Teaming agreements are used to establish Contractor Teams whereby a potential prime contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as subcontractors under a specified acquisition program. This allows the companies to complement each other's capabilities and it offers the sponsor the best combination of expertise. Teaming arrangements are normally formed before the submission of the proposal and should be fully explained in the proposal. Contractor team arrangements are particularly appropriate in complex research and development programs.
In order to establish a working relationship with another contracting entity when Georgia Tech proposes to be a subcontractor, a teaming agreement between Georgia Tech and the other entity may be desirable. The teaming agreement establishes the responsibility of each party in preparing the proposal. It also establishes the basis for any resulting subcontract document should the team be successful. Likewise, when Georgia Tech proposes to be the prime contractor, a teaming agreement between Georgia Tech and any proposed subcontractor(s) may also be desirable. This arrangement is especially important when proposal requirements call for the establishment of fixed bidding rates in any resulting prime contract.
Teaming agreements are useful in establishing the intent of the parties to share the work required under the resulting contract. However, it is generally impractical to enter into litigation in an attempt to force compliance. When Georgia Tech agrees to team exclusively with another party in response to a Request For Proposal (RFP), no Georgia Tech unit or employee can legally work with any other party in response to the same RFP. Whenever possible, limiting Georgia Tech's commitment to a non-exclusive teaming arrangement will eliminate the possibility of someone at Georgia Tech violating a teaming commitment. This can increase funding opportunities by allowing Georgia Tech to team with any or all of the parties responding to an RFP. GTRI's administration has established a policy that all exclusive teaming agreements involving a GTRI Lab will commit all GTRI labs in every case. GTRI has implemented the Request for Teaming Agreement Routing and Analysis. This approval form must be completed prior to establishing a teaming agreement with any GTRI unit. During negotiations, PID the Office of Sponsored Programs excludes all campus units, other that GTRI, from such exclusive GTRI commitments.