Should contractors fear sequestration?

January 24, 2012 by cs

If sequestration of federal funds kicks in, agencies will face making deep cuts to programs and that pain will flow down to contractors, experts say.

A sequestration causes automatic, indiscriminate, across-the-board budget cuts. The failure of the so-called supercommittee to find $1.2 trillion dollars in savings over a decade triggered the cuts. They’re set to take effect Jan. 2, 2013.

As a result, contractors too “are hostages in a showdown between the president and Congress over fundamental decisions on taxing and spending,” said John Cooney, former general counsel at the Office of Management and Budget and now a partner at the Venable law firm.

He spoke Jan. 17 at a panel discussion hosted by the Professional Services Council that looked at sequestration in detail. Cooney broke down the possible routes federal officials may take to deal with the cuts.

Cooney expects agencies to:

  • Try to avoid terminating contracts. Instead, officials will reduce the amount of money obligated under their contracts.
  • Become less willing to extend contracts into their option years.
  • Obligate money for one fiscal year at a time on task order and services contracts.
  • Possibly use the prospect of the sequester’s cuts to renegotiate contracts.

He also said agency officials will more often decide to not award new contracts.

“This will be a common agency practice in year one of a sequester. Procurements that can be put off will be put off,” he said during the discussion.

With available money, agency officials will maximize contracts that meet their agency’s core duties, said Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council, who spoke on the panel as well.

Meanwhile he expects agencies to look for more flexibility to avoid hard-and-fast commitments, such as fixed-price contracts and minimum revenue guarantees. And on the other hand, officials may use more time-and-materials contracts, which are based on labor hours and materials.

However, Chvotkin said there are some policy constraints as the Obama administration has railed against this type of contract, which places a lot of risk on the government.

IDIQs and the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules program may become more attractive to agencies. They allow for more negotiations at the task order level, he said.

Cooney had several suggestions for companies in light of what may happen. Advocate for the importance of a program and stay in close contact with a contracting officer. Realize though that the officer may not know the fate of a program until very late in the process.

Businesses should also emphasize what they can do for the agency, including the options the company is willing to agree to that may even decrease its revenue, Chvotkin said.

He recommended checking the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). The information needs to be correct, and it should reflect as favorably as possible on the company’s performance.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week. This article appeared Jan. 19, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/01/18/sequestration-effects-contracts.aspx?s=wtdaily_200112.

New rule funnels more contracts to small businesses

November 7, 2011 by cs

Under a proposed new rule, small companies are expected to get more business through multiple-award contractors because that’s where the money has increasingly been going since the mid-1990s.

Regulators have revised the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to match the fluctuation toward task-order contracts, such as governmentwide acquisition contracts, blanket purchase agreements and agencywide contracts. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has pushed those types of vehicles to streamline purchasing and get lower prices.

Officials released an interim rule Nov. 2 about the FAR revisions. The rule took effect the same day.

The changes make clear that contracting officers can set aside orders for small businesses both on blanket purchase agreements under the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules and on multiple-award contracts.

The revisions add a new section in the FAR. It authorizes agencies to set aside one or more contracts for small business on a multiple-award contract, including any of the socioeconomic programs, such as the service-disabled, veteran-owned small business program.

Officials are hopeful for what the changes will bring to small businesses. at the Defense Department, GSA, and NASA expect agencies to take advantage of the set-aside revisions. They want agencies to identify possible multiple-award contracts through which they could set- aside orders for small businesses. They also want agencies to set aside more orders when using GSA’s Schedules, according to the notice.

The changes are based on law and an advisory group.

Congress included language in the Small Business Jobs Act, which became law in 2010, addressing set-asides among task and delivery orders.

Also in 2010, an interagency panel, which was created by President Barack Obama to study small-business contracting, found the issue needed some attention since multiple-award contracts have become so popular.

“There has been no attempt to create a comprehensive policy for orders placed under either general task-and-delivery-order contracts or Schedule contracts that rationalizes and appropriately balances the need for efficiency with the need to maximize opportunities for small businesses,” the Task Force on Small Business Contracting wrote in its report.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Washington Technology. Published Nov. 3, 2011 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2011/11/03/small-business-set-asides-multiple-award-contracts.aspx?s=wtdaily_041111

SBA proposals could make small-biz credit easier to get

October 18, 2011 by cs

The Small Business Administration is considering changes to its rules that would allow an agency spending its money through a task or delivery order to chalk up the awards to its own subcontracting plans, according to a Oct. 5 Federal Register notice.

Agencies could start to get credit toward their annual small-business  subcontracting goals for their orders placed against multiple-agency  contracts, a perk for agencies as procurement policy officials push  strategic sourcing.

Each agency has to set its own annual goal to make sure that various types of small businesses have an opportunity to participate in its contracts.

Currently though, when purchases come through an inter-agency contract, the agency that holds the contract gets the credit. That applies to the General Services Administration Schedules contracts too.

For example, consider an agency that places an order against a governmentwide acquisition contract. Say a large company gets the award and subcontracts some of the work to a small business subcontractor. The agency that hosts the GWAC gets the credit for hiring a small business, not the agency placing the order.

Prime contracts work differently. If an agency awards an order placed on a GWAC directly to a small business, the purchasing agency gets the points.

Agency officials have told SBA they would like to get the small-business subcontracting credit when they’re spending the money. SBA is also considering giving discretion to the contracting officer from the agency that’s placing the order to establish the subcontracting goals related to the individual orders.

Officials also want real-time insight into subcontracting on interagency contracts. Contractor may have to report their subcontracts with small businesses to the host agency’s contracting officer for each order.

Currently, contractors are reporting to the agency twice a year at the most.

“Reporting on an order-by-order basis will allow the funding agency to receive credit towards its small-business subcontracting goals,” SBA writes in its proposal.

SBA is taking input on the proposal through Dec. 5.

In light of SBA’s changes, Dan Gordon, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, has pushed agencies to think beyond their own purchasing and, instead, buy with the government in mind.

Strategic sourcing gives the government leverage over the contractor in setting prices. A greater quantity of potential orders encourages contractors to lower prices.

Office of Management and Budget officials believe agencies want to use more interagency contracts in order to squeeze the most out of their funds and lessen their employees’ workload.

“Particularly in this tight budgetary environment, agencies have told us they are eager for tools that can help them stretch a dollar further and do more with less,” an OMB spokeswoman said Oct. 5.

SBA’s proposed change may make subcontracting goals slightly easier to meet, especially if agencies are turning more toward the interagency contracts, said Ken Dodds, senior attorney at SBA.

He said agencies would find it more difficult to meet subcontracting goals if they didn’t credit.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Washington Technology.  This article appeared Oct. 12, 2011 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2011/10/12/sba-subcontracting-credit-multiple-agency-contracts.aspx?s=wtdaily_141011.

‘Business Breakthrough’ resources now available

October 15, 2011 by cs

The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) played host last week to a three-day workshop sponsored by the General Services Administration (GSA).  Titled “Business Breakthrough,” the Sept. 27-29, 2011 workshop was designed to assist businesses in the region navigate contracting opportunities and methods with GSA.

GSA oversees the business of the U.S. federal government. GSA’s acquisition solutions supplies federal purchasers with products and services from commercial vendors. GSA also manages all non-military buildings, and oversees the preservation of historic federal properties. Its policies cover travel, property and management practices.

GSA leadership from Washington, DC were on hand at the event as were representatives of GSA’s Region IV office.

A number of resources were made available to GTPAC as a result of hosting the workshop, and we’re happy to share them with you.  Links are provided below to  all workshop materials:

Resource documents you’ll be interested in accesing are:

 

 

 

IT Schedule 70 to get new director

September 22, 2011 by cs

Kay Ely is coming aboard as the new director of the General Services Administration’s largest Multiple Award Schedule, IT Schedule 70, according to a tweet Sept. 14.

“Two big pieces of news in the @GSA_ITS world—welcoming Kevin Youel-Page as the ITS Deputy AC & Kay Ely as the Director of Schedule 70,” tweeted Mary Davie, assistant commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service’s Integrated Technology Service at GSA.

Ely starts Sept. 25.

Ely is the chief learning officer at the Office of Personnel Management and had been deputy associate director for contracting for facilities and administrative services there.

Davie chose Kevin Youel Page as her deputy, making the announcement to staff Sept. 13. He too will start Sept. 25.

Schedule 70 is one of GSA’s most lucrative schedules. In 2010, IT Schedule 70 had $16 billion in federal sales.

First quarter sales for fiscal 2011 indicate that 2011 may surpass fiscal 2010′s sales, according to EZGSA, a consulting firm that specializes in GSA Schedules contracts. The IT schedule had $4.7 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2011, and $4.5 billion during the same period in 2010, a 7 percent increase.

Here’s Davie’s announcement.

Colleagues,

It’s a big week in ITS! I’m pleased to announce the selection of Kay Ely as the Director of the IT Schedule 70 Program. Kay is a current Senior Executive at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) where she most recently served as the Chief Learning Officer. She has an extensive background in federal IT acquisition, including both policy and operations, through both private and public sector positions. At OPM, Kay also served as the Deputy Associate Director for Contracting, Facilities and Administrative Services and was the Procurement Executive leading the information technology branch.  She served as a Senior Principal at Acquisition Solutions where she led the federal civilian acquisition consulting practice. She also served as the Associate Administrator for Acquisition Implementation at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and as the Director of Acquisition Resources Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kay’s well-rounded experience in IT acquisition and leadership positions across government give her a unique perspective that will add tremendous value to GSA and to the ITS leadership team. Kay will be joining ITS on September 25.

Mary

– by Matthew Weigelt of Washington Technology on Sept. 15, 2011 at http://washingtontechnology.com/blogs/circuit/2011/09/kay-ely-gsa-opm-schedule-70.aspx?s=wtdaily_190911.

Project management consultants expand business with help from Georgia Tech

August 12, 2011 by cs

Project Success, Inc. (PSI), an Atlanta-based project management training and
consulting firm, recently utilized the services of Georgia Tech’s Procurement
Assistance Center (GTPAC) to expand its business into the government sector.
GTPAC is a program that assists companies with all aspects of government
procurement processes.

“We’ve been in business for almost 28 years now, and we teach the practical
aspects of project management. We work in all industry sectors, in
manufacturing, energy, marketing, software and IT,” said David Halm, a senior
consultant at the company. “With the downturn in the economy in late 2008, we
recognized that the manufacturing sector was going to continue to decline, so we
took a suggestion from one of our consultants to get on the U.S. General
Services Administration schedule.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) oversees the business of the U.S.
federal government. According to its website, GSA supplies federal purchasers
with “cost-effective, high-quality products and services from commercial
vendors.” Halm was referred to GTPAC after attending a GSA-sponsored event in
Atlanta.

“We learned about the educational and classroom offerings through GTPAC, and
I took several classes, including Introduction to Government Contracting,
Understanding the GSA Schedules Process and Using the Computer to Win Government
Contracts,” Halm recalled. “Those classes allowed me to get connected to Chuck
Schadl, director of GTPAC, and Joe Beaulieu, a procurement counselor. As we
researched the GSA requirements, we jotted down ideas about the best way to
structure our proposal.”

Beaulieu helped PSI structure a proposal under GSA’s Mission Oriented
Business Integrated Services, or MOBIS. Under the MOBIS schedule, PSI may
provide mission oriented business integrated services and products to U.S.
Government agencies. The MOBIS objective is to enable federal agencies to
improve performance, quality, timeliness and efficiencies throughout their
organizations.

“Getting a GSA contract basically means that all the negotiating points – the
pricing, the delivery – all those terms have already been negotiated. So a
government agency can purchase from Project Success through the GSA process. It
opens a lot of doors,” Halm noted. “In the GSA seminar, the speaker said that
more than 90 percent of companies that set out to get a GSA contract never get
there. Having this contract offers great marketing potential and has helped us
maintain and generate business in this downturn.”

GTPAC, part of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, provides
no-cost assistance with government procurement to any company licensed to do
business in Georgia. Each year, GTPAC conducts seminars in Albany, Athens,
Atlanta, Augusta, Carrollton, Columbus, Gainesville, Rockmart, Savannah and
Warner Robins. The center assists companies with all aspects of federal, state
and local government procurement processes, including solicitation analysis,
proposal preparation, pre- and post-award counseling, and quality and accounting
systems. Procurement counselors also analyze whether companies have the
potential for participating in the government procurement process.

“It’s very useful to be able to use GTPAC as a sounding board, because the
counselors understand the specific requirements,” Halm said. “In dealing with
us, Joe helped us maintain the confidence we needed to stay on track. GTPAC
provided tangible, direct guidance, as well as the more intangible, but equally
important, encouragement.”

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies,
entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness
through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the
most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry
assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the
nation.

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: JohnToon@innovate.gatech.edu

Writer: Nancy Fullbright, published Aug. 9, 2011

What are the industry benefits of IT Schedule 70?

August 3, 2011 by cs

IT Schedule 70 is a streamlined, convenient, money-saving and time-saving tool for government to obtain the commercial goods and services needed to satisfy requirements. The Coalition for Government Procurement (CGP) represents more than 300 firms selling commercial services and products to the federal government and advocates for common sense in government acquisition. According to Roger Waldron, CGP’s President, “the true value of the $16 billion IT Schedule 70 program is its ability to streamline acquisitions, making it easier for federal agency buyers as well as industry partners to transact business.”

Waldron maintains the sheer size of IT Schedule 70, along with the many features and capabilities offered, creates a cost-effective contract channel for government contractors to market their products and services. “Typically, bid and proposal costs are expensive. IT Schedule 70, with its pre-negotiated terms and conditions, along with the ability to use eBuy to post RFQs, enhances competition, streamlines response times, and improves communications for agency buyers and contractors. The Schedule allows suppliers to focus on agency statements of work, to speed the process of acquisitions,” he said.

Mentor-Protégé Program Delivers Small Business Opportunities

GSA’s Mentor-Protégé Program is designed to encourage and motivate GSA prime contractors to assist small businesses and enhance their performance on GSA contracts. The program is intended to foster the establishment of long-term relationships between small businesses and GSA prime contractors and increase the overall number of small businesses that receive GSA schedule awards. Under the Mentor-Protégé Program, eligible small businesses can act as suppliers or provide services or subcontractors for any prime contractor with an approved subcontracting plan negotiated with GSA. Protégé firms are selected by mentors, which can open new markets for their businesses, said Anthony Eiland, Program Manager of GSA’s Mentor-Protégé Program and Program Manager of Veterans Affairs Outreach Initiatives.

For firms that have never done business with GSA, this special program teaches them how GSA works and how to interact with other agencies, Eiland said. “Small businesses use this program to gain acceptance and viability as a contractor serving the needs of large federal agencies such as USDA,” he said.

Seven Benefits of Holding a GSA Schedule

1. Builds brand recognition by providing a ‘preferred vendor’ status.
2. Provides a door-opener into the government market.
3. Differentiates suppliers from non-Schedule vendors with same services and products.
4. Offers a multi-purpose contracting device.
5. Reduces contract time from solicitation to award. GSA has reported a reduction from 268 days under standard agency RFPs to 30 days under an IT Schedule 70 RFQ.
6. Increases the speed for the government to buy from industry partners. Saves time during the acquistion process.
7. Offers fastest and least expensive entry into public sector market.

  • Source: GSA ITS

For mentors, the biggest benefit of the program is a strong sense of giving back, said William Jaffe, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Technical and Project Engineering LLC (TAPE), based in Alexandria, Va. TAPE is a mentor with one protégé. The company serves as a mentor to help smaller companies learn the ropes of selling through the GSA schedule. “Mentors typically start out seeking partner suppliers to fill out their small business set-aside requirement,” Jaffe said.

Gregory Olson, Associate Vice President of Operations at Catapult Technology Ltd., an IT services and management consulting firm based in Bethesda, Md., is a mentor to three protégé firms. “As a recent graduate of the 8(a) program, we are always seeking partners to build strategic teams that can help us meet agency small business/8(a) requirements,” he explained.

Customers and Industry Have Their Say

Customers and industry partners alike benefit from all that IT schedule 70 has to offer. Julia Lopez, Purchasing Manager of Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin, chose to purchase from GSA’s IT Schedule 70 because the approvalprocess was faster than seeking formal bids. The lab purchased custom configured high-performance servers and other IT equipment using the schedule program. “The beauty of GSA is the speed at which procurements can be approved without additional bidding,” said Lopez.

Discounted pricing was another incentive for UT Austin, along with pre-approved terms and conditions, which helps streamline the decision process for utilizing the program, she added. “I can count on solid service from the GSA Schedule holder to assist with an upgrade or reconfiguration if needed. I know he’ll stand behind his products with good customer service and support.”

In 2010, Hewlett-Packard did $500 million in business on the IT Schedule 70 contract, said Kitty Klaus, Senior Program Manager of GSA Programs for HP Enterprise Services. Klaus especially appreciates BPA programs due to the opportunity for long-term commitments with customers. “This allows us to work closely with government customers to provide the best possible pricing,” she explained.

With IT Schedule 70’s pre-established terms and conditions and fair and reasonable pricing, “we can focus more attention on the agency’s requirements in each schedule award,” she continued, adding that GSA eBuy is another key advantage because “we are able to see the RFQs from agencies all in one place.”

Ultimately the IT Schedule 70 program brings more competition and greater transparency to government acquisitions. “It’s a good value for customers, while also serving the needs of taxpayers,” Klaus said.

“I’m a big fan of the SmartBUY program,” said Roy Stephan, Vice President of Technology Solutions for Intelligent Decisions Inc., a Data at Rest (DAR) and situational awareness and incident response (SAIR) SmartBUY contract holder based in Ashburn, Va. Stephan is looking forward to more SmartBUY programs to help address the many regulations federal agencies must take into account during acquisitions. “GSA raises the bar for all industry partners by setting government-wide technical requirements in the SmartBUY program. This will ensure customers can quickly buy products and services that comply with known federal laws and regulations, without costly and redundant
acquisition evaluations,” he said.

John Keese, President of Autonomic a GSA cloud computing provider was first awarded a DAR, then a SAIR contract, and is now offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing on his roster of available solutions offered via the SmartBuy BPA program under IT Schedule 70. “SmartBuy BPAs help customers in federal, state and local governments to address key areas of concern regarding cyber security, and now cloud computing, by allowing them to purchase products and services that are pre-certified to meet stringent federal security requirements,” he said.

Particularly at the state and local government level, Keese said the key advantage of this program is avoiding a painful vetting process. States can now purchase a pre-vetted solution that complies with the Federal Information Security Management Act has been aggressively discounted to address government-wide requirements. “On their own, the states simply can’t achieve the same level of volume discounts they can find via the SmartBUY program,” he added.

– This report was commissioned by the Content Solutions unit, an independent editorial arm of 1105 Government Information Group, originally published at http://gcn.com/microsites/2011/gsa-schedule/4-industry-benefits-it-schedule-70.aspx.

Oops, GSA takes back major contract awards

June 24, 2011 by cs

General Services Administration officials quickly rescinded an e-mail message
sent to small businesses telling them they had won spots on its major small
business governmentwide IT contract, according to an e-mail message obtained by
Washington Technology and Federal Computer Week.

Officials wrote in a follow-up message, which came a day after the award
notice, that they were checking prices again for the 8(a) Streamlined Technology
Acquisition Resources for Services (STARS) II contract. The message contained an
unsubtle suggestion that bidders might want to offer lower prices.

“Any part of previous communications from GSA stating or implying that
offerors were deemed apparently successful is hereby rescinded,” agency
officials wrote. “This discussion e-mail serves as notice that GSA has made the
decision to hold additional discussions, with an emphasis on pricing.”

STARS II is a 5-year, $10 billion indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity
(IDIQ) IT contract. GSA issued the first solicitation for the GWAC in July 2009.
Officials expect an award this month, according to GSA.gov.

GSA officials didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment..

Prices are becoming a central theme in the government as Congress and the
Obama administration attempte to rein in spending.

GSA is giving the 8(a) small businesses time to reexamine the prices they
offered in their initial bids and adjust the pricing to “amplify its potential
to be favorably considered,” according to the follow-up message.

The opportunity for price revisions is not merely a request for an update,
but it will play into GSA’s evaluations. “This is a competitive 8(a) procurement where comparative analysis with other
offerors’ pricing in response to this [Final Proposal Revision] opportunity, and
possibly other price analysis, will occur in order to assess price
reasonableness [or] unreasonableness,” GSA wrote.

In the rescission e-mail message, GSA gave companies pricing averages from
the initial bids as a guide for what’s been offered so far to let companies know
where their prices compare to other bidders.

Observers speculated that someone may have sent out an email too soon, or a
senior management official could have recognized in the 12th hour that the
agency needed look over the prices again.

“Oops,” Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, said about
the initial message.

Either way, the STARS GWAC is “a crown jewel” of GSA and its small business
contracts. It’s next to the GSA’s Schedules in importance to the agency, he
said.

The follow-up rescission message may be awkward, but, Allen said, it’s better
than being criticized throughout the life of the contract because of high
prices.

Nevertheless, the small-business aspect, such as getting a good mix of
various business types, likely would get officials’ attention from the outset
before prices, he said. STARS offers customer agencies an avenue to boost their
small-business contacting percentages, which has helped to make the GWAC
successful.

Across the government though, pricing has become another essential topic in a
time when funding is set to diminish. It’s important enough that the Defense
Department made Shay Assad, a senior procurement policy official, the first
director of defense pricing in May.

That appointment points to the weight of the pricing issue, said Hope Lane, a
government contract consultant at Aronson Consulting.

“The government has to start implementing austerity measures,” said Lane, who
focuses on GSA Schedules.

It isn’t surprising that GSA may have rescinded its award notice in order to
make contractors improve their prices, she said. As agencies hunt for the best
value for their money, GSA’s STARS GWAC has to prove that it can actually save
money, or GSA will lose business to another IDIQ hosted by another agency, she
said.

“IT, in particular, is a competitive market among GWACs,” she said.

This mix-up may cost GSA by way of protests to the contract. Allen said the
likelihood of protests just jumped much higher.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is acquisition editor for Federal Computer Week -
June 22, 2011 – http://washingtontechnology.com/Articles/2011/06/22/GSA-rescinds-STARS-II-GWAC-award.aspx?p=1

GSA’s “Business Breakthrough” workshop coming to Atlanta Sept. 27-29

June 15, 2011 by cs

Is your business too large to qualify for the government’s small business procurement advantages, but not large enough to successfully compete with the nation’s largest corporations?

If your answer to that question is yes, then you should set your sights on an event being held by the General Services Administration (GSA) in Atlanta on Sept. 27-29, 2011.

GSA’s “Business Breakthrough” will offer companies a robust workshop agenda full of up-to-date information on how to successfully navigate government contracting. Representatives from GSA and industry will provide information and guidance including real-world case studies from across industries.

The workshop series will be presented over three days and will provide valuable information not only for companies new to Federal contracting but also those seeking to advance their knowledge.  Whether your company is a first-time Federal Contractor or is advancing in Federal Contracting, the benefits you’ll receive include:

  • Gaining an understanding from GSA’s perspective on how businesses can position themselves to increase their chances of working with the Federal government based on success-stories of their counterparts in industry.
  • Learning how to use effective marketing strategies to connect with GSA’s Federal customers, including ways to target government buyers and to strengthen their ability to win Federal contracts.

The five workshops that make up the series are:

  • Introduction to GSA and Contract Vehicles
  • Accessing the Federal Marketplace
  • GSA’s Culture of Innovation and Sustainability
  • Strategies and Subcontracting/Teaming
  • GSA Contract Administration & Compliance

Please note that the following topics will NOT be covered in the Business Breakthrough workshop series:

  • how to get SBA small business certifications (8a, WOSB and any state certifications)
  • how to register for CCR
  • how to secure a DUNS Number
  • how to identify your firm’s NAICS Code(s)
  • how to prepare a GSA Schedule proposal offer
  • determining which GSA Schedule best fits your firm’s capabilities
  • how to participate in Federal socioeconomic set-aside programs

You can download a document containing descriptions of all six workshops here.  To view the workshop schedule, go to http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/101475.

To register, visit http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/101483.   You must regsiter in advance to attend.

As background, it’s important to know that GSA’s expertise in government workplace solutions include:

  • Management of government assets including more than 9,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 215,000 vehicles in the federal fleet, and preservation of historic federal properties;
  • Leveraging the government’s buying power through responsible acquisition of products and services making up approximately 14 percent of the government’s total procurement dollars;
  • Providing innovative technology solutions to enhance government efficiency and increase citizen engagement; and,
  • Promoting responsible use of federal resources through development of governmentwide policies ranging from federal travel to property and management practices.

 

TAG hosts June 16 forum for IT companies interested in government contracting

June 13, 2011 by cs

If you represent an information technology company interested in pursuing federal contract opportunities, you should plan on attending a special June 16th forum hosted by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

The U.S. Federal government is the world’s largest consumer and they spend in excess of $60 Billion annually on IT projects alone.  At this event, you’ll get to hear from a distinguished panel of experts representing large contractors, small to medium size contractors, a representative of the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center, as well as top-level officials from the General Services Administration.

Panelists will unlock the secrets to “How Technology Companies Can Maximize Profitability Through Federal Contracting” and share their experiences with attendees.

The panel will discuss:

- How to grow in the Federal government space

- Pros and cons of working with the Federal government

- Turning competitors into teaming partners

- How to build a successful track record with the government.

This experienced-based exchange of ideas promises to educate, engage, and provide great insights to companies that want to expand their horizons and increase both their top and bottom lines in this challenging economic environment.

For TAG non-members the cost to attend is $20.  Registration can be accomplished at https://s07.123signup.com/servlet/SignUpMember?PG=1521974182300&P=15219741911422840700&Info.

This event will be held from 7:30 am until 9:00 am on June 16, 2011 in the Hodges Room, 3rd floor, 75 Fifth St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30308.

Panelists include:

Damon McClure – GSA IT Schedule 70, Deputy Director

Charles Wingate – GSA Federal Acquisitions Services IT Commodities Div, Chief

Thomas Larkin – GTPAC, Procurement Counselor

David East – G4S Technology, SE Business Development Mgr.

Roger House – AxiomPresident & CEO

Moderated By: Oliver Yarbrough, Rainmaker Growth Partners

Sponsered By: Insperity