Contracting Officer Podcast 2.0 Episodes
As former Federal Contracting Officers who have also walked in industry’s shoes, Kevin and Paul share their expertise and perspectives in support of the podcast’s mission: Make government contracting better, one contract at a time.
486 – Doing GovCon Market Research
There is a lot of public information available on what goods and services federal agencies buy, as well as how they buy them and from whom. It is PUBLIC information since, well, it’s public money....
485 – GovCon Vocabulary – Volume 4 (Proposal vs Tender)
There are some unique words in GovCon. One of our favorites is “de-obligated” (which is not to be confused with “not obligated”). It’s easy (and a little fun) to pick on these unique GovCon words....
484 – What is Brand Name or Equal? (w/ Steve Lucianetti)
As consumers, we tend to stick to the same brands. So much so that there is a term for it: brand loyalty. However, the government cannot just use that same brand loyalty concept. Buying a brand name...
483 – Fixed Price with EPA (Economic Price Adjustment)
The government buys many (or most) things using Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts. This contract type is a great option when the government clearly knows what it wants and the contractor knows how to...
482 – Who is Responsible for Contract Quality?
Quality matters. When we buy something, we want to know we got what we paid for (literally and figuratively.) It’s no surprise that the FAR has an entire Part dedicated to how “quality” is defined,...
481 – What goes in a Subcontracting Plan?
The federal government has a goal of awarding contracts to small businesses. We outlined these Small Business Goals in episode 324. Government agencies have a variety of tools to hit those goals...
480 – What are BOS Contracts?
The government contracts out a lot of services. We’ve covered that topic in many episodes. Sometimes those contracts are for specific services for one government customer. Other times these...
479 – What is a Cardinal Change?
Change happens. Even in, and especially in, government contracts. Life happens….circumstances change…requirements change. Change happens.However, not all changes are equal. In episode 478, we talked...
478 – Colors of Contract Changes
Many (ok, most?) contracts do not go exactly as planned. The contracting officer typically awards contracts with the intent of not having to make unplanned changes to the contract. Likewise, the...
477 – GovCon Meets LinkedIn (w/Mark Amtower)
There once was a time when government agencies instructed their contracting and acquisition teams not to engage on social media – at least not in their professional role. Well, that has changed over...
476 – What is a Reverse Auction?
Price is a factor in every purchase. The seller wants the highest price and the buyer wants the lowest price. The final price will fall between those two extremes. One less common approach to...
475 – What is Section H?
In GovCon, many contracts are similar. To match that similarity, many contract rules, processes and clauses are designed to fit standard situations. But what about when those rules, processes and...
474 – Late Proposals
Each request for proposals has a due date. The government posts a request for bids, quotes, etc and expects (i.e. requires) interested parties to reply by that date. Simple enough. In GovCon, the...
473 – Writing Requirements (w/Cesar Lopez)
The point of a government contract is not to award a contract. The point of a government contract is to meet a need for a government customer. The official term for that “need” is the “requirement”....
472 – Ethos, Logos, Pathos (From Industry Side)
There is much agreement on the benefits of government and industry communicating better. However, knowing we are supposed to communicate “better” is not the same thing as knowing how to communicate...
471 – What is an IGCE?
The government buys a lot of different things. Price is a key factor in every purchase of those things. Sometimes the price of a product or service is easy to figure out, like when it’s a published...