If Sections L and M tell you how to write and how you will be scored, Section C tells you what you will actually have to do if you win. It is the part of the solicitation that becomes your day-to-day obligation for years. Reading it carefully is how you avoid bidding on work you cannot perform at the price you quoted. For the overall reading order, see how to read a federal RFP.
Three kinds of work descriptions
Statement of work (SOW)
A SOW describes the work to be done, often in detail — tasks, methods, schedules and deliverables. It may tell you how to do the work as well as what to deliver.
Performance work statement (PWS)
Under FAR subpart 37.6, performance-based service contracts include a PWS with measurable performance standards (quality, timeliness, quantity and so on) and a method of assessing performance against them. FAR 37.602 directs agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to describe the work in terms of required results rather than how the work is to be done or the number of hours to be provided. That leaves more room for your approach — and more responsibility to show it works.
Statement of objectives (SOO)
With a SOO, the government describes its objectives and offerors propose the PWS. Under FAR 37.602(c), a SOO includes at minimum the purpose, scope, period and place of performance, background, performance objectives and operating constraints. The SOO itself does not become part of the contract; your proposed PWS may.
A method for reading Section C
1. Read it once straight through
Get the big picture: what the customer is trying to accomplish, where, for how long, and what has gone wrong in the past (background sections often hint at this).
2. Shred it into requirements
Go paragraph by paragraph and pull every "shall," "must" and "will" into a list or your compliance matrix. Split compound sentences into separate requirements.
3. Tag each requirement
Mark each requirement with the labor category or resource it needs, the frequency (daily, monthly, on call), the location, and any performance standard or acceptable quality level. These tags drive your staffing plan and your price.
4. Find the hidden workload
Look for requirements that do not look like "the work" but take real effort:
- Reports and meetings — monthly status reports, weekly meetings, data calls.
- Plans — quality control plan, safety plan, transition plan, staffing plan.
- Response times — "respond to emergency calls within a set time" can mean on-call staff around the clock.
- Personnel requirements — background checks, badging, licenses, certifications, key personnel qualifications.
- Government-furnished versus contractor-furnished — who provides equipment, supplies, vehicles, IT, office space.
- Transition-in and transition-out obligations.
5. Check the attachments and workload data
Section J often holds the details Section C refers to: site lists, equipment inventories, historical workload, wage determinations, and the quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP) the government will use to check your work (FAR 37.604). Historical workload data is gold for pricing.
6. Cross-check against Section B and Section M
Every task in Section C should map to a line item in Section B (so you can price it) and, where relevant, to an evaluation factor in Section M (so you can describe it). Mismatches are good candidates for written questions.
Turning Section C into a proposal and a price
- Staffing: Convert the tagged requirements into a staffing model: positions, hours, shifts, coverage and supervision.
- Approach: For each major task, describe how you will do it, how you will measure it against the standard, and how you will fix problems.
- Price: Price the staffing model and other direct costs. See pricing a services bid and wage determinations.
- Risk: List the requirements that worry you. Either price the risk, ask a question about it, or reconsider the bid in your go/no-go.
Ask good questions
Use the questions period to clarify ambiguous requirements, request missing workload data, and point out conflicts between sections. Ask specific questions that cite the paragraph number. Answers are usually shared with all offerors and may become part of the solicitation through an amendment.
Questions to ask yourself before you price
- Can we meet every performance standard on day one, or do we need a ramp-up period the solicitation does not allow?
- Which requirements depend on information we do not have, such as site conditions or historical volumes?
- What happens when demand spikes — is there a surge requirement, and is it priced?
- Which tasks would we subcontract, and does that fit the limitations on subcontracting if the work is set aside?
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a SOW and a PWS?
A SOW can describe how work is to be done in detail. A PWS, used in performance-based acquisitions, focuses on required results with measurable performance standards, leaving more of the "how" to the contractor.
What is a QASP?
A quality assurance surveillance plan — the government's plan for checking whether the contractor meets the performance standards. The government may prepare it or ask offerors to propose one.
What should I do if Section C conflicts with another section?
Ask the contracting officer in writing during the questions period, citing the specific paragraphs. Do not guess. Check whether the solicitation includes an order-of-precedence clause.
Is a SOO part of the contract?
No. Under FAR 37.602(c), offerors use the SOO to develop the PWS, but the SOO does not become part of the contract.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change — always check the solicitation and the official sources linked here.