Bottom Line Up Front -- There are no general restrictions in the FAR or DFARS regarding R&D contract awards to foreign companies, only specific restrictions that may or may not pertain depending on:

• the scope of work of the contract; and,
• the need to release of DoD classified or unclassified controlled information required by prospective contractors (domestic or foreign) to compete for and perform the contract.

The overall policy in the FAR and DFARS, based on the Competition in Contracting Act, is that including competition from foreign sources in DoD contracting should be encouraged.

The OUSD(A&S) Director of Pricing and Contracting (DPC) website at URL https://www.acq.osd.mil/asda/dpc/cp/cc/index.html has an International section that outlines key DoD international contracting policies and practices that are designed to assist DoD acquisition organizations and their contracting officers in this area.  Your DoD Component contracting policy organization may also have useful guidance in this area.

If you have any further questions on specific re: your organization's proposed international contracting transaction, please send them to internationalhelp@dau.edu