The latest part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to undergo a rewrite is FAR Part 10, which addresses market research for acquisitions. The General Services Administration has already adopted the new Part 10 via class deviation, effective May 22, 2025. A handy strikeout version of the overhauled Part 10 shows how little of the old regulation has survived.
Consistent with the theme of the ongoing FAR rewrite, the Part 10 revision removes most of the prescriptive and non-prescriptive guidance that was not mandated by statute. For example, the editors have removed the old requirement to conduct market research before soliciting offers “for acquisitions with an estimated value less than the simplified acquisition threshold when adequate information is not available and the circumstances justify its cost.” Gone, too, are the mandates to use market research to determine vendors’ sustainable practices, as well as the old 18-month expiration date for task and delivery order market research, and the previous laundry list of information that market research “should include.” Various duplicative exhortations have been streamlined, too.
Somewhat surprisingly, also gone are the old requirements (rooted in statute) to conduct market research to inform bundling and consolidation decisions, as well as to guide small business utilization approaches. One expects that, at least for the statutory requirements, guidance will be found in other FAR Parts, such as Part 7 (for consolidation and bundling decisions) and Part 19 (for small business set-aside and participation matters).
What is retained focuses largely on identifying legitimate requirements, engaging constructively with industry, and the statutory preference for the procurement of commercial products and services.
In theory, this will provide procuring agencies with more flexibility and free them from bureaucratic rigmarole, while emphasizing the preference for finding existing commercial solutions. Time will tell whether, in practice, overextended acquisition professionals will see this simply as an invitation to perform less thorough market research. In that respect, the forthcoming buying guides and ongoing training of the acquisition workforce are likely to be the key to whether this overhaul exercise is a success.
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