Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE)
An Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) is the government's own documented estimate of what a requirement should cost, developed without contractor input, used to validate budgets, evaluate price reasonableness, and support negotiation positions.
The IGCE is the acquisition team's price yardstick. Built from labor categories, hours, rates, materials, and historical actuals, it anchors budget requests, informs the acquisition strategy, and gives the contracting officer a basis for judging whether proposed prices are fair and reasonable.
Quality varies enormously in practice. An IGCE reverse-engineered from a vendor quote defeats its purpose and is a recurring audit finding. Defensible estimates document methodology, data sources, and assumptions — and get updated when the requirement changes.
Regulatory Reference
FAR 15.404-1; FAR 36.203 (construction)
RFO Status
The Part 15 model deviation (September 30, 2025) restructures subpart 15.4's cost and price analysis coverage while keeping the IGCE's role in validating price reasonableness; Part 15 is not in the June 2026 first-batch proposed rules, so published 15.404-1 remains the citation absent an agency deviation. (verified September 12, 2026)
Category
Documents & Artifacts
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot assembles IGCEs from labor category libraries, historical contract actuals in your data, and documented assumptions — producing an estimate with an audit trail instead of a spreadsheet of unexplained numbers.
Related glossary entries
Justification & Approval (J&A)
A Justification & Approval (J&A) is the formal document required by FAR 6.303 to justify awarding a federal contract without full and open competition, citing one of seven statutory exceptions and approved at thresholds based on dollar value.
Performance Work Statement (PWS)
A Performance Work Statement (PWS) describes required outcomes and measurable performance standards for a services acquisition rather than prescribing how the work must be done, enabling contractors to propose their own methods under performance-based acquisition.
Statement of Work (SOW)
A Statement of Work (SOW) is the contract document that prescribes, in specific and directive terms, the tasks a contractor must perform, the deliverables due, and the schedule — placing responsibility for the approach on the government.
Statement of Objectives (SOO)
A Statement of Objectives (SOO) is a brief government document stating top-level acquisition objectives and desired outcomes, leaving offerors free to propose their own technical approach and performance work statement in response.