GSA plans Schedules webinar on Jan. 10th
November 19, 2012 by cs
Now you have a chance to be briefed — directly by GSA officials – on GSA Schedules and small business set asides.
The Office of Acquisition Management of the General Services Administration is conducting a live webinar, at no cost, on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST.
No pre-registration is necessary. Just visit http://gsafas.adobeconnect.com/schedules shortly before 1:00 pm on Jan. 10th. Then, follow these instructions:
Big firms edge out small businesses for billions in awards
November 16, 2012 by cs
Major U.S. companies including General Dynamics Corp. and Medtronic Inc. have received billions of dollars in federal government contracts that were supposed to go to small businesses
The BGOV Barometer shows that about $4.74 billion, or 45 percent, of more than $10.6 billion targeted for small businesses under government acquisition rules were won by bigger competitors in the year that ended Sept. 30, 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Companies that need the revenue the most are losing opportunities, said Margot Dorfman, chief executive officer of the Washington-based U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
“I think this particular issue should be one of the top concerns of the Small Business Administration and the president,” Dorfman said in an interview. “Fix it now. Let’s not wait.”
Keep reading this article at: http://about.bgov.com/2012/11/13/big-firms-edge-out-small-for-billions-in-awards-bgov-barometer/
State purchasing information, training and webinars now available on Facebook
November 14, 2012 by cs
GSA plans new governmentwide software contracts
November 14, 2012 by cs
The General Services Administration plans to create a slate of new blanket purchase agreements with large commercial software publishers to be used governmentwide, according to solicitation documents issued Thursday.
The new contracts will allow agencies to use software from a collection of large publishers based on standard rates negotiated by GSA rather than negotiating purchases themselves.
Officials from GSA’s SmartBUY program and a cadre of software advisers from across the government are seeking input from major publishers as they put the BPAs together, the sources sought document said.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2012/11/gsa-plans-new-governmentwide-software-contracts/59418/?oref=nextgov_today_nl.
Judge upholds service contractor campaign donation ban
November 12, 2012 by cs
A federal judge has ruled a law banning government contractors from contributing to political candidates, parties and their committees should stand, Courthouse News Service reports.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a 19-page ruling against the three plaintiffs, two of which hold contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the other with the Administrative Conference of the United States.
According to Fierce Government, the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 bans contributions from individuals with whom a federal agency has directly contracted with for personal services.
Personal services contractors also cannot donate to any super political action committee and must avoid in-kind contributions to super PACs, Geoff Whiting writes for Fierce Government.
More details at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/court-no-political-contributions-personal-service-contractors/2012-11-07
GSA to pare back supply schedules, grow strategic sourcing
November 5, 2012 by cs
The General Services Administration may consolidate its 31 Federal Supply Schedules into eight, a top agency official recently said.
GSA has floated the idea to industry groups and customer agencies of reorganizing the supply schedules program to make it easier for government buyers to navigate, Jeff Koses, GSA’s director of acquisition operations, said at a conference of the Coalition for Government Procurement.
“In some ways, schedules have become more complex to navigate than they were 10 to 20 years ago,” Koses said.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20121025/DEPARTMENTS07/310250001/GSA-pare-back-supply-schedules-grow-strategic-sourcing?odyssey=nav%7Chead
‘Secretary of Business’ post proposed, ridiculed
November 1, 2012 by cs
President Barack Obama wants to consolidate several federal agencies responsible for items regarding business, he said in a Monday (10/29/2012) interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.
“We should have one secretary of business, instead of nine different departments that are dealing with things like getting loans to SBA (Small Business Administration) or helping companies with exports,” Obama said. “There should be a one-stop shop.”
Obama originally proposed a merger of several business-related in agencies in January by seeking reorganizational authority from Congress.
That plan included placing under one roof the Commerce Department‘s core business and trade functions, the SBA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency.
According to Kent Hoover’s report for the Business Journal, the SBA currently has separate committees in both chambers of Congress, while the chambers also have separate commerce committees.
Also see Romney ridicules ‘secretary of business’ proposed by Obama: http://www.govexec.com/management/2012/11/romney-ridicules-secretary-business-proposed-obama/59215/?oref=govexec_today_nl
Georgia Tech’s Contracting Academy posts 2013 government contracting course calendar
October 29, 2012 by cs
The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech will be conducting seven different government acquisition courses in 2013.
Courses now open for enrollment include:
- CON 090-1: Contracting Overview of the FAR (EASC 0901P)— This is the first of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that takes a look at the Federal acquisition environment from a macro-level.
- CON 090-2: Contract Planning in the FAR (EASC 0902P)— This is the second of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that covers acquisition plans, market research, describing agency needs, and the preference for the acquisition of commercial and nondevelopmental items.
- CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR (EASC 0903P)— This is the third of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that applies the relevant rules of FAR Part 13 and DFARS Part 213 to make an appropriate contracting decision.
- CON 090-4: Contract Administration in the FAR (EASC 0904P)— This is the fourth and final module from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that covers the various aspects of contract management to include contract modifications and contract closeout.
- CON 090: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals (EASC 0121P)—FAR Fundamentals is a four week, resident, foundational course that provides a total immersion into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (Parts 1-53) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).
- CON 120: Mission Focused Contracting (EASC 0120P)— Learn the entire acquisition process, from meeting with the customer to completing the contract closeout process, applying leadership, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
- CON 170: Fundamentals of Cost and Price Analysis (EASC 0123P)— Learn to accomplish Cost-Volume-Profit analysis, calculate contribution margin estimates, and develop cost estimating relationships in order to accomplish an effective price analysis pursuant to FAR Subpart 15.4.
- CON 260B: The Small Business Programs (EASC 0122P)—Learn the intricacies of the associated programs and initiatives that support the SBP and the DoD’s efforts to improve small business participation in prime contracting and subcontracting.
Complete details on each course’s schedule, registration, and cost can be seen by clicking on the course titles listed above or by visiting http://www.pe.gatech.edu/Subjects/Acquisition-Government-Contracting.
Technology Association of Georgia schedules Nov. 13th panel for entities interested in doing business with the federal government
October 29, 2012 by cs
If you represent an information technology company or public sector agency interested in doing business with the federal government, you may be interested in attending a special Nov. 13th panel hosted by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).
The U.S. federal government is the world’s largest consumer, and the government spends in excess of $60 billion annually on IT projects alone. At this event, you’ll get to hear from a panel of distinguished professionals including representatives from the General Services Administration (GSA), the buying arm of the Federal government.
Panelists include:
- Charles Wingate – National IT Commodities Program (NITCP) Division
- Cheryl Thorton – Schedule 70 Division
- Diana Hix-Watford – Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) Division
- Paul Morris – Network Services Division
- Robert Back – Customer Accounts and Research (CAR) Division
Moderated By:
- Oliver Yarbrough, Rainmaker Growth Partners
Sponsored By:
- Aventis Systems, AT&T, IBM, and Mobile Iron
Advance registration is required. For more information, including registration details, click here: TAG Special Event Flyer 11-13-2012
SBA and Pentagon join forces to boost women in contracting
October 26, 2012 by cs
The Obama administration’s efforts to reach a congressional goal of steering 5 percent of federal contracting to women-owned small businesses were showcased Wednesday at an unusual forum that brought together Small Business Administration officials; a female contractors advocacy group; and specialists at the Pentagon, the largest awarder of federal contracts.
After two years, SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program has fallen short of the 5 percent goal, awarding about 3.4 percent of contracts to women-owned contractors, according to Antonella Pianalto, vice president for government affairs at American Express. The company joined with the advocacy group Women Impacting Public Policy to sponsor the event held in Alexandria, Va., at the Defense Department’s new Mark Center.
Of 205,000 women-owned small businesses, she said, only 1.8 percent gross more than $1 million a year compared with 5.3 percent of all small businesses. But in federal contracting, as many as 42 percent top $1 million, which is a reason she helped launch a “Give me 5 percent” campaign in 2008 to educate women in small business and to make sure they register in a federal database and certify themselves as qualified women-owned entities.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/10/sba-and-pentagon-join-forces-boost-women-contracting/59019/?oref=dropdown