Skyway Wire
November 2024 Update
FY 2025 is well underway (with a now typical Continuing Resolution until December). What’s your over-under on Congress getting the budget passed before March? No worries, we can’t control the CRs....
Choosing a Topic under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program: An Ice Cream Analogy
Eleven (11) Federal Agencies participate in the SBIR/STTR[1] Program and release “funding opportunities on a regular periodic basis throughout the year.”[2] While SBIR.gov provides guidance on the...
October 2024 Update
Welcome to FY 2025. It’s a whole new year. Let’s make it a great one. We already have our first Continuing Resolution. Let’s hope it does not take Congress until April to pass the budget like last...
Performance-Based Services
The US Government requires services outside of their own internal capabilities to function effectively. These services can augment a current capacity, or it can provide a whole new level of...
September 2024 Update
It feels like life is speeding up again now that the summer is unofficially over (after Labor Day). I get that it just “feels” that way in a lot of areas. It’s not like we took a sabbatical over the...
The Trade Agreement Act
This blog will clarify the Trade Agreement Act (TAA) update on the countries that started out and remain on the list. Secondly, we will cover if India is a participant party of the TAA or an...
Agency Needs
Efficiently articulating agency needs is the cornerstone of successful acquisitions. Despite its seeming simplicity, this skill often perplexes even the most seasoned planners, requirement...
Sources Sought
I often get asked whether it is a good idea to respond to Sources Sought announcements. My response is always a surprised “Yes, of course!” But perhaps the question is being asked because of a lack...
Surge Clause
The Department of Defense is facing a situation where industrial capacity is limiting DOD's ability to support both the needs of US military services and those of our allies who use the same...
Losing Money
Recently two of our clients came to Skyway and asked for help with contracts where the price of the service was less than the cost. In one case, the contract price was underbid by the previous...
Service Contract Labor Standards Statute
What are the Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) and why is it important for Contractors to be aware of them when making an offer on a solicitation? The SCLS (formally, “Service Contract Act”)...
The Importance of How
When making a purchase, there are five basic elements that the buyer needs to make a purchase. In GovCon, there can be hundreds of tasks, items and documents that are required to complete the...
Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs)
I recently wrote a post suggesting that contractors should read GAO decisions to glean best practices and for training purposes. This blog illustrates the value in doing so. As you probably know...
Hurricanes and Past Performance
As we roll into the heart of hurricane season, it seems my mind is drawn to analogies between government contracting and hurricanes. You may remember the “Excusable Delays” and “Storm Surge” podcast...
How Attitude Affects Contracting
With this blog article I will recount my personal thoughts and observations on how a person’s attitude can and will affect their performance on the contract. ...
Contract Transition
One of the most challenging periods of contract performance is the transition phase between the old (incumbent) contractor and the new contractor. At the end of the current contract, the incumbent...