Contracting Officer Insight Archives

What the US Government Buys – Part 3

by Charlie Beauchamp | Jul 21, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

Buying Services The Government buys many types of services. Examples of services include facility support services (e.g., janitorial or food service), administrative support, engineering, and program support. The Government is now embracing the concept of...

What the US Government Buys – Part 2

by Charlie Beauchamp | Jul 14, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

Previously, I discussed the four basic things the government purchases: Research and Development (R&D), Services, Hardware, and Construction. Purchasing products, from pencils to nuclear weapons, falls under the Hardware category. The contract type and...

What the US Government Buys – Part 1

by Charlie Beauchamp | Jul 7, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

While the Federal Government spends billions annually through contracts with industry, many products and services are purchased, from pencils to spaceships. Most people don’t understand that the basic principles of contracting don’t change when buying...

Don’t Drop the Pre-Holiday RFP

by Charlie Beauchamp | Jun 30, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

As a contracting officer, I remember dropping RFPs on my way out the door for lots of holidays: 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and yes, gulp, even before the Christmas Holiday. In my defense, I was doing what made sense to me (wrap up the work before I leave)....

Contracting Officer Communication – What the FAR Now Allows

by Charlie Beauchamp | Jun 11, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

As a young contracting officer, it was drilled into my head that conversations with contractors were very dangerous. The reason was that any conversation with one contractor could lead to other contractors claiming that the CO was not maintaining a fair and...

What?! That’s in my contract?

by Charlie Beauchamp | May 19, 2025 | Contracting Officer Insight

“What?! That’s in my contract?” That is not a phrase any contractor wants to say. However, that’s exactly what a small business owner realized after I reviewed his contract a few weeks ago. I sometimes hear that phrase (often with expletives) when contractors reach...

What the US Government Buys – Part 3

What the US Government Buys – Part 2

What the US Government Buys – Part 1

Don’t Drop the Pre-Holiday RFP

Contracting Officer Communication – What the FAR Now Allows

What?! That’s in my contract?

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