

 Because legal liabilities can be unintentional consequences.

While solving the problem and supporting the program are important, as a Government Program Officer, beware, you may inadvertently be setting up your Contractors to not get paid as you work towards the best solution.

 As a Contractor Program Manager, beware of doing work out of scope, or before funding is obligated – you may not get paid. 

Neither are cool – and certainly not anyone’s intention.  No one wants to create conflicts of legally binding issues, or situations that have other serious consequences.

Just for quick clarification – Program Officer is being used generically to refer to Program Managers, Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (COTR), Contracting Officer Representatives (COR), Principle Investigators, Project Managers, and all other technical and project personnel.

Let’s have some fun with this topic. Shall we play a game?

Remember Family Feud, which typically started something like:

“Name the top 7 things that a Program Officer is legally authorized to do.”

 A Team Member provides an answer then the host repeats the answer and asks the board – “Survey Says?” After a pause you receive the satisfying confirmation “Ding”, or an obnoxious “Eh!” with a big red “X” in the middle of the board.  Although we don't have a board with big red "X"s, let's have some fun with: Authority Ambiguity.

Same concept … our topic relates to the roles and responsibilities of Program Officers in the Federal Government, and typically for Federal Contractors - acknowledging that every company has its own rules.

Basically in a playful way – do you know what authority a Program Officer has? 

Ready to get started?!?!                I bet you know all 7 ;-)

Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Interfacing with the technical and project personnel.

Survey Says? Ding!

Awesome! You got the NUMBER 1 task!

Absolutely! This responsibility seems obvious – it can be counterproductive and cause delays to not promote and support this communication channel. The stereotypical rule is Government Program Officer communicates with Contractor’s Program Manager/Principle Investigator. Similarly, the Government Contracting Officer works directly with the Contractor’s Contracting Officer.  

Let’s keep going - Name another task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Making changes to scope or schedule.

Survey Says? 

Cue loud obnoxious “EH!” noise. Sorry! Strike 1.

Common misconception. Legally only the Contracting Officer can authorize changes to scope, schedule, and cost. The Program Officer can make changes WITHIN the scope as long as the changes do not impact schedule and cost. When a change is considered (or even occurs) both the Government Program Officer and the Contractor Program Officer should ask, “How do we make this work contractually?” before proceeding to make the change. Document the change IN WRITING and get your respective Contracting Officers involved. A change that is determined to be out of scope, or affects cost and/or schedule can be unduly expensive to the Contractor causing unallowable costs, delays, overruns, and other unwanted impacts. (For more information on streamlining the Changes process reach out to [email protected]).

Let’s try again - Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Determining the requirements and preparing the scope of work.

Survey Says?

 Ding!

Woo Hoo! We definitely want the technical and program experts taking care of this task. They know the needs and wants of the program for the outcomes to be the best possible solution; they know what is necessary and what is nice to have; and they know what are the constraints, and whether they are real or perceived.

How about another? Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Receive official notices from the Contractor.

Survey Says?

Cue loud obnoxious “EH!” noise. Yikes! Strike 2. 

Legally only the Contracting Officer can receive official notices. Be aware of this nuance. YES – the Program Office needs to be kept in the loop. However, if an official notice (which includes requests for changes, extending the period of performance, limitation of funds letters, plus many more) is not sent to the Contracting Officer in a timely manner – it is likely to cause delays plus has the potential of not getting the result being requested.  And that can hurt the Program as well as the Contractor’s bottom-line.

Okay - let's continue – we have one strike left. Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Approving completed work for billing and payment.

Survey Says?

Ding!

Awesome! Great Job!  But of course – who else besides the Program Officer is so intimately aware of what work has been completed?

You Got This! Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Accept deliverables.

Survey Says?

Ding!

Terrific! This task goes hand in hand with the previous task. The Program Officer is typically the best person to compare the work that was planned to be completed versus what was actually received.

Let's keep going. Name a task that a Program Officer is authorized to do:

Answer: Obligating funds.

Survey Says?

Cue loud obnoxious “EH!” noise.  OUCH! Strike 3. Game Over!

Program Officers' budget funds and do the internal paperwork necessary to have funds obligated to a Contract. However, only the Contracting Officer can actually obligate funds making them available for a Contractor to incur costs against the money. Contracting Officers obligate funds by issuance of a contractual agreement, or modification to an existing agreement (when applicable). If funds haven’t been obligated, then work should not commence otherwise the Contractor is at risk of not being reimbursed for costs incurred.

So, what is the point of our game?  

By knowing and understanding the roles and responsibilities of Program Officers and Contracting Officers we create clarity, optimize processes, and orchestrate partnership to enhance success. And - I hope you had fun.

What more is there to know to eliminate Authority Ambiguity? Contact me for a quick reference list of roles and responsibilities for both Program Officers and Contracting Officers at [email protected].