Twenty-six companies and research entities have won prime spots on the Air Force’s Design and Engineering Support Program (DESP III), a seven-year, $1.9 billion indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity award that covers the acquisition of engineering and technical services.
Managed by the Air Force Materiel Command, DESP III is a follow-on IDIQ to DESP I and DESP II, and covers technology insertion, reliability and maintainability, deployability improvements, environmental and safety compliance, improvement of depot manufacturing and/or repair processes, and development of information management systems and process models.
The 26 named prime awardees are:
- Aerospace Engineering Spectrum
- Arinc Engineering Services LLC
- Battelle Memorial Institute
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- Dynamics Research Corp.
- DRS C3 & Aviation Co.
- Global Consulting International Inc.
- General Dynamics Information Technology
- Gauss Management Research & Engineering
- Hebco Inc.
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
- Ki Ho Military Acquisition Consulting Inc.
- Lockheed Martin Corp.
- MI Support Services LP
- Maden Tech Consulting
- NCI Information Systems Inc.
- Northrop Grumman Corp.
- Science Applications International Corp.
- Scientific Research Corp.
- System Sustainment Alliance JV
- Support Systems Associates Inc.
- Standard Aero Redesign Services Inc.
- Sumaria Systems Inc.
- University of Dayton Research Institute
- VSE Corp.
- Wyle Laboratories Inc.
As with its predecessors, the DESP III contract vehicle is available to all other Air Force commands, Defense Department agencies including the Army, the Navy and the Marines, and by other government entities having similar systems or needs.
The 2011 MacDill Air Force Base Conference & Expo for Small Business, with emphasis on service disabled veteran owned small businesses and veteran owned small businesses, will be held December 7-8, 2011 at the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Florida.
The conference is being hosted by 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill AFB, in partnership with United States Special Operations Command, University of South Florida, the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), St Petersburg Pelican Chapter.
The event will feature plenaries, educational workshops, an exhibit hall, as well as business matchmaking sessions. Last year, there were 180 exhibitors and over 1,100 attendees, including representatives of all levels of federal, state, and local government agencies, the small business community, large/prime contractors, minority educational institutions, and many more.
Program details may be found at http://www.macdillsdvosb.net/conference/program-schedule.
More information about exhibit booth sign up, exhibit booth packages, sponsorships and registration are available at http://www.macdillsdvosb.net/.
Early bird registration has been extended to Sept. 30, 2011.
New features of this conference for 2011 include:
- 1-Day Expo Passes - A 1-day Expo Pass for Thursday, December 8, 2011 is available at only $125. Please note: Expo Visitors will have access to the Exhibit Hall only during regular show hours on December 8 and will include lunch.
- Exhibitor Packages now include conference Registration(s) – Depending on the size of booth chosen, a minimum of one conference registration is included.
- An online version of the Program & Conference Guide – Click HERE to view the 2010 Program Guide. The 2011 Online Program Guide will offer a new feature – a hyperlink to your business website – and will be available online until the 2012 Conference.
See www.macdillsdvosb.net for additional information.
and
registration costs
If you are interested in learning about the tools needed to pursue business with the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), the place to be is Warner Robins, GA on June 22, 2011.
(For a list of recurring products and services procured by WR-ALC, please consult: http://www.robins.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081216-015.pdf )
The event will begin at 8:00 am with opening remarks by Major General Robet McMahon, Commander of WR-ALC.
Presentations are scheduled to be made by the Small Business Administration’s Procurement Center Representative (PCR) as well as staff of the Air Force Reserve Command’s Small Business Office and the WR-ALC’s Office of Small Business Programs.
Additional presentations will be made by the Small Business Development Center, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC), and the General Services Administration. GTPAC’s director Chuck Schadl will be providing instruction on how to do research on contract opportunities in the government marketplace.
The event will end at 12:00 noon.
Attendance is free of charge, but is limited to the first 240 persons who pre-register. To register, contact Ms. Crystal Storie at crystal.storie@robins.af.mil or (478) 926-5873. You must pre-register to attend, and no more than 2 persons per company may attend.
The event will be held in the Robert L. Scott, Jr. Theater, Museum of Aviation Eagle Building, Robins AFB, Georgia. For a map and directions, please click on this link: Museum Layout & Directions
After three decades covering the U.S. military, journalist Andrew Cockburn has seen it often enough to recognize the pattern: The
Air Force spends $100 million to build an EC-130H aircraft with ground-penetrating radar to hunt for $25 homemade bombs buried along Afghan roadways — and after hundreds of flights, finds nothing.
The winner in this project: aircraft maker Lockheed Martin Corp., Cockburn says in a new book, The Pentagon Labyrinth. Written as a series of essays by 10 authors steeped in Pentagon culture, the book is intended as a guide for military officers, journalists, congressional staffers and anyone else who wants or needs to understand how the U.S. military works.
The question “first and foremost in the mind of anyone looking into this or any military initiative” Cockburn says, “[should be] who profits?”
And the answer, according to the book, is defense contractors, the senior military officers who eventually go to work for them and the lesser civilian bureaucrats and careerist military personnel who burrow in to comfortable and generally unproductive sinecures.
“Today, 20 years after the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the United States spends more on defense than at any time since the end of World War II,” writes Franklin Spinney. Yet “this gigantic defense budget is not producing a greater sense of security for most Americans,” says Spinney, who spent 33 years as a civilian Pentagon employee, most of them as a whistleblowing budget analyst.
Now retired, Spinney is still blowing the whistle, this time at President Obama.
He faults the president for “continuing his predecessors’ war-centric foreign policy,” and for putting military spending off limits in the effort to reduce federal spending.
There is a chapter by former Senate staffer Winslow Wheeler on Congress’ aversion to serious oversight of the military, and senior military officers’ polished ability to avoid answering tough questions.
And there are chapters on weapons buying. Writes fighter plane designer Pierre Sprey, “cheap $15 million close air support planes will clearly contribute far more to saving American troops in trouble and to winning wars than $2.2 billion B-2s, or $160-plus million ‘multipurpose’ fighters like the F-35.”
The Pentagon Labyrinth is loaded with familiar — and often discouraging — examples of the military, Congress and the defense industry gone awry. And, said Spinney at a book debut in the officers’ club at Fort Myer in Virginia on March 2, “It’s only getting worse.”
Wheeler, who organized and edited the book and wrote two of its chapters, said he concluded it was necessary because “I kept running into people who totally misunderstand the problem.”
In his chapter, “Decoding the Defense Budget,” Wheeler describes Pentagon practices that consistently understate costs — separating the “base budget” from the money spent to fight wars, ignoring development costs when calculating weapons prices, “rebaselining” programs to hide weapons cost growth, and on and on.
A more accurate — but much harder to understand — version of the defense budget is published annually by the Office of Management and Budget, Wheeler says. “Unfortunately, the DoD press corps routinely ignores the more complete OMB materials.”
The press is part of the problem in other ways as well, according to Cockburn. Instead of questioning costs, journalists too often simply accept them. For example, a 2010 New York Times article on the enormous cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attributed part of it to the high cost of ’21st century technology,’ as if that were a sufficient explanation and also unavoidable,” Cockburn wrote.
Sprey said the book is an attempt to provide young officers, congressional aides and news reporters with perspective to counter the “mountain of misinformation” that the Pentagon presents.
He said he particularly hopes young officers will read it, perhaps as required reading at the military academies. “I have much more hope for second lieutenants than for generals,” Sprey said.
Wheeler said the book is available free on the Internet and sells for $10 on Amazon.com. It was published by the Straus Military Reform Project, which Wheeler heads at the Center for Defense Information.
– by William Matthews – NextGov.com – 03/03/2011
The competition for the Air Force’s next-generation air-refueling tanker contract is one of the most lucrative procurements the service has ever conducted. Despite the high-profile and extensive precautions, a contracting officer still managed to mistakenly provide bidders The Boeing Co. and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EADS) with selected information about each other’s proposals during the typical technical exchanges between the Air Force and bidders.
Many people say what’s the big deal? Why not give competitors access to each other’s bidding information?
Well, here’s why: While some might think sharing this information will level the playing field, in reality it puts the government and all bidders in a worse position.
It is a basic tenet of the federal acquisition process that bidders must submit independent proposals and the government must evaluate each proposal only against the criteria in its solicitation. Another core principle of the acquisition system is maintaining the fairness of the process for all parties.
Companies invest significant time and money developing proprietary products and services and training their employees to sell them to the government. There are also significant costs and risks incurred simply by trying to enter the government market.
Thus, companies carefully protect these investments in the bidding process, often through elaborate steps such as isolated “war rooms” and restricted access to technical designs and pricing algorithms.
In government procurements, particularly for services or solutions, the system encourages bidders to bring their most innovative solutions and the best competitive pricing to the bid. But why invest in an innovative solution if your top competitors get a peek under the tent at your offering?
There are also long-standing statutory and regulatory requirements designed to prevent collusion to rig prices or markets, and bidders must certify they independently arrived at their bids. In numerous successful bid protests, the Government Accountability Office found that bids were not submitted independently, and dozens of criminal convictions have resulted from bidders sharing key information, particularly prices.
In addition, under a decades-old procurement integrity law, it is illegal for a contractor to improperly obtain government source selection information or another company’s proprietary information during the conduct of a federal procurement.
That same procurement integrity law prohibits government officials from improperly releasing government source selection information or any bidder’s proprietary information during the conduct of that procurement to prevent bidders from gaining an unfair competitive advantage or being put at a competitive disadvantage.
Furthermore, during the government’s evaluation of offers, if the contracting officer has any reason to believe the bids were not independently developed, the officer must refer those facts to the Justice Department or the agency’s inspector general.
In addition, after the agency’s initial award determination, each bidder is entitled to a debriefing to better understand the government’s evaluation and award decision and, under certain circumstances, may challenge those agency decisions.
Sharing bidders’ information would put this competition-preserving, innovation-fueling independence and fairness at risk.
Some companies might choose not to compete because they fear their trade secrets would be shared and their technological edge stolen. Others might simply not offer their best solutions for similar reasons. And the government could find itself the victim of bid rigging due to the release of otherwise protected data.
None of those outcomes benefits the government or the interested bidders. There is also damage to the sense of confidence that the federal bidding process is fair to all.
Providing untimely access to the bid information of competitors during a federal procurement is an idea whose time should never come.
– by Alan Chvotkin – Jan. 28, 2011 – Washington Business Journal
The Army has identified more than 4,200 full-time jobs in which contractors are performing either inherently governmental or unauthorized personal services, according to a new watchdog report released on Tuesday.
The Government Accountability Office report, which generally focuses on the Defense Department’s approach to counting service contractor employees and functions, includes previously unreported details on the scope of work being performed by Army contractors.
Since the start of 2009, the Army has completed at least one review of 24 of its 26 commands and headquarters organizations and identified 2,357 contractor employees performing inherently governmental functions, the report said. Examples of inherently governmental activities include awarding and administering contracts, determining budget priorities, and hiring or firing federal employees. Another 1,877 contractors were identified as providing unauthorized personal services that federal employees should be performing. Personal services contracts are contracts that make private sector personnel appear, in effect, as government employees. In both the inherently governmental and unauthorized personal services contracts, the department would typically be required to bring the functions back in-house.
An additional 45,934 Army contractors are performing activities deemed closely associated with inherently governmental functions. These jobs, which include assisting in contract management or evaluating another contractor’s performance, generally are not statutorily prohibited from outsourcing but require strict oversight and management.
Army officials indicated that the reviews help them decide which functions should be performed by military personnel. The GAO report did not provide details on the number of Army positions that have been subsequently insourced, and a Defense spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Officials at the Army’s Installation Management Command in San Antonio, Texas, told GAO that most insourcing during fiscal 2010 was a result of losing statutory authority to contract for certain security guard functions. They noted that most insourcing in fiscal 2011 will be prompted by budgetary decisions. In August 2010, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans to reduce funding for service support contractors by 10 percent annually from fiscal 2011 to 2013.
Agencies across government are expected to compile an annual inventory to determine the number and type of service contract employees. The Army collected the data on its centralized Contractor Manpower Reporting Application system, which captures information companies report at the contract line item level.
The Air Force and Navy have faced bigger challenges in developing their inventory of service contractor functions. According to the GAO report, the two services have decentralized approaches that rely on their major commands to review the activities of contractors listed in their inventories and report the results to headquarters.
The Air Force completed its initial review in January 2010. But for approximately 40 percent of the contracts, reviews contained inadequate or incomplete responses that could guide a decision to insource those functions, GAO said.
The Air Force Material Command, for example, identified 152 contract actions that potentially involved inherently governmental functions. The official responsible for the command’s review process, however, was unsure of the extent to which these determinations were correct.
The Navy issued guidance to its commands in September, but the results of its initial review were not yet available. The service had previously planned to establish roughly 10,000 civilian positions by fiscal 2015 through insourcing contracted services.
“DoD has acknowledged the need to rebalance its workforce, in part by reducing its reliance on contractors,” GAO said. “To do so, however, the department needs good information on the roles and functions played by contractors, which the department currently does not have.”
Air Force and Navy contracting officials told auditors they rely on processes other than the service contract inventory — such as post-award monitoring — to avoid placing contractors in inherently governmental functions.
According to the Air Force’s fiscal 2010 insourcing plan, the majority of decisions to bring work in-house would be based on analyses of whether the work could be performed more cost-effectively by government employees. Navy officials said their commands review contracts during the pre-award and option phases to prevent the award of contracts that include inherently governmental functions or unauthorized personal services.
The Defense Department reported spending on service contracts leapt from $127 billion in fiscal 2008 to $140 billion in fiscal 2009, although the surge could have been influenced by more thorough and detailed reporting by the military services, according to GAO.
In 2009, Defense officials announced they would cut 33,000 service support contractors departmentwide by 2015. The Pentagon had planned to replace those contractors during the next five years with 39,000 new full-time government employees, many through insourcing.
As of June 30, 2010, more than 16,500 civilian positions were established across the department as a result of insourcing contracted services, Thomas Hessel, a senior analyst in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, told Government Executive in September. More than half of these positions were brought in-house because the work was determined to be inherently governmental, closely associated with inherently governmental, or otherwise exempt from private sector performance, he said.
The Defense Department has halted insourcing at its Pentagon offices and commands because of a fiscal 2011 billet freeze. But the military services are not subject to the freeze, allowing insourcing to continue.
– by Robert Brodsky – GovExec.com – January 19, 2011
Filed under GTPAC News · Tagged with 8(a), Air Force, Army, DoD, government contract training, government contracting, GSA, HUBZone, Interior Dept., Marines, market research, marketing, MBDA, parity, SBA, small business, woman owned business
In the next few weeks and months there are many government-sponsored conferences being held to attract small businesses to, and inform small businesses of, government agencies’ upcoming contracting opportunities.
Toward the end of this article, you’ll see a list of many government-related vendor conferences coming up, along with details on how to register.
But before jumping right into that list, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) suggests you take a few preparatory steps. After all, it’s important that you make a sound decision about whether it’s worth the time, effort, and expense to attend a particular vendor conference.
First of all, small businesses should make no mistake about it: government agencies may need you more than you need them. Federal agencies are under the gun to ensure that small businesses — including 8(a) firms, companies in HUBZones, service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and others such as women-owned businesses at the subcontract level — get their share of the “contract spend.”
(Keep in mind that this is especially true as the federal government nears the end of its fiscal year — Sept. 30th of each year. Contracts must be obligated by that date, or agencies lose those budgeted funds. In addition to spending by that date, often there’s also a rush to meet small business goals.)
All this is why agencies host conferences — to demonstrate that they are reaching out to the small business community.
Does that mean that you should attend as many governmental vendor conferences as you can, and that by attending, contracts will begin to fall in your lap? Hardly.
From GTPAC’s perspective, government-sponsored vendor conferences run the gamut in value. Some are well-organized, featuring details on specific, upcoming opportunities as well as access to the decision-makers. Other conferences, however, can be disappointing, consisting of little more than “a dog and pony show.”
So how do you select a good conference to attend? How do you reduce the risk that you’ll be attending a conference that has little value to you?
There are several things you should do before deciding to go to a government-sponsored vendor event. Here is a checklist:
1. Research the conference sponsoring agency’ s forecasted contract opportunities. Look for the sponsoring agency’s annual procurement forecast on that agency’s website. Use www.google.com/unclesam and type in the name of the federal agency and “procurement forecast.” (If that search fails to produce the results you need, check https://www.acquisition.gov/comp/procurement_forecasts/index.html.) One thing for sure, before you attend an event, you want to make sure the sponsoring agency buys what you sell.
2. Find out what contract opportunities will be the subject of the conference. Even if an agency buys what you sell, you’ll want to make sure that will be the focus of the conference. Look in the conference announcement — see if the agency identifies specific goods and services that will be the focus of the conference. Are the NAICS codes for future contracts identified, and do they match-up with yours?
3. Determine whether you’ll get access to decision-makers. Look for opportunities to meet one-on-one with the people who make the buying decisions. Good vendor conferences will provide you with the opportunity to meet, on an appointment basis during the event, with agency contracting officials. See if you can make appointments as a part of the registration process or whether such opportunities exist on-site at the event. Think outside the box: If you arrive early — or stay late — will you be able to spend time with the people who award contracts?
4. Once you select a conference, prepare yourself. Remember, only one-third of the “action” occurs at the event itself. You should spend the first third of your time preparing to attend. And another third should be spent in follow-up, after the event. If you are not prepared to make this much of an investment of your time, maybe you shouldn’t attend. To help you prepare, attend, and follow-up, we recommend you read our detailed article at: http://gtpac.org/2010/05/14-tips-for-attending-a-government-expo-or-trade-show. Your GTPAC Counselor will be glad to elaborate on this topic and provide you with additional advice. You can find our contact information right here.
Now, what you have been waiting for: The information about upcoming government vendor shows. Here they are:
2011 Conferences
- NAVSEA Small Business Conference – February 1, 2011 – Miami, FL – Details at http://www.sbconference.org/.
- Small Business Dynamics and Job Creation: Facts, Obstacles and Best Practices – February 2, 2011 - Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2011/01/tech-hosts-small-business-forum-feb-2/.
- USDA Forest Service A&E Business Opportunities Briefing – February 9, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – Details available at http://gtpac.org/2010/12/learn-about-architectural-engineering-services-needed-by-the-forest-service.
- Model Based Enterprise (MBE) Supplier Education & Training Summit - February 22, 2011 – Hunstville, AL - Details at: http://model-based-enterprise.org/MBE-Events/default.aspx.
- Small Business Speed Partnering – February 22, 2011 - Albany, GA - http://gtpac.org/2011/02/want-to-meet-with-government-buyers-albany-ga-is-the-place-to-be-on-feb-22nd/
- Southeastern Regional Matchmaking Event – February 24, 2011 – Miami, FL – Details at: http://www.businessmatchmaking.com/regionMia.shtml.
- Public Health Preparedness Summit – February 22-25, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://www.phprep.org/2011.
- Greening the Supply Chain Listening Session – March 17, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/greening-the-supply-chain-listening-session-scheduled-mar-17/
- US Army Corps of Engineers 3rd Annual Regional Service Disabled Veteran & Small Business Conference – March 22-23, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/corps-of-engineers-announces-design-construction-conference/
- Jobs Act Tour – March 30, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/jobs-act-tour-coming-to-atlanta-on-mar-30/
- “Getting Back to Business” Atlanta Small Business Procurement Industry Fair – April 13, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/gsa-and-health-human-services-host-industry-fair-april-13th/
- US DOT OSDBU Small Business Summit – April 20-21, 2011 – Washington, DC – https://www.fbcinc.com/osdbu/default.aspx
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Conference - April 27, 2011 – Decatur, GA – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/epa-to-hold-small-business-event-april-27th/
- GSA Training Conference and Expo 2011 – U.S. General Services Administration’s Annual Expo – May 10, 2011 – San Diego, CA – Details at: http://www.expo.gsa.gov/ (Copies of the proceedings from the May 2010 GSA Expo in Orlando, FL may be found at: http://208.112.78.139/gsaSchedule2010/admin/display.cfm.)
- Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Small Business Outreach Event – June 22, 2011 – Warner Robins, GA – Details to be announced.
- DLA Enterprise Supplier Conference & Exhibition – June 27-30, 2011 – Columbus, OH – https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a6f1568f5a0c0127c543fd1630ce0ac4&tab=core&tabmode=list&=
- 2011 Veteran Entrepreneur Training Symposium (VETS2011), June 27-30, 2011 – Reno, NV – Details at: http://stats.aqseventsupport.com/e3ds/mail_link.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fveterantrainingsymposium.com&i=2&d=269UY252-0V30-411Z-9385-765U50858358&e=chuck.schadl@innovate.gatech.edu.
- 7th Annual National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo – August 15-18, 2011 – New Orleans, LA – Visit http://www.nationalveteransconference.com/ and sign up to receive email updates on registration, agenda, speakers, and other announcements or submit any questions you may have regarding the conference.
- National Recreation and Park Association Congress & Exposition – November 1 – 4, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – Details to be announced.
2010 Conferences (Note: Conference materials are posted on many past conferences.)
- GSA Schedules Contract Training- December 13 and November 15, 2010 – On-Line Webinar - Register for the Nov. 15 webinar at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/670264562; Register for the Dec. 13 webinar at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/913141458.
- 7th Annual Alliance South Small Business Procurement Fair – December 7, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://www.allianceforbiz.com/events/specific_event.php?id=128.
- Aerospace Industry Committee (AIC) 8th Annual Requirements Symposium – November 16 – 18, 2010 – Perry, GA – Details at: http://www.wrcoc-aic.org/Page8.aspx.
- 6th Annual Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Forum – November 10, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://gtpac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Annual-GSA-Veterans-Small-Business-Event-11.10.2010.pdf.
- Department of Defense “Industry Day” focusing on the shipbuilding industry along the Gulf Coast - November 9, 2010 – Biloxi, MS – Details at: http://gtpac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/3rd-Annual-DoD-Shipbuilding-Industry-Day-Nov-9-2010.pdf
- The Governmental Purchasing Association of Georgia’s annual Georgia Vendor Exhibitor Fair - November 2-3, 2010 – Perry, GA – Details at: http://gtpac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/GPAG-Vendor-Fair-Nov-2-3-2010-Perry-GA.pdfNational SBIR Beyond Phase II Conference & Technology Showcase – September 13 – 17, 2010 – San Antonio, TX – Details at: https://www.beyondphaseii.com/index.aspx. Emergency Response Contracting Conference - June 21, 2010 – Atlanta, GA - Conference proceedings now posted at http://gtpac.org/training/training-video.
- 4th Annual SDVOSB/VOSB/SB Conference & Match Making Expo – October 28 – 29, 2010 – Tampa, FL – Details at: http://www.dm.usda.gov/osdbu/FBOAnnouncement_13Aug2010.pdf.
- Small Biz Contractors’ Forum Presents: Contacts & Contracts – October 27, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://www.nasbc.org/contacts-contracts-georgia.
- City of Albany Small Business Procurement Program Kick-Off & Orientation – October 18, 2010 – Albany, GA – Details at: http://gtpac.org/2010/10/city-of-albanys-small-business-program-kick-off-set-for-oct-18.
- University System of Georgia – South Georgia Regional Procurement Expo 2010 – October 15, 2010 – Savannah, GA – Details at: http://gtpac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Univ.-System-of-GA-Procurement-Expo-Oct.-15-2010.pdf.
- Effective Problem Solving – Life’s Most Important Skill – September 9, 2010 – On-Line Webinar – details at: https://mep-nist-events.webex.com/mep-nist-events/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=997194952
- Annual U.S. Army Infantry Warfighting Conference – September 13 – 16, 2010 – Columbus, GA – Details at http://gtpac.org/2010/09/army-vendor-showcase-in-columbus-ga-in-sept.
- GSA’s Public Buildings Service Educational and Matchmaking Conference – August 31, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Details at http://gtpac.org/2010/08/gsa-to-host-public-buildings-service-vendor-conference-aug-31st - Conference proceedings now posted at http://gtpac.org/training/training-video.
- Interior Dept. Small Business Boot Camp
- Air Force Information Technology Conference - August 30-31, 2010 – Montgomery, AL – Details at http://gtpac.org/2010/07/air-force-to-host-it-vendors-in-montgomery-al.
- Clayton County (GA) Business Community Meeting- August 26, 2010 – Jonesboro, GA – Details at http://gtpac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Clayton-County-Business-Community-Meeting-Aug.-26-2010.pdf.
- Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference – August 25-27, 2010 – Washington, DC – Details at MEDWeek flyer - Conference proceedings now posted at http://www.medweek.gov/conference-presentation.
- SBA Veterans Export Business Symposium - August 24, 2010 – Lawrenceville, GA – Details at Veterans Export Symposium 08 24 2010.
- USWCC Women-Led Economy Launch Meeting - August 17, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Details at: http://www.uswcc360members.org/memberarea/EventList.aspx - Post-conference details now available at: http://www.uswcc.org.
- Georgia Small Business Summit – August 17, 2010 – Macon, GA – Details at http://gtpac.org/2010/07/sen-isakson-to-host-small-business-summit-in-macon.
- Marine Corps Logistics Command’s Annual Vendor Event – August 12, 2010 - Albany, GA – Details at http://gtpac.org/2010/06/albany-marine-corps-base-hosting-vendor-event-aug-12th - Conference proceedings now posted at http://www.logcom.usmc.mil/sbpo
© 2011 Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center – All Rights Reserved.
Filed under Contracting Tips · Tagged with Air Force, Army, DHS, DISA, DoD, government contracting, IDIQ, IT, NASA, NIH, OPM, technology, US AID, USPS
In our annual roundup of the 20 most important contracts that are about to hit the market, Washington Technology culled data from FedSources and Input. The contracts are ranked by the dollar size of their ceilings. Actual business that will flow through these contracts likely will be less.
The contracts this year weigh heavily toward IT support and professional services. Support for the military is the most common driver behind many of these contracts.
For more coverage of the critical trends driving the market in 2011, click here.
1. Strategic Services Sourcing 2nd Generation
Agency: Army Materiel Command
Value: $30 billion
RFP: November 2012
Award: December 2014
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: This is a follow-on contract to the current S3 contract. The Army uses the contract for engineering services and logistics and business operations support for command and control systems. The contract is a multiple-award contract. The current contract has seven incumbents that have done more than $4.5 billion in task orders.
2. Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise
Agency: Army Materiel Command
Value: $30 billion
RFP: February 2011
Award: January 2012
Solicitation No.: W52P1J10RXXXX
Purpose: The contract has four functional areas: supply, maintenance, transportation support, and plans and operations. The contract will primarily support logistics operations. It is replacing the Army’s Field and Installation Readiness Support Team contract and some other smaller vehicles. This will be a multiple-award contract.
3. Communication and Transmission Systems
Agency: Army
Value: $19.5 billion
RFP: May 2011
Award: February 2012
Solicitation No.: W91QUZ10CTSPWSQA
Purpose: This contract will be used to acquire a variety of communications services, including satellite, microwave, fiber optics, over-the horizon, radio and wireless. The contract also will be used for equipment, hardware and support services. The Army is looking for turnkey solutions on this contract as well. It is expected to be a multiple-award contract.
4. Defense Language Interpretation and Translation Enterprises
Agency: Army
Value: $15 billion
RFP: Expected by the end of calendar 2010.
Award: March 2011
Solicitation No.: W911W410R0011
Purpose: This contract will be used by the military and other U.S. agencies to acquire foreign language and regional expertise to help the government meet its missions. Translators and analysts will work on-site and remotely. Services will include translating and interpreting from English to other languages in addition to from other languages into English.
5. Federally Funded Research and Development Center Support
Agency: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Value: $14.4 billion
RFP: March 2011
Award: December 2011
Solicitation No.: NNN10AA01S
Purpose: The contractor will manage and operate the Jet Propulsion Lab, including maintaining the infrastructure needed by the lab to carry out its scientific and research mission. Missions include projects in Earth orbit and deep space, and they cover Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics and astrophysics.
6. Global Tactical Advanced Communications Systems and Support Services
Agency: Army
Value: $10 billion
RFP: March 2011
Award: June 2011
Solicitation No.: W15P7T11RC001
Purpose: The multiple-award contract will be used to buy hardware, systems and services for a wide range of tactical command and control systems, including logistics support, testing and engineering services.
7. Next Generation Enterprise Network
Agency: Navy
Value: $8.8 billion
RFP: Fiscal 2011
Award: To be determined
Solicitation No.: MKTSVY4623E
Purpose: NGEN will replace the Navy Marine Corps Intranet contract held by Hewlett-Packard. This time, the Navy is expected to divide the contract into five parts. The NGEN program also will cover the One-Net contract held by General Dynamics, the naval network outside the United States, and afloat networks. NGEN will cover desktop computers, local-area networks, enterprise networks and the Navy’s IT infrastructure used by 450,000 people.
8. Electronic Commodities Store IV
Agency: National Institutes of Health
Value: $6 billion
RFP: April 2011
Award: December 2011
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: This longtime multiple-award contract has been used by many agencies looking for a vehicle to buy hardware and software. The contract carries commercial items such as desktop PCs, laptop PCs and handheld devices. It also has lots for telecommunications equipment, scientific research workstations, software and support services.
9. Design, Development, Demonstration and Integration
Agency: Army Space and Missile Defense Command
Value: $5 billion
RFP: November 2010
Award: November 2011
Solicitation No: W9113MD3ISS10
Purpose: The contract will support development of requirements for missile defense, space and other warfighter solutions. Work will include platform and sensor technologies, communications networks, missiles, rockets and re-entry vehicles, and space technologies.
10. Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-3H
Agency: Army
Value: $5 billion
RFP: June 2011
Award: January 2012
Solicitation No.: W91QUZ10ITES3H
Purpose: This contract is used to acquire hardware such as Unix servers, Windows servers, workstations, desktop PCs, laptop PCs and storage systems. The Army also will use this contract to buy networking equipment, printers, video equipment and uninterruptible power supplies. This is a follow-on contract held by Apptis Inc., CDW Government, Dell Federal systems, IBM Corp., World Wide Technology and GTSI Corp.
11. Medicare Prescription Drug Integrity
Agency: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Value: $4 billion
RFP: March 2011
Award: September 2011
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: CMS will use this multiple-award contract to help implement Part D prescription drug benefit regulations. However, the regulations are not yet finalized. Services will include reviewing compliance plans, investigations and audits and developing data systems to track fraud and abuse. There are eight incumbents, including Hewlett Packard, Maximus, Perot Systems and Science Applications International Corp.
12. Automated Desktop Extended Processing Technology III
Agency: U.S. Postal Service
Value: $2 billion
RFP: January 2011
Award: April 2011
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: This contract will supply desktop PCs, mobile devices, peripherals and support services to the U.S. Postal Service. Services will include repair and maintenance. Services and products will be delivered across the country. Hewlett-Packard is the incumbent contractor.
13. Economic Growth for Poverty Reduction
Agency: U.S. Agency for International Development
Value: $2 billion
RFP: November 2010
Award: March 2011
Solicitation No.: AIDEGATEG4PR
Purpose: The contractors on this multiple-award procurement will work on a variety of stability fronts, including trade and investment, financial sector, economic opportunities, and private-sector competitiveness. The services and projects are geared toward alleviating poverty in developing countries by helping to build the governing structures needed for economic growth and stability. USAID has a variety of contractors working on these types of programs.
14. NASA Enterprise Data Center Consolidation
Agency: NASA
Value: $1.5 billion
RFP: March 2011
Award: December 2011
Solicitation No.: NNK09274726R
Purpose: NASA has 78 data centers with 15,000 servers. This contract will be used to rationalize management of the data centers, including where they are housed, hardware issues, hosting and what kind of infrastructure to put in place. The contract will be used to create a more uniform management and implementation plan across NASA. The agency has multiple contractors providing these services now, and it is expected that this will be a multiple-award, task-order contract.
15. Training and Management Assistance Support
Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Value: $1.45 billion
RFP: June 2011
Award: February 2012
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: This will be a five-year contract to support training, including the development of custom training and learning systems. Other services include developing training and products and services such as technology-based training products, instructor-led materials and knowledge management systems. There also will be solutions for the analysis and design of programs and other services such as human resources, consulting and business process engineering.
16. Global Information Grid Services Management — Engineering, Transition and Implementation
Agency: Defense Information Systems Agency
Value: $1.4 billion
RFP: January 2011
Award: September 2011
Solicitation No.: HC102810R2001
Purpose: The contract supports the Global Information Grid, including systems engineering and integration, architecture, telecommunication standards development, telecommunication network security and information systems engineering, IT systems, and other services. The contract is expected to be awarded to several small businesses. The current contract-holders are Science Applications International Corp. and SETA Corp.
17. Integrated Mission Planning, Training and Execution
Agency: NASA
Value: $980 million
RFP: November 2010
Award: March 2011
Solicitation No.: NNJ10ZHD002L
Purpose: Lockheed Martin Corp. is the incumbent on this contract, which supplies NASA with technical support for mission planning. Work is done at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston. Details on the acquisition strategy have not been released yet.
18. Expeditionary C4I Systems and Technical Support Services
Agency: Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
Value: $900 million
RFP: November 2010
Award: July 2011
Solicitation No.: N6523609R0202
Purpose: Services under this contract include systems engineering, test and evaluation, maintenance and site support, configuration management, logistics and training, and program management. The contract will need a top-secret clearance. This is a new contract, so there is no incumbent contractor.
19. Application Support Centers
Agency: Homeland Security Department
Value: $750 million
RFP: February 2011
Award: September 2011
Solicitation No.: N/A
Purpose: DHS’ Citizenship and Immigration Service continues to need support for its biometrics programs. Support includes biometrics capture, testing, program management and scheduling support. Northrop Grumman Corp. is the incumbent on the contract. The bureau is in the early stages of developing the recompete of this contract.
20. Advisory and Assistance Services for Global Engineering Integration and Technical Assistance 11
Agency: Air Force
Value: $650 million
RFP: March 2011
Award: January 2012
Solicitation No.: FA890311R8002
Purpose: This contract is used to support a variety of Air Force agencies with management and professional services, studies, analysis and evaluation services, and engineering and technical services. There are several incumbents on this long-running program, including Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen captured more than half of the task orders issued under the program.
About the Author: Nick Wakeman is the editor of Washington Technology – 11/10/2010.
Small businesses have a shot at a big contract as the Air Force prepares to relaunch a competition to provide acquisition services to commands such as its Aeronautical Systems Center.
Under the program, worth up to $3 billion over as many as five years, only small businesses will be allowed to participate.
The Air Force is seeking a broad range of acquisition-related services, including help considering alternatives to buying a particular item and assistance with testing and evaluating systems.
Ashley Bergander, manager of federal programs with government contracting market analysis company FedSources, said the program represents an opportunity for winning businesses to influence the Air Force’s acquisition process.
It gives industry a chance to help “mold the government into a form that’s easier for industry to work with,” she said.
The program is being closely watched by subscribers to Input, a company that also studies the government contracting market. Nearly 900 subscribers have indicated that they’re interested in the opportunity, said Amber Robinson, Input’s Air Force analyst.
The program was last awarded in 2006 to 10 prime contractors, including the Falls Church-based Centech Group and PE Systems in Fairfax.
Based on Bergander’s analysis, several of the incumbents have graduated out of small business status, leaving potential openings.
In an analysis of the opportunity, Input noted that the $3 billion ceiling is far higher than the $850 million ceiling of the original program. However, actual spending has been well below that maximum; Input reports that less than $500 million has been committed.
The Air Force is set to release a new draft solicitation this month and make an award in September.
– by Marjorie Censer – The Washington Post – Monday, December 6, 2010; page 11
The Air Force has established a new unit to leverage the purchasing power of its 70 U.S.-based installations and save up to $2.3 billion during the next five years.
The Enterprise Sourcing Group, launched in late October, will follow a strengthened strategic sourcing strategy in which it buys commodities and services that are common to most Air Force bases in bulk. The goal, officials said, is to streamline the acquisition process while obtaining better prices.
“We are creating efficiencies across the Air Force as a whole, which is a good thing for everybody,” Mario J. Troncoso, the unit’s director, told Government Executive earlier this week. “Centrally procuring gives us good control. We can do continuous improvement cycles and relook at these things while at the same time being transparent to taxpayers and our government.”
The initiative has gone through a number of changes in recent years. The Air Force in 2007 announced plans to open five regional strategic sourcing contracting centers, but the economic downturn, along with various issues on bases, made the idea less “palatable than it originally looked on paper,” Troncoso said.
The service then shifted its strategy and concentrated on developing a more centrally located unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio. The Enterprise Sourcing Group will house about 400 contracting officials and include a small business office, a business support group and three enterprise sourcing squadrons. Six commodity councils will manage the acquisition process. The Air Force also is standing up satellite offices for the unit in Texas, Alabama, Florida and Nebraska.
Expectations are high. Domestic Air Force bases spend about $10 billion on contracts for commodities and services annually and the Enterprise Sourcing Group will manage roughly half that total within the next five years. Internal estimates show the unit could save up to 15 percent of what the service now spends for common goods and services by standardizing requirements, better analyzing past purchases and eliminating redundant acquisition efforts.
For example, the group’s Information Technology Council has begun awarding centralized procurements for desktop computers while its Force Protection Council has issued contracts for gear and equipment for security personnel, Troncoso said. Agreements for office supplies, furniture and medical services also are under way.
“We will be saving money and manpower by approaching installation contracting from a strategic perspective,” Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, said during an Oct. 28 activation ceremony. “However, we will not lose sight of small business. That’s been my pledge and my challenge to the new group to motivate, stimulate and encourage small business.”
Getting small firms involved often has been difficult for agencies implementing wide-ranging strategic sourcing plans. Typically, when small contracts are bundled together, the total cost and labor required to complete the work are out of reach for small businesses, leaving midsize and large firms as the primary bidders.
But, Troncoso said the Air Force is willing to make cost trade-offs in an effort to consider small businesses. Other times, the service might have to expand its market research to seek out new candidates, he said.
“There is no one cookie-cutter answer to how we can structure contracts in a way to make it more or less small business friendly,” he said. “It’s something we are going to have to roll into our entire process.”
Strategic sourcing, which gained steam during the George W. Bush administration, is part of a larger Defense Department effort to reduce overhead spending and redirect $100 billion to the warfighter. The Pentagon plan also includes closing the U.S. Joint Forces Command, a 10 percent reduction on service support contractors during each of the next three years, and decreasing funding for intelligence advisory and assistance contracts.
In addition to contracting at bases, the Enterprise Sourcing Group will award procurements for the Air Force Center for Engineering and Environment, the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency and the Defense Technical Information Center. The group also will support Air Force medical contracting.
– By Robert Brodsky – GovExec.com – November 11, 2010