Statement of Objectives (SOO)

A Statement of Objectives (SOO) is a government-issued document that defines high-level program goals and objectives without prescribing how those objectives should be met, giving offerors flexibility to propose their own approach and draft performance work statement.

What is a Statement of Objectives?

A SOO is used in performance-based acquisitions when the government wants innovative solutions but does not want to dictate the technical approach. Unlike a Statement of Work (SOW) that tells contractors exactly what to do, a SOO tells contractors what outcomes the government wants to achieve.

Under FAR 37.602, agencies using a SOO-based approach require offerors to submit, as part of their proposal, a draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) describing how they will meet the government's objectives. The government then negotiates a final PWS with the winning offeror and incorporates it into the contract.

A SOO typically includes:

• Purpose: the mission need or capability gap the government is addressing
• Scope: the boundaries and limitations of the effort
• Period of performance: the timeframe within which objectives must be achieved
• Performance objectives: specific, measurable outcomes the government wants (expressed as "shall achieve" rather than "shall perform")
• Constraints: applicable regulations, security requirements, and resource limitations

A well-written SOO focuses on ends, not means: "The contractor shall ensure 99.9% system availability during business hours" rather than "The contractor shall implement a specific redundancy architecture."

Why a SOO matters for government contractors

When a procurement uses a SOO instead of a SOW, the technical proposal becomes far more important, and differentiated. Since every offeror proposes their own approach (and their own draft PWS), the evaluators are comparing fundamentally different technical solutions rather than variations on the same theme. This rewards contractors with deep domain expertise and innovative methodologies. It also places significant burden on the contractor to propose performance standards they can actually achieve, a weak PWS may lead to winning the contract but struggling to meet self-imposed performance targets throughout performance. Experienced contractors use SOO-based acquisitions as opportunities to propose performance metrics that favor their strengths.

Example

NASA issues a SOO for mission operations support, stating the objective: "Maintain continuous availability of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter operations capability with zero data loss during scheduled contact windows." Instead of specifying the staffing model, the software systems, or the shift structure, NASA asks each offeror to propose their own PWS with specific, measurable performance standards for how they will achieve this objective. One contractor proposes a three-crew-rotation model with specific staffing ratios. Another proposes AI-augmented operations with a smaller crew. NASA evaluates both approaches against the SOO objectives, and selects the approach offering the best combination of reliability and cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an offeror decline to use a SOO format and propose a traditional SOW approach instead?

No. If the RFP is based on a SOO and requires offerors to submit a draft PWS, that requirement is binding. Proposing a SOW when a PWS is required would be a non-compliant proposal. The SOO format signals the government wants innovative approaches, presenting a conventional task-based SOW would likely score poorly on technical evaluation.

What happens to the draft PWS after award?

The winning offeror's draft PWS is negotiated and finalized with the contracting officer and incorporated into the awarded contract as the definitive performance standard. Performance is then measured against this agreed-upon PWS throughout the life of the contract.

How is a SOO different from an RFI?

A SOO is a formal part of a solicitation that defines government objectives for an actual procurement. An RFI is a market research tool used before a solicitation is developed. Both invite input from industry, but an RFI creates no procurement obligation while a SOO-based solicitation results in an actual contract award.

What types of contracts typically use a SOO?

Complex service contracts, IT modernization programs, and R&D efforts commonly use SOOs. Defense programs that want to incentivize innovation from prime contractors frequently pair a SOO with a performance-based contract structure. Simple, well-defined commodity or routine service purchases are better served by a traditional SOW.