(a) Cooperators have full and sole responsibility for the legal sufficiency of all contracts and assume financial liability for any costs or claims resulting from suits, challenges, or other disputes based on contracts entered into by the Cooperator. Neither CCC nor any other agency of the United States Government nor any official or employee of CCC, FAS, USDA, or the United States Government has any obligation or responsibility with respect to Cooperator contracts with third parties.

(b) Cooperators are responsible for ensuring to the greatest extent possible that the terms, conditions, and costs of contracts constitute the most economical and effective use of project funds.

(c) All fees for professional and technical services paid in any part with project funds must be covered by written contracts.

(d) A Cooperator shall:

(1) Ensure that no employee, officer, board member, agent, or the employee's, officer's, board member's, or agent's family, partners, or an organization that employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated in this paragraph (d)(1) participates in the review, selection, award, or administration of a contract in which such entities or their affiliates have a financial or other interest;

(2) Conduct all contracting in an openly competitive manner. Individuals who develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, invitations for bids, or requests for proposals for procurement of any goods or services, and such individuals' families or partners, or an organization that employs or is about to employ any of the aforementioned, shall be excluded from competition for such procurement;

(3) Base each solicitation for professional or technical services on a clear and accurate description of and requirements related to the services to be procured;

(4) Perform and document some form of price or cost analysis, such as a comparison of price quotations to market prices or other price indicia, to determine the reasonableness of the offered prices for procurements in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold in 2 CFR 200.88; and

(5) Document the decision-making process.