Skyway Blog
Past Performance vs. Corporate Experience: What Government Buyers Actually Evaluate
In government contracting, “past performance” and “corporate experience” are often used interchangeably, even though they measure different things. Understanding how the government evaluates each...
The Thinking Part Of The Job
The point of a government contract is to meet the mission of an agency through leveraging the resources from the private sector. Contracts do not exist to exist. They exist to meet a mission. To get...
Congressional Notifications: The Schedule Gate Hiding in Plain Sight
Congressional notifications are a schedule driver that rarely appears in a solicitation, but often appears at the finish line. In the sound and fury of acquisition kickoff meetings, RFP releases,...
The Government’s Three Main Acquisition Instruments
The way the Government buys things is generally perceived by the public as a single instrument, giant contracts that usually go to a large mega-corporation. This is often the “face” of Government...
Defense Subcontractor Flow-down Clauses
Hey there, prime contractors! Are you still flowing down the majority of clauses to your subs with the expectation of them being “self-deleting”? If you are performing under Defense contracts, you...
Do I really have to add a solicitation’s NAICS code to my SAM.gov profile?
The other week I was talking to a client, and they mentioned how a contracting officer was requiring they add an acquisition’s NAICS code to their SAM.gov profile before they would share the SOW for...
Centralized vs. Decentralized Buying on a Government Contract: Follow the Three Deciders
A contract vehicle can look “centralized,” yet behave like dozens of separate accounts once ordering begins. The difference usually comes down to Skyway’s Three Deciders: the Customer (the mission...
Capability Statements: The Do’s and Don’ts That Actually Win Work
A capability statement is one of the most misunderstood tools in government contracting. Teams spend hours polishing logos, shrinking fonts, and debating color schemes, yet many still fail to answer...
Three Contracting Officers, Three Approaches: A Study in CO Archetypes
The contracting career field has the same challenges and pressures that other technical fields have. Like life, Contracting Officers are the products of both their professional upbringing and their...
Nothing Personal: How To Determine Personal vs. Non-Personal Services
In a previous blog post, we briefly touched upon the term personal services. What does that term mean, and why is it generally considered to be a bad thing in Federal contracting? Overview: FAR...
Kevin Jans Featured on The RFP Success Show Podcast
Skyway Acquisition President Kevin Jans recently joined The RFP Success Show, hosted by Lisa Rehurek of The RFP Success Company, for a conversation focused on how government acquisition decisions...
The Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA)
During the recent Government shutdown, a law commonly associated with Federal contracting was thrust into the spotlight when the Executive Branch discussed using appropriated funds to cover other...
Crossing Fiscal Years: The Why and How
If you monitor contract awards and look at their periods of performance, you will sometimes see contracts that cross fiscal years. From what we know about appropriations law, funds should be used...
Requests for Equitable Adjustment or Claim? A Short Guide
As contractors begin to resume performance from stop-work orders or other delays brought by the shutdown, it’s important to know what kind of contractual relief is available. This article will focus...
Meeting of the Minds: Post-Award Conference Tips
FAR 42.5, Post-Award Orientation gives the option to use either a letter or a conference, but conferences are considered the “industry standard” by most Contracting Officers (including myself). It...
Cost-Share Contracts Accelerate Technology Innovation in Government R&D
The government needs technological innovation at the speed of relevance—or, in my community, at the Speed of SOF (Special Operations Forces)—yet the acquisition system still funds research at the...