FAR 19.706—Responsibilities of the cognizant administrative contracting officer.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 19.706 explains the role of the cognizant administrative contracting officer (ACO) in supporting subcontracting plan oversight. It covers the ACO’s responsibility to help evaluate subcontracting plans and to monitor, evaluate, and document contractor performance under the subcontracting plan clause at FAR 19.708(b) and any subcontracting plan included in the contract. It also requires the contract administration office to provide the contracting officer with specific information and advice, including past performance documentation, progress toward subcontracting goals for eligible small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns, and whether the contractor’s efforts align with the plan. In addition, it addresses whether the contractor is requiring subcontractors to adopt similar plans, and it requires immediate notice when the contractor is missing commitments, failing to make a good-faith effort, or completing performance so the government can determine whether goals were met and whether any shortfall suggests lack of good faith. In practice, this section is about making subcontracting plan compliance a monitored, documented, and actionable part of contract administration rather than a paper-only requirement.
Key Rules
ACO supports plan evaluation
The administrative contracting officer must assist in evaluating subcontracting plans and oversee contractor performance under the subcontracting plan clause and the plan itself. This makes the ACO a key participant in both pre-award review support and post-award compliance monitoring.
Performance must be monitored and documented
The ACO is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and documenting contractor performance under the subcontracting plan requirements. Documentation is essential because it supports compliance determinations, past performance assessments, and any later enforcement or corrective action.
Past performance information must be shared
The contract administration office must provide documentation on the contractor’s performance and compliance with subcontracting plans under previous contracts. This helps the contracting officer assess whether the contractor has a history of meeting subcontracting obligations.
Progress toward socioeconomic goals must be reported
The office must provide information on whether the contractor is meeting plan goals for eligible small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns. The focus is on actual progress against the stated plan goals, not just general outreach activity.
Alignment of efforts with the plan must be checked
The office must report whether the contractor’s efforts to ensure participation by the listed small business categories are consistent with the subcontracting plan. This requires looking at whether the contractor’s actions match the commitments it made, not merely whether it is making some effort.
Subcontractor flowdown plans are relevant
The office must provide information on whether the contractor is requiring its subcontractors to adopt similar subcontracting plans. This helps determine whether subcontracting plan obligations are being extended appropriately through the subcontracting chain.
Immediate notice is required for shortfalls
The office must immediately notify the contracting officer if the contractor is failing to meet its commitments or is failing to comply in good faith with the subcontracting plan. The notice must include the rationale for a good-faith determination, and it must also be given when performance is complete, including whether goals were met and whether any shortfall suggests lack of good faith.
Responsibilities
Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO)
Assist in evaluating subcontracting plans and monitor, evaluate, and document contractor performance under the subcontracting plan clause and the contract’s subcontracting plan. The ACO must also ensure timely reporting of compliance issues, goal attainment, and completion results to the contracting officer.
Contract Administration Office
Provide the contracting officer with the information and advice needed to support subcontracting plan oversight, including prior performance records, goal attainment data, evidence of alignment with the plan, information on subcontractor plan flowdowns, and immediate notice of failures or completion results.
Contracting Officer
Use the information provided by the ACO and contract administration office to evaluate subcontracting plans, assess compliance, and determine whether the contractor has made a good-faith effort and whether any enforcement or follow-on action is warranted.
Contractor
Perform in accordance with the subcontracting plan, make good-faith efforts to meet commitments, track and report progress toward goals, and ensure subcontracting practices align with the plan. Where required, the contractor must also require subcontractors to adopt similar subcontracting plans.
Practical Implications
This section makes subcontracting plan compliance an ongoing administration task, not a one-time award requirement. Contractors should expect their performance against small business goals to be tracked throughout the contract, and contracting officers should expect regular input from the ACO or contract administration office.
A common pitfall is treating outreach or intent as compliance. The government is looking for measurable progress toward stated goals and evidence that the contractor’s actions match the plan, especially when assessing good-faith effort.
Another frequent issue is weak documentation. If the ACO or contract administration office does not record performance, goal attainment, and reasons for any shortfalls, it becomes harder to support a good-faith determination or defend a later enforcement decision.
Contractors should be prepared for immediate reporting when performance slips or when the contract ends. Late discovery of missed goals or missing rationale can create disputes over whether the contractor complied in good faith.
For contracting officers, the practical value of this section is that it creates a feedback loop: prior performance, current performance, and final results all feed into compliance oversight and future responsibility determinations.
Official Regulatory Text
The administrative contracting officer is responsible for assisting in evaluating subcontracting plans, and for monitoring, evaluating, and documenting contractor performance under the clause prescribed in 19.708 (b) and any subcontracting plan included in the contract. The contract administration office shall provide the necessary information and advice to support the contracting officer, as appropriate, by furnishing- (a) Documentation on the contractor’s performance and compliance with subcontracting plans under previous contracts; (b) Information on the extent to which the contractor is meeting the plan’s goals for subcontracting with eligible small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns; (c) Information on whether the contractor’s efforts to ensure the participation of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns are in accordance with its subcontracting plan; (d) Information on whether the contractor is requiring its subcontractors to adopt similar subcontracting plans; (e) Immediate notice if, during performance, the contractor is failing to meet its commitments under the clause prescribed in 19.708 (b) or the subcontracting plan; (f) Immediate notice and rationale if, during performance, the contractor is failing to comply in good faith with the subcontracting plan (see 19.705-7 (b) for more information on the determination of good faith effort); and (g) Immediate notice that performance under a contract is complete, that the goals were or were not met, and, if not met, whether there is any indication of a lack of a good faith effort to comply with the subcontracting plan.