The Information You Should Not Have Seen: Unequal-Access OCI and the Firewall That Saves You

Published 2026 | TIKC NewsWire

Sometimes a contract gives you a peek behind a curtain you were not supposed to see on your next bid. Maybe you support an agency and, in doing so, touch a competitor’s proprietary data or nonpublic acquisition information. When that access would give you an unfair competitive advantage on a future procurement, you have an unequal-access-to-information organizational conflict of interest. Here is the good news that most contractors miss: of the three OCI types, this is the most fixable, if you build the firewall correctly.

What unequal access actually means

Unlike impaired objectivity, which is about biased judgment, unequal access is about information. The conflict arises when, through one engagement, you obtain nonpublic information (a competitor’s proprietary or source-selection-sensitive data, or other nonpublic government information) that would unfairly advantage you if you competed for related work. Note what is not the concern: your objectivity. The government is not worried you will be biased. It is worried you will have an edge no one else could get.

Why it is the most mitigable OCI

Because the problem is the flow of information, you can wall the information off. Accepted mitigation tools include:

• Firewalls (information barriers). Physically and digitally separate the people and systems that hold the sensitive information from the team that will pursue the related work.
• Personnel screens and recusal. Keep individuals who had access off the pursuit, and document it.
• Non-disclosure agreements. Bind the people with access so the information cannot travel.
• Certifications. Represent, credibly and in writing, that the nonpublic information was not and will not be used in the competition.

Done properly, these steps usually let you keep both the current work and the future opportunity. That is why unequal access rarely has to be disqualifying, while impaired objectivity and biased ground rules often are.

Where firms get it wrong

The failure is almost never the concept. It is the execution. A firewall that exists on paper but leaks in practice, where the same person quietly sits on both sides, is worse than no firewall, because it looks like concealment. The other classic mistake is staying silent and hoping no one notices the access, only to have a competitor raise it in a protest with, in the words of the bid-protest cases, hard facts. Under the FAR Council’s OCI overhaul (moving these rules into a proposed Subpart 3.12), the expectation to identify and address these conflicts up front is only getting stronger.

What to do now

• Inventory your access. Know which engagements give your people nonpublic competitor or acquisition information.
• Build the firewall before you bid, not after a challenge. Separate the teams, the systems, and the data.
• Make the screen real. No individual should sit on both sides. Enforce it and document enforcement.
• Disclose and certify. Tell the contracting officer, describe your mitigation, and certify that the information was not used.
• Keep the records. A well-documented firewall is what turns a competitor’s protest into a non-event.

Unequal access is the conflict you can manage your way through. Build the barrier honestly and you keep the work and the opportunity. Brick by brick.

FAQ

What is an unequal-access-to-information OCI?

A conflict that arises when one engagement gives you nonpublic information, such as a competitor’s proprietary data or source-selection-sensitive material, that would unfairly advantage you on a related procurement.

Can I keep competing if I have this conflict?

Usually yes. Unequal access is the most mitigable OCI. Firewalls, personnel screens, NDAs, and certifications that the information was not used typically allow you to compete.

What is a firewall in this context?

An information barrier that separates the people and systems holding the sensitive information from the team pursuing the related work, so the information cannot flow to the pursuit.

What is the most common mistake?

A firewall that exists only on paper, where the same person works both sides, or staying silent about the access. Both are far more damaging than a properly built, disclosed barrier.

Sources

Federal Acquisition Regulation. (2026). Current Subpart 9.5 and proposed Subpart 3.12, Organizational Conflicts of Interest.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2026). Bid protest decisions on unequal access to information and mitigation.

This article is general information, not legal advice.