A U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) competitive acquisition method that enables the government to acquire innovative commercial products, technologies, and services using a streamlined solicitation process instead of a traditional Request for Proposal (RFP). Authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 3458, a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) uses a general solicitation and a merit-based evaluation to identify solutions that best meet the government’s needs while reducing procurement complexity and timelines. Awards resulting from a CSO must use fixed-price contract types. CSOs are commonly used to accelerate access to commercial innovation while maintaining a fair and competitive acquisition process.
Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)
A US Department of Defense method for acquiring innovative commercial solutions through a streamlined, merit-based process instead of a traditional RFP.
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Thirty to forty questions. Sometimes a hundred. Capabilities, features, integrations, data handling, FAR and DFARS compliance, export controls, FedRAMP, CMMC, NIST. Almost every answer already exists somewhere in your organisation, written well, reviewed, and approved. The work is not thinking. The work is finding the good version of an answer you have written eleven times before, and rewriting it to fit the way this buyer asked the question.
An independent 3PAO auditor and VisibleThread founders explain CMMC, FedRAMP, and compliance deployment options for federal contractors.
Layer on Davis-Bacon wage provisions, DBE and MBE participation goals, Buy America requirements on federally funded infrastructure, and CUI handling on defense installations, and the document burden bears no resemblance to a commercial RFP. Most proposal software was built to answer questionnaires. AEC teams must dissect solicitations, demonstrate compliance, and carry commitments into delivery.
Related Glossary Terms
The official compilation of permanent U.S. federal laws, providing the statutory basis for many contracting requirements.
A global classification system used to categorize products and services for procurement and spend analysis.
A unique 12-character identifier assigned via SAM.gov to organizations doing business with the federal government, replacing the DUNS number.
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