System for Award Management

A narrative document describing how a system, capability, or organization will actually be used to accomplish a mission, written from the user's perspective before detailed technical requirements are drafted. In a proposal, a strong CONOPS section shows the evaluator you understand how the customer will operate and employ what you're offering, not just what it technically does.

A written agreement between a federal laboratory and a company, university, or other partner to work together on research and development. The lab can contribute people, facilities, and equipment, but not funding, while the partner can contribute money and resources. CRADAs aren't procurement contracts. Their main value is access to government expertise and the ability to negotiate licensing rights to inventions that come out of the work.

A document a contractor submits, often after a poor CPARS rating, quality escape, or cure notice, laying out the root cause of a performance problem and the specific steps, owners, and timelines for fixing it. Contracting officers typically use it to decide whether to continue the relationship, terminate for default, or escalate.

A 1994 law that overhauled federal buying to favor commercial practices: it raised the simplified acquisition threshold from $25,000 to $100,000, pushed agencies toward buying commercial items instead of government-unique specs, expanded use of past performance in source selection, and required debriefings for unsuccessful offerors. It's one of the foundational reforms underlying today's FAR.

The legacy government-wide website where agencies posted solicitations, contract opportunities, and award notices above certain dollar thresholds, retired in November 2019 when its functions moved into SAM.gov's Contract Opportunities module. "FBO" now mostly survives in older contract files and as shorthand some contractors still use for wherever the government posts RFPs.