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Outsourcing Terminology
 

Best Value - - The government agency awards a contract to a private firm based on a number of considerations which may or may not include such elements as qualifications, experience, cost, time, etc. 

Competitive Bidding - - Typically used for construction as well as some services; the government contract is awarded to the qualified firm which offers the lowest price. 

Contracting Out - - A government agency awards a contract to a private firm to perform a function or service paid for by the agency. 

Design-Build - - The government contracts with a private entity or consortium to design and construct an infrastructure project such as a building or highway. The contract may include inspection of the construction. Some functions, such as preliminary design, environmental clearance, and right of way acquisition, may be performed prior to awarding the design-build contract. 

Design-Sequencing - - Typically used for highway projects, the governmental agency awards a contract (typically through competitive bidding) for construction of a project but allows construction to begin on portions of the project before design is complete for the entire project. 

Fathom - - A unit of length equal to six feet. 

Fire in the Hole - - A warning issued before a cannon is fired. 

Letter of Marque - - A document given to a privateer giving him amnesty from piracy laws as long as the ship’s plunders are of an enemy nation.  

Off-shoring - - Contracting by the government with a private entity to perform a government function or service outside of the United States. 

Outsourcing - - A general term describing contracting by a government agency to a private firm to perform a function or service paid for by the government agency. 

Pieces of Eight - - Spanish silver coins worth one peso or eight “reales”, sometimes literally cut into eight pieces, each worth one real. 

Poop Deck - - The highest deck at the stern of a large ship, usually above the Captain’s quarters. 

Privateer - - A sailor with a Letter of Marque from a government allowing him to plunder ships of other nations; a higher class of criminal than a pirate. 

Privatization - - A private entity is given responsibility for performing a governmental function and the services needed to achieve that function. It typically involves authority conferred through legislation as well as contracts with the governmental agency and provides the private entity with the authority, responsibility, and activities which otherwise would be conducted by the public agency. 

Quality Assurance - - Oversight of the quality control of a project, such as verifying that inspectors were onsite. 

Quality Control - - On-site inspection of the construction of a project. 

Scurvy - - A disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C; a derogatory adjective suitable for use in a loud voice, as in “Ye Scurvy Dogs!”