(a) Orders issued under this contract may be placed in writing or via [Contracting Officer to insert authorized ordering methods, e.g., telephone, facsimile (fax) machine, electronic mail (e-mail)].

(b) In addition to the Contracting Officer, the following individuals are authorized to issue orders under this contract:

(b) This contract provides for the issuance of task orders on a negotiated basis as follows:

(1) The Contracting Officer will provide the contractor(s) with a statement of work or task description. The contractor(s) shall provide pricing and other information requested by the Contracting Officer (e.g., proposed staffing, plan for completing the task, etc.) within the time period specified by the Contracting Officer. Failure by any contractor to provide all the requested information on time may result in the contractor not being considered or selected for issuance of the order.

(2) The Contracting Officer may require the contractor(s) to present and/or discuss (see (3) below) the proposed task order terms orally. The Contracting Officer will provide the contractor(s) with guidance on the format, location, and duration of any presentations.

(3) The Contracting Officer may discuss the proposed task order terms with the contractor(s) to ensure mutual understanding of the contractor(s)'s technical approach and/or costs or price and/or to reach mutually acceptable final terms for the task order. If more than one contractor is being considered for the task order, any discussions will be held individually with each contractor.

(4) The task order shall be executed by the contractor and the Contracting Officer.