Chapter 1 AN OVERVIEW OF THE STATEMENT OF WORK

A statement of work (SOW) is the written description of an agency requirement, used in the acquisition of supplies or services. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)General Services Administration, Department of Defense, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Acquisition Regulation, March 2005, 11.002 (a)(1), p. 11.1-1. Online at www.acquisition.gov/far (accessed July 2013). mandates that government requirements be described in a manner that promotes full and open competition to the maximum extent practicable and that restrictive provisions or conditions be used only to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law. The FARFAR 11.002 (a)(2). goes on to say that requirements should be stated in terms of the functions to be performed, the performance required, or the essential physical characteristics of the requirements.