Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Pentagon moves to cut procurement red tape in a bid to catch up with technology

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The defense acquisition bureaucracy inside the Pentagon is being downsized from 17 to eight offices. Senior civilian management positions are being pared down from 353 to 233, and military posts from 61 to 42. Contracts that required 83 checks and approvals will need just 22. Weapon systems that were centrally managed by the Pentagon are being turned over to the military services.

“We are rethinking how we do business,” Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters on July 27th.

With China and Russia threatening to out-innovate the United States in areas like advanced missiles, additive manufacturing, space weapons and artificial intelligence, the Pentagon is not just in a competition against adversaries but also in a race against itself.

How the Pentagon buys technology in the digital age has long been a cause for concern and is a major theme in the defense policy bill for fiscal year 2019 that a House-Senate conference passed last week. The bill includes dozens of provisions for “rapid innovation,” “rapid prototyping” and “rapid acquisition.”

Keep reading this article at: https://spacenews.com/pentagon-moves-to-cut-procurement-red-tape-in-a-bid-to-catch-up-with-technology/

DISA’s new acquisition authority could mean a boost to cyber

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Leaders at the Defense Information Systems Agency hope to use a new acquisition authority to bolster the organization’s cyber efforts.

In May DISA was officially granted what’s known as Other Transaction Authority, which allows the agency to operate outside the usual acquisition methods. The process allows for cost-sharing with vendors and aims to shorten the capability-development cycle and accelerate the transition of prototypes to the government.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/disa-forecast-industry/2017/11/07/disas-new-acquisition-authority-could-mean-a-boost-to-cyber/

Government meets goal set in 1994 for women’s business contracts

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After more than 20 years of effort, the federal government has, for the first time, met its goal of awarding 5 percent of the money it spent on contractors to businesses owned by women.

SBA logoSmall companies captured 25.8 percent of the government’s contracting dollars last year, representing $90.7 billion, the Small Business Administration announced last week.

About $17.8 billion of that total went to businesses owned by women during the fiscal year, which ended in September.

The news comes on the heels of a Commerce Department analysis showing that businesses owned by women are 21 percent less likely to win government contracts than otherwise similar companies. Companies owned by women tend to be younger and smaller than other businesses, but even accounting for those differences, the disparity remains, the agency found.

Commerce Dept.The government set its 5 percent target in 1994 for spending on women-owned businesses, which are defined as those that are at least 51 percent controlled by women. It repeatedly fell short.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/business/government-meets-goal-set-in-1994-for-womens-business-contracts.html

See Related stories:

Fortune 500 firms continue to receive billions in federal small business contracts – http://gtpac.org/2016/02/22/fortune-500-firms-continue-to-receive-billions-in-federal-small-business-contracts/

Commerce Dept. says odds of women-owned businesses winning federal contracts are off by 21 percent – http://gtpac.org/2016/02/19/commerce-dept-says-odds-of-women-owned-businesses-winning-federal-contracts-are-off-by-21-percent/ 

Contractor associations rally behind framework to improve federal IT acquisition

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Professional Services Council - PSCThe federal government should leverage all of the flexibilities currently provided by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and engage in continuous and open communication with industry, according to four technology associations that jointly issued a whitepaper on Dec. 8, 2015.

The groups lay out six guiding principles that should be embraced across the federal government to ensure government applies the latest and greatest technology to its mission and enhances the performance of federal technology programs, according to a joint press release from the Professional Services Council, Technology Councils of North America, Northern Virginia Technology Council and the California Technology Council.

“Regardless of where or how a company may approach the federal market, these principles form the core of a sound, competitive, open and effective acquisition process. Our collective goal is to enable the government to reach, directly or indirectly, the full array of capabilities and solutions that exist in the private sector to deliver effective mission results,” said the whitepaper.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/associations-rally-behind-framework-improve-federal-it-acquisition/2015-12-09

Tech industry offers six ways for feds to buy better IT

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A group of public and private sector technology councils are suggesting ways the federal government could get better at buying IT.

PSC white paperA white paper published this week highlights six areas where the government can modernize or update the way in which it purchases services and technologies from private companies, crafting a number of ways feds could amend acquisition regulations.

“Our collective goal is to enable the government to reach, directly or indirectly, the full array of capabilities and solutions that exist in the private sector to deliver effective mission results,” the paper reads.

Among the suggestions are integrating an “innovation template” and “emerging technology provision” into contracts to give agencies flexibility when it comes to acquiring rapidly evolving tools.

The paper also calls for best value/cost-technical tradeoff to be the default evaluation technique used for services acquisitions except for the most basic, commoditized requirements, as well as to include “an alternative solution or strategy” that differs from RFP requirements as long as the solution meets the contract’s desired outcome.

Keep reading this article at: http://fedscoop.com/tech-councils-offer-ways-for-feds-to-upgrade-acquisition-process

Download white paper here: Delivering-Results-A-Framework-for-Federal-Government-Technology-Access-Acquisition

Top DoD acquisition official eases contractor fears about new Better Buying Power rules

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Federal contractors shouldn’t worry about the Defense Department ramping up its oversight of independent research funding, said the DoD’s top acquisition official at an event in Arlington, Va. on Wednesday.

Frank Kendall, DoD undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, told an audience at a Professional Service’s Council luncheon that by placing the funding under tighter scrutiny, DoD isn’t trying to dictate the kind of research coming out of the private sector.

Better Buying Power 3.0Contractors have taken issue with a section of the newest iteration of the Better Buying Power 3.0 Initiative which would add time and costs to the review process for DoD contracts participating in independent research and development, or IRAD.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/top-dod-aquisition-official-eases-contractor-fears-about-new-better-buying/2015-09-03

Pentagon strives for even better buying power

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The Defense Department (DoD) on Thursday, April 9 released the third update of its Better Buying Power acquisition strategy in five years, aiming to preserve U.S. technological superiority by protecting budgets for long-term research and development while enhancing cybersecurity.

“We want to identify the weapons, in the systems in the force today, that we can use in more innovative ways, and we’re looking for these promising technologies that we can pull forward,” Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work told a Pentagon press conference Thursday. The goal is to reverse “a steady erosion of our technological superiority that we have relied upon for so long in all of our defense strategies.”

Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in releasing a memo to top management outlining Better Buying Power 3.0, said that flat budgets and sequestration have required the department to raid modernization dollars to pay for readiness. “Our technological superiority is dependent on the effectiveness of our research and development efforts that span science and technology, component development, early prototyping, full-scale development, and technology insertion into fielded products,” Kendall wrote.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/defense/2015/04/pentagon-strives-even-better-buying-power/109900

Tight budgets, terrorism and task orders: What’s next for government contracting

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If you ask government contractors to talk about what affects their business, it takes less than a minute before you hear the familiar refrains of budget cuts, sequestration, and political gridlock. Those issues may be at the top of everyone’s minds now, but for those who do business with the government, a long-term vision is essential for surviving Washington’s ongoing crises.

Capital Business asked local executives to take a step back and name one issue that will be a game-changer for contracting over the next decade.

From the threat of terrorism to the inexperience of a younger government workforce, here’s what they said:

Kenneth Asbury – Chief executive of CACI International, a large services contractor

Now, more than almost any time I can recall, the world is a very dangerous place in many dimensions.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/tight-budgets-terrorism-and-task-orders-whats-next-for-government-contracting/2015/01/23/b78d5884-a0ca-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

For government contractors, 2015 is in full swing

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Contractors with their eyes on hot-button issues such as cybersecurity legislation, information technology (IT) acquisition reform, and strategic sourcing policy have plenty to consider in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and a recent policy memorandum issued by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Administrator Anne Rung. Some key items to consider:

  • Cybersecurity: In 2015, the Department of Defense must issue rules requiring “operationally critical contractors” to report cyber incidents in their network and information systems.
  • IT Acquisition Reform: Under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), Chief Information Officers in Federal agencies will take key roles in the acquisition process, which could affect the nature of IT-related acquisitions for years to come.  FITARA also sharpens the Government’s FOCUS on strategic sourcing.
  • Strategic Sourcing and Category Management: In an initiative that complements strategic sourcing, OMB has established “category management” as a key Federal acquisition strategy, which will foster Government-wide purchasing of items, such as IT hardware and software, by one source instead of through multiple agencies.

For a broad array of contractors, those “operationally critical contractors” working with the DoD, providers of IT-related supplies and services, and those supplying “categories” of supplies throughout the Federal government, these changes will affect their daily operations and how they market and sell to their Federal customers in 2015 and beyond.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=362362

Add these federal IT influencers to your call list

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Technology leaders Steve VanRoekel and Todd Park have left the White House, but an important structure they helped devise and set in place remains.

usds logoThe U.S. Digital Service headed by Mikey Dickerson, leader of the well-documented HealthCare.gov turnaround, is the latest attempt to tackle perennial problems of over-budget, late, and under-functioning government IT projects. A sister effort, the Defense Department’s Better Buying Power 3.0, shares those aims, but with an acquisition process oriented approach.

VanRoekel’s Digital Government Strategy called for a group like Digital Service a couple of years ago, but HealthCare.gov has given USDS the strategic purpose of helping other government agencies get up to speed on how to develop and deploy digital services the way Silicon Valley does. Its advent should be no surprise; besides, the idea is not even original to the United States.

My advice to vendors regarding the U.S. Digital Services office is to understand it and make sure its couple dozen members understand the domains where your technology offers the best value.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/10/add-these-federal-it-influencers-to-your-call-list.html?page=all

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