Skyway Blog
What’s changed? Did you ask? Did you look?
There are so many rules, so much ‘history’, so many interpretations, and, oh yeah, so much opportunity. It’s essentially impossible to always know what to do. In fact, I tend to question people who...
Knowledge Management – Why It’s Important to Capture Organizational Knowledge
This blog was written by a guest author, Regina Sebastian. Businesses are always in the process of developing written materials to describe what they do, how well they do it and what makes them...
Unique Matters – A Lot!
Are you unique? Of course you are, but do you act like it? Being unique is one of those ideals people strive for but I’m not sure many people actually pay attention to. Whether in life, in...
Protest on the prohibition of using consultants denied by GAO
Advanced Communication Cabling, Inc. (ACCI), who is a small business, protested the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. VA118-15-R-0558, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs for...
Tools to contract with the Government and maintain a healthy cash flow
Are you trying to figure out how to have a government contract while still maintaining some semblance of cash flow? Here are a couple methods where you can work with your Contracting Officer to put...
Government Contract Clauses are like Warning Labels
A fact we all accept: federal contracts have a LOT of clauses. Get this - they have so many that the clauses get their own section in most contracts (Section I, if you’re curious). Many of the...
Appropriate Use of LPTA Source Selection Methods
On 4 Mar 15, Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, issued a letter on appropriate use of LPTA source selection process and associated contract type....
Why is the federal market like the stock market?
The government market is huge. Got it. Let’s keep digging. What if I told you it’s not one large market as much as it is a series of smaller markets that integrate, overlap, and converge to make up...
Is your proposal fluffy? Fluff makes proposals flabby.
I don’t remember when or where I started using these terms, but I love them. They are the right amount of offensive to get attention, but still innocent enough to not be outright mean and nasty....
Why be a Contracting Officer – Reason 5: You get to be creative
Being a contracting officer (CO) is a unique position. I’ve been asked over the years to describe what it’s like to be a CO. While my opinion may not align with every CO, this is my attempt to help...
Should You Ask for a Debriefing?
Misconception 8 – "If I lose the competition, I shouldn’t bother to ask for a debriefing. The Contracting Officer won’t share any helpful information with me." WRONG! Unsuccessful offerors should...
Are you afraid to talk to your Contracting Officer?
Pending actual courtroom litigation (which in all actuality is pretty rare, considering), I don’t think that there is really ever a time that you cannot talk to your contracting officer. Even during...
Why be a contracting officer – Reason 4
Being a contracting officer (CO) is a unique position. I’ve been asked over the years to describe what it’s like. While my opinion may not align with every CO, this is my attempt to help people...
Should an Offeror Tailor their Proposal to the Specific Solicitation?
Misconception #7 – “To develop my new proposal, I don’t really need to tailor my solution to the specific specification since the government won’t read my proposal that closely anyway.” When I read...
Why Am I Not Winning? A SBIR Story
In my early career, I managed research and development contracts under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as a contract specialist. One of the programs I worked on was for the...
Exceeding Small Business Contracting Goals – Good News
Based on reports released after the end of FY14, for the first time, the Pentagon has exceeded departmental goals for small-business contracting. Small businesses made up 23 percent of the...