What are A&AS contracts (advisory and assistance services), and who actually wins them?

Advisory and assistance services are defined in FAR 37.201 as services acquired by contract from non-governmental sources to support or improve agency organization, program management, operations, or to provide special studies, analyses, and evaluations. These services often involve organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) clauses because the nature of the work, such as evaluating proposals or providing technical direction, can create an unfair competitive advantage or impaired objectivity for a contractor or its affiliates. The FAR addresses OCIs in Part 9.5 to ensure fair competition. It is common for companies already familiar with a program office to have a competitive advantage, especially if they have performed previous work that gives them insight into the agency's needs, but this is not exclusive to A&AS contracts. For example, a company that helped develop a requirement might have an OCI if it then bids on the resulting RFP.