Skyway Wire
Effective Data Collection Methods: Working with Subs and SMEs
The process of managing and producing a winning proposal response to the Federal Government is largely two-fold. The first challenge is to manage organized, efficient data collection methods for...
Amendments to Department of Defense (“DOD”) Mentor-Protégé Program
DOD has issued a proposed rule which will amend the DFARS to implement Section 861 of the NDAA 2016, which provides amendments to the DOD Mentor-Protégé Program. The proposed amendments will require...
What Happens if References Don’t Complete Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs)?
This situation is discussed in a recent GAO bid protest, Genesis Design and Development, Inc., B-414254 (Feb. 28, 2017). The protestor alleged it was unfair for the government to reject their...
COs No Longer Required to Further Justify Decision to Provide Customary Contract Financing
DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) by providing that contracting officers are not required to further justify a decision to provide...
Talk to Me Goose!
As a contracting officer for the aviation side of the USN, the movie Top Gun spawned many sayings that we used on a daily basis. When we had a problem, “Talk to me Goose” was one of those sayings...
Is Full and Open Competition Dead?
Are COs being discouraged from using full and open (F&O) competition procedures? When I was a CO, there were a lot of F&O competitions being done, but now it’s hard to find a single...
False Claims Act Recovery is Having a Record Year!
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has released their 2016 report on just how much they have recovered under the False Claims Act (FCA). As a reminder in October 2015, there was a groundbreaking...
Where Have all the Jobbers Gone? (Changes to the Way the Government Buy Commodities)
Back in the day when I was working in Operational contracting offices, we had what we called “jobbers”. They did not have any core competencies, no wheelhouse, no real “business”. But what they...
Changes to Competition Requirements for Religious-related Services
DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that contains competition requirements...
Bridge Contracts
Service contracting has in recent years gotten a lot more scrutiny than ever before by the government. Service contracts are normally limited to a 5-year period. You would think that agencies...
The Key Elements of a Sound Technical Response
Well-constructed written proposals are a substantial investment in time and resources. This means committing to a thorough process, communicating closely with your subject-matter experts (SMEs) and...
Latest News on Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors
The Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have issued an interim rule revising the Federal Acquisition...
Teammate Basics
Businesses seeking to develop or increase their participation in the government marketplace should not just look at small-business prime opportunities but also subcontracting opportunities with...
There’s an App for That!
In the last days of the Obama administration, on December 21, 2016, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) introduced the first mobile app to provide information about the status of...
Negotiating Teaming Agreements
The Government’s increased interest in multiple-award IDIQ contracts has increased the teaming opportunities for contractors. As a result the task of negotiating teaming agreements is more complex...
Embrace Abundance
“The government market is so enormous, there really is no excuse for not targeting.” I said that in a recent podcast…and when I heard it played back to me I realized it sounds a bit judgy. Sorry...