Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)
What is CPARS?
The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and is a web-enabled reporting system for government contracts. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) require that a CPARS evaluation must be completed for all contracts that meet the specific dollar value thresholds within the three different business sectors, Architect-Engineer, Construction, and Services. Beginning in the fall of 2015, the Smithsonian Institution (SI) will complete a CPARS evaluation for each task/purchase order awarded by SI. Each evaluation includes a narrative and a rating in the following areas: quality, schedule, cost control, management, and regulatory compliance. Once complete, each evaluation will be submitted to a designated contractor representative for review. After the evaluation is accepted by both parties, it is transmitted to the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) which provides timely and relevant information on Contractor performance for use in source selection. Please use the links below for more information.
The following table summarizes the dollar thresholds that trigger a CPARS evaluation. If the contract value is above the threshold for that business sector, a new CPAR is required for that contract. For more information on the CPARS evaluation workflow, see the overview of CPARS workflow for contractors tab.
Step 1 — Contract Registration
If a contract/task order/purchase order meets the Dollar Value Threshold for Initiating a CPARS, it will be registered in the CPARS system. During the process, specific CPARS roles are assigned to each of the project stakeholders. Typically, within 30 days of award, the Contractor Representative will receive an email from the CPARS system indicating that he/she has been associated with that particular contract/order. The email will include instructions for creating a CPARS account if the Contractor Representative does not already have one. For task orders issued under IDIQ contracts, the same Contractor Representative will be assigned to each task order. To inquire and/or change the designated Contractor Representative, contact OPDCComments@si.edu.
Step 2 — Assessing Official Completes Evaluation
The Assessing Official (COTR for project) will complete an evaluation that reflects the contractor’s performance during the reporting period. The evaluation includes ratings and narratives of contractor performance across the following areas: quality, schedule, cost control, management, and regulatory compliance. For contracts with a period of performance of less than 1 year, the COTR will complete a final evaluation within 30 days of the end of the period of performance. For contracts that span 2 or more years, an interim evaluation will be completed by the COTR on an annual basis in addition to the final evaluation at the close of the contract. No action is required by the Contractor Representative is required during this step.
Step 3 — Contractor Comments
Once the interim or final evaluation has been completed by the Assessing Official (Step 2), the Contractor Representative will be notified by email that the evaluation is ready for their review. For more detailed information on how to access the evaluation in the CPARS system and enter comments see these instructions. Once the evaluation has been reviewed by the Contractor Representative, he/she can provide comments on the evaluation, indicate if they concur or do not concur with the evaluation, sign, and then return the evaluation to the Assessing Official. The Contractor Rep has seven (7) days to request a meeting to discuss the CPAR once they receive the evaluation from the Assessing Official.
The Contractor Rep has a total of 60 days following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date to send comments. If the Contractor Representative sends comments within the first 14 days following the Assessing Official’s signature date, the evaluation will become available in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System - Report Card (PPIRS-RC) within one day. On day 15 following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, the evaluation will become available in PPIRS-RC with or without Contractor Representative comments and whether or not the evaluation has been closed. If no Contractor Representative comments have been sent and the evaluation has not been closed, it will be marked as “Pending” in PPIRS-RC. If the Contractor Representative sends comments at any time prior to 61 days following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, those comments will be reflected in PPIRS-RC within one day. On day 61 following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, the Contractor Rep will be “locked out” of the evaluation and may no longer send comments.
Step 4 — Review Contractor Comments
On day 61 following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, the evaluation is returned to the Assessing Official and the Contractor Representative may no longer send comments. If the Contractor Representative concurs with the evaluation, the Assessing Official will close the evaluation and it will be updated in PPIRS-RC within one day and the “Pending” marking will be removed.
If the Contractor Representative does not concur with the evaluation, the Assessing Official will forward the evaluation to the Reviewing Official (see Step 6).
Step 5 — Reviewing Official Comments (if applicable — see Step 4)
If the Contractor Representative does not concur with the evaluation, the Assessing Official will send the evaluation to the Reviewing Official for final review. The Reviewing Official will review the ratings and narratives established by the Assessing Official and the response by the Contractor Representative. Based on their review, the Reviewing Official has the option to return the evaluation to the Assessing Official for additional changes and/or clarification if desired. The Reviewing Official has final authority to provide comments, sign, and close the evaluation. The reviewing Official must acknowledge consideration of any significant discrepancies between the Assessing Official’s evaluation and the Contractor’s remarks. When the evaluation is closed by the Reviewing Official, it will be updated in PPIRS-RC within one day and the “Pending” marking will be removed and the evaluation is considered complete.
For more information and resources, see CPARS Support.
The following diagram illustrates how the CPAR workflow is implemented over the lifecycle of two sample projects. For projects that have a period of performance of less than 1 year, only a final CPAR is required. For projects that span more than 1 years (see diagram below), an annual interim evaluation is required for each year of the project until the end of the period of performance, at which point a final CPAR is recorded. Please note there is no difference in workflow between an interim CPAR and a final CPAR.
- CPAR Registration — The Contractor Representative will receive an email from the CPARS system indicating that he/she has been associated with that particular contract (see Step 1 in Overview of CPARS Workflow for Contractors)
- Interim CPAR — An interim CPAR evaluation will be completed by the Assessing Official and reviewed by the Contractor Representative (see Steps 2-5 in Overview of CPARS Workflow for Contractors). Interim evaluations are only required if the project’s period of performance is greater than 1 year.
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Final Evaluation — The final CPAR evaluation will be completed by the Assessing Official and reviewed by the Contractor Representative (see Steps 2-5 in Overview of CPARS Workflow for Contractors). This final evaluation will take the place of the interim evaluations.
Once the Contractor Representative has been assigned to a CPAR, he/she will receive an email requesting that they setup a CPARS account. In the event of a problem during account creation, please see CPARS Support. Please pay special attention to the guidance provided in this transmittal email regarding logging in to CPARS, protecting the data within the CPAR, and the timeline for responses.
After registering in CPARS, the Contractor Representative will receive an email when the evaluation is ready for their review and comment (see Overview of CPARS Workflow for Contractors, Step 3). Please follow the instructions below to complete this task:
- Access To-Do List — From the Contractor Rep Main Menu, select To-Do List. The To-Do list gives the Contractor Representative a list of all contract/orders that have been forwarded to the Contractor Representative for review and comment.
Select Evaluation to Review — The evaluations that are ready for review are indicated by “input comments” under the Action Required column. The Contractor Representative has a 60-day review/comment period starting from the date the Assessing Official forwarded the evaluation. If the Contractor Representative does not provide comments within the 60-day period, the evaluation is then returned to the Assessing Official and the Contractor Representative no longer has access to enter comments. Within the first seven days of the comment period, the Contractor Representative may request a meeting with the Assessing Official to discuss the evaluation.
- Review Evaluation — Clicking on the contract number will open the evaluation in read-only mode, except for the specific fields located on the Ratings and Contractor Rep tabs (see screenshot below). A red checkmark located within any of the green rating tabs indicates at least one element has been rated for the specific performance area. Click on each of the Green Tabs to review the proposed ratings and remarks.
- Select Concurrence — After the evaluation has been reviewed, click on the Contractor Rep Tab to enter comments in the Contractor Representative Comments field. Next, select Concurrence from the Concurrence drop-down box (selecting “I do not Concur” will involve the Reviewing Official in the evaluation review).
- Complete Mandatory Fields and Save — Fields on the Contractor Rep tab that are identified with a red asterisk (*) are mandatory and must be completed. Fields identified with a blue question mark (?) indicates online help availability. To save partially completed remarks and information, click the Save Data button. Please not that returning to the Main Menu button does not save any of the information that has been entered. Prior to forwarding, the Contractor Representative must enter their identifying information.
Validate and Send to the Assessing Official — Click on the Sign Now button to populate the data from the User Profile. When all required information located on the Contractor Rep Tab has been completed, click the Validate and Send to the Assessing Official button to save the information and to return the evaluation to the Assessing Official. A notice will be sent to the Assessing Official.
For more information and resources, see CPARS Support.
To access the CPARS website, click here. If you have questions on CPARS, please contact the CPARS Customer Support Desk at (207) 438-1690 or by email at webptsmh@navy.mil.
The links below take you to specific resources of interest on the CPARS.gov website.
Assessing Official (AO) — Provides a timely, accurate, quality and complete narrative and then forwards it to the contractor. The Assessing Official is typically the COTR for a given task/purchase order.
Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) — An individual evaluation of contractor performance, which includes a rating and a narrative in the following areas: quality, schedule, cost control, management, and regulatory compliance.
Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) — Refers to the system that stores and tracks the individual CPAR evaluations for each project that meets the Dollar Value Threshold.
Contractor Representative (CR) — Provides feedback and signs off on evaluation prepared by the Assessing Official. The Contractor Representative is typically the point of contact listed on a contract.
Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) — PPIRS is a warehouse of all evaluations completed by Federal agencies and is accessed by source selection officials to support future source selections.
Reviewing Official (RO) — Handles discrepancies between AOs evaluation and the Contractor's remarks. The Reviewing Official is typically the supervisor of the Assessing Official (COTR) or another management-level staff.