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Teaming and subcontracting / the mechanics

Teaming with FISTA: the subcontract mechanics, written down.

FISTA subcontracts to government primes under a written teaming agreement or subcontract that fixes scope, workshare, rates, flow-down clauses, data handling, and IP before any task order starts. Work is delivered spec-first with test evidence and documentation the prime can pass to the contracting officer, and every engagement is designed so the prime keeps the customer relationship.

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Engagement models

Which engagement models does FISTA offer primes?

Five, chosen by where the prime is in the pursuit. A task-order subcontract covers defined work on a contract already held. Pursuit teaming covers a bid the prime is chasing. Proposal engineering support helps win it. An embedded forward deployed engineer or staff augmentation adds capacity inside the prime's own delivery system.

FISTA engagement models for government prime contractors: fit, FISTA's ownership, and the prime's ownership.
ModelBest fitFISTA ownsPrime owns
Task-order subcontractorThe prime holds the contract and needs a work package deliveredSpecification, build, verification, evidence packageCustomer, program management, acceptance
Pursuit teaming partnerA bid where FISTA's capability strengthens the technical volumeNamed workshare, technical approach input, key personnelCapture, pricing strategy, submission
Proposal engineering supportA live solicitation with a compliance matrix and technical volume to fillArchitecture narrative, staffing plan input, basis-of-estimate supportWin themes, compliance, final review
Embedded forward deployed engineerAn ambiguous work package that needs one senior owner close to the agencyDiscovery, specification, build, adoption, transferAccess, stakeholders, program governance
Staff augmentation into the prime's teamA known capability gap inside an established delivery processNamed engineers working in the prime's processBacklog, standards, delivery management

The agreement

What does a teaming agreement with FISTA cover?

Everything that would otherwise be discovered mid-contract. The agreement names the work packages and the workshare, sets exclusivity for the pursuit, fixes rates and the invoicing entity, lists every flow-down clause and who carries it, and defines data handling, IP, key personnel, and exit. Nothing is left to be argued after award.

  1. 01

    Scope and work packages

    Each package described by outcome, interfaces, and acceptance criteria, with the specification as the contractual reference.

    Scope
  2. 02

    Workshare and exclusivity

    Percentage or package-level workshare, and exclusivity for the named pursuit so neither side teams against the other on it.

    Workshare
  3. 03

    Rates and invoicing entity

    Rate card by role, time-and-materials or fixed-price per task order, invoiced in USD by FISTA Solutions Inc.

    Commercial
  4. 04

    Flow-down clauses

    Every clause the prime must flow down, reviewed line by line, with each one accepted, carved out of FISTA's scope, or kept with the prime.

    Compliance
  5. 05

    Data handling and access

    Which data FISTA may access, from where, under what controls, and what is de-identified before it reaches development.

    Data
  6. 06

    IP and deliverable ownership

    Deliverables follow the prime contract's data-rights clauses as flowed down; pre-existing FISTA tooling is listed up front.

    IP
  7. 07

    Key personnel and substitution

    Named engineers where the solicitation allows subcontractor key personnel, with notice and approval terms for substitution.

    People
  8. 08

    Non-solicitation, term, and exit

    Mutual non-solicitation, term aligned to the contract and option years, and what is handed over at exit.

    Term

Workshare

How is workshare split between the prime and FISTA?

By what the flow-downs allow and what each side is best at. The prime keeps the customer, the restricted data, and any work that requires cleared or in-country personnel. FISTA takes the engineering that can be specified and verified: development against de-identified data, test automation, infrastructure as code, AI systems, and documentation.

Workshare between the prime contractor, FISTA offshore delivery, and the FISTA US entity.
Stays with the primeFISTA delivers offshoreFISTA Solutions Inc. provides
Customer relationship, contracting officer interface, and program managementApplication, API, and integration development against de-identified or synthetic dataUS contracting counterparty and USD invoicing from the Delaware entity
Access to personal, protected, or classified data and any work requiring cleared personnelTest automation, accessibility testing, performance testing, and release engineeringWritten teaming and subcontract terms, including reviewed flow-downs
Production environments holding restricted data, and hosting in the required regionInfrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, and observability for environments you ownNamed key personnel and substitution terms
Security accreditation, authority to operate, and questionnaire ownershipAI agent engineering, retrieval systems, and document-processing pipelinesEvidence package and documentation per task order
Local-language customer interface and in-country presence where requiredTechnical documentation, runbooks, and knowledge transfer materialSingle accountable delivery owner for every work package

Due diligence

What is in the due-diligence pack?

The documents a prime's contracts, compliance, and security reviewers ask for before a call, provided under NDA. The pack states registration, certification, and entity status as they are, so nothing on this website has to be taken on trust and nothing is implied that the pack does not confirm.

Commercial

  • Two-page capabilities statement
  • Rate card by role
  • NDA and teaming agreement templates
  • Sample task-order statement of work

People

  • Key personnel bios and roles
  • Delivery ownership model
  • Substitution and escalation terms
  • Time-zone and overlap plan

Assurance

  • Security practices summary
  • Registration and certification status
  • References available on request
  • Insurance and entity documents as held

Specification → acceptance

How does a task order run from kickoff to acceptance?

The same way every FISTA engagement runs: a written specification first, then a working system, then verification against the specification, then acceptance with an evidence package. The prime sees the first evidence gate in week one and can show the contracting officer exactly what was built and how it was tested.

  1. 1

    Specify

    Outcome, interfaces, constraints, flow-downs, and acceptance criteria written down and agreed with the prime's delivery lead before code.

    Output

    Task-order specification

  2. 2

    Build

    Development against de-identified data in environments the prime controls, with the prime's standards, code review, and pipelines.

    Output

    Working increment per sprint

  3. 3

    Verify

    Functional, security, accessibility, and performance evidence against the specification, plus documentation and runbooks.

    Output

    Evidence package

  4. 4

    Accept

    Prime review, contracting-officer-ready documentation, transfer of knowledge, and a past-performance letter request.

    Output

    Accepted deliverables

Before award

How does FISTA support the proposal before award?

As the technical subcontractor named in the bid. FISTA contributes the parts of the technical volume it will deliver, supplies staffing and basis-of-estimate input for its workshare, helps populate the compliance matrix for its packages, and joins orals as the delivery partner. Capture, pricing strategy, and submission stay with the prime.

  1. 01

    Technical approach input

    Architecture, delivery method, and verification approach for FISTA's work packages, written to the solicitation's evaluation criteria.

    Volume
  2. 02

    Staffing and basis of estimate

    Named roles, hours, and assumptions for FISTA's workshare so the prime's pricing rests on real numbers.

    Pricing
  3. 03

    Compliance matrix contribution

    Requirement-by-requirement responses for FISTA's packages, with any exception flagged before submission.

    Compliance
  4. 04

    Orals and clarifications

    FISTA's delivery owner presents the technical approach alongside the prime and answers evaluator questions on the work packages.

    Orals

Regulatory and procurement references on this page are general guidance for planning a teaming engagement, not legal advice. Confirm obligations with your contracts and legal teams for each solicitation.

Clear answers

What primes ask before teaming.

Straightforward guidance for evaluating scope, fit, and the next step.

01Do you sign the prime's teaming agreement or your own?

Either. FISTA provides NDA and teaming templates for primes that want a starting point, and works from the prime's paper where the prime contract requires it. In both cases the flow-down set is reviewed clause by clause before signature so nothing is discovered after award.

02How are rates set?

A rate card by role is provided in the due-diligence pack. Task orders are priced time-and-materials or fixed-price against a written specification, and invoiced in USD by FISTA Solutions Inc., the Delaware entity. Rates are not published on the website because they depend on role mix, term, and the flow-downs in scope.

03Who owns the intellectual property?

Deliverables follow the prime contract's data-rights and IP clauses as flowed down to FISTA, so the government and the prime receive the rights the contract requires. Any pre-existing FISTA tooling or libraries are listed in the agreement up front so ownership is never ambiguous.

04Can FISTA staff be named as key personnel?

Yes, where the solicitation allows subcontractor key personnel. Bios are provided in the pack, the named engineers are committed in the agreement, and substitution requires notice and the prime's approval under the same terms the prime carries with the government.

05What happens if the prime loses the bid?

Pursuit-level teaming ends with the bid unless the agreement covers other pursuits. FISTA's proposal contribution is at its own cost unless a paid proposal-support engagement was agreed, and the relationship and the pack carry forward to the next opportunity.

06How do you handle flow-down clauses FISTA cannot meet?

They are identified during the agreement review and either carved out of FISTA's scope or kept with the prime, in writing. A flow-down that requires cleared personnel, in-country presence, or a certification FISTA does not hold is never accepted and discovered later.

Six markets

Every market FISTA subcontracts in

  1. 01SLED and federal civilianUnited StatesOpen the market brief
  2. 02G-Cloud, CCS, NHS, TEDUK and EuropeOpen the market brief
  3. 03Digital Agency-era programsJapanOpen the market brief
  4. 04UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, OmanMENAOpen the market brief
  5. 05Federal supply arrangements, provincesCanadaOpen the market brief
  6. 06BuyICT, DTA, statesAustraliaOpen the market brief

Continue exploring

Related capabilities

Capabilities statementCore competencies, differentiators, company data, and how to request the PDF.Compliance and securityThe standards that flow down in each market and how FISTA builds to them.Government contracting overviewThe sub-first model, the six markets, and how a teaming engagement starts.

Sub-first, on the record

Send the pursuit. We will send the pack and a workshare.

Name the contract or solicitation, the work packages you need covered, and the flow-downs you already know about. FISTA responds with the due-diligence pack and a proposed workshare your contracts team can review.

Start a teaming conversation Read the capabilities statement