Skyway Wire
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...
Speaking the Language of Government Contracts
Do you know the difference between “Contract Value”, “Authorized Value”, and “Funded Value”? It can mean different things to different people depending on their function. Program Managers for...
Who has negotiating power after contract award?
During the sales process, the buyer usually has the most negotiating power because they hold two of the critical keys to a deal: the actual need (which they can choose not to fulfill) and the money...
Does your customer know good work from bad?
What if you’re perceived as average even when you’re not? What if your prospective customer does not see what makes you different? What if you look like everyone else? In a competitive market like...
USCFC Determines Amending Solicitation as a Corrective Action was Unreasonable
A recent US Court of Federal Claims (UCFC) decision may encourage other offerors a way to challenge an agency’s corrective actions if they benefit the original contract awardee. In this decision,...
GSA Launches Cloud-Based Contract Writing System
A new cloud-based, shared-service contract writing and administration system is being launched by the General Services Administration’s Common Acquisition Platform (CAP) program to offer a turnkey,...
Clarification of Requirement for Justifications for 8(a) Sole Source Contracts
On November 15, 2016, DOD, GSA, and NASA issued a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify the guidance for sole-source 8(a) contract awards exceeding $22 million....
What is the difference between the Berry Amendment, the Buy American Act, and the Trade Agreement Act?
Berry Amendment: The Berry Amendment is implemented in DFARS 225.7002. The contract clauses that apply DFARS 252.225-7012 and DFARS 252.225-7015. There is additional guidance in the DFARS PGI...
Set-Asides under Multiple-Award Contracts
On December 6, 2016, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a proposed rule to revise the FAR to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Jobs Act (Jobs Act) on the use of small business partial...