Whats wrong with level-of-effort contracting?
A24 Nothing, when used appropriately. However, when used inappropriately, several things: (a) it provides no incentive for contractors to be innovative; (b) it’s uneconomical for the Government because it hires a marching army of contractors for a term of employment, instead of contracting for a job to be completed; (c) it may foster a personal services environment wherein the Government is perceived as the employer, who supervises the efforts of the contractor employees; (d) it can contribute to a breakdown of project discipline. (When the Project Office becomes concerned with how to keep the contractor busy, unplanned and often unnecessary extras may be added to the contractor’s tasking); (e) it creates the opportunity for unnecessary enrichment of the labor skill mix, thereby driving up labor costs; and, (f) it requires the Government to perform extensive surveillance because, absent clearly stated contract objectives, the contractor must receive continual clarification from Governm
