Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

How one company changed to meet new IT contract styles

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Federal agencies are changing the way they structure IT contracts, asking for more proof-of-concept and capability up front instead of basing decisions on a portfolio of past work.

“We’re increasingly seeing requests for proposals, and what the RFP is asking for is, instead of a written response, show up with a team and deploy a product by the end of the day,” said Charles Onstott, senior vice president and chief technology officer at SAIC, in an interview with Federal Times. “What that challenge is demonstrating is your ability to do that, and then that would lead to follow-on work.”

To meet the new contracting requirements, SAIC in October 2018 created its Innovation Factory, a component of the company that relies on innovative and fast working teams of IT professionals to meet current contract requirements, prepare to bid on potential contracts and experiment with new products.

“We launched this really in response to some of the major trends that we’re seeing in the federal government, and one of them is to do app modernization, but to do it rapidly in an incremental delivery fashion,” said Onstott.

“The other is [the Department of Defense’s] push to do more agile across DoD, agile acquisition.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/02/27/how-one-company-changed-to-meet-new-it-contract-styles/ 

DARPA’s pilot project aims to increase funding opportunities in SBIR and STTR programs

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Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) are the principal set-aside programs for small business participation in federal research and development funding, yet the requirements for administering and managing these programs have not changed significantly in decades.

To keep pace with discovery in science and technology worldwide, DARPA now intends to release SBIR/STTR opportunities on an out-of-cycle basis, separate from the three pre-determined announcements traditionally issued directly through the Department of Defense (DoD). The change is expected to reduce the overall time from opportunity announcement to contract award.

Prior to the change, the timeline for SBIR/STTR funding opportunities was managed independently of DARPA’s primary technology programs, which resulted in small businesses being isolated from the benefits associated with integration into established program communities. Under the terms of the pilot program, however, DARPA will institute timesaving measures to speed program integration, such as Direct to Phase II authority, which allows the agency to bypass Phase I research requirements once performers provide satisfactory documentation of feasibility, and/or proof of scientific merit, technical merit, and commercialization potential.

DARPA will also seek to identify SBIR/STTR Phase II awardees with a compelling go-to-market strategy for participation in a newly created commercialization accelerator. The DARPA accelerator will provide additional funding to employ one entrepreneur-in-residence or business development lead who will offer the awardee direct support for activities including, but not limited to, customer engagement planning, market analysis and mapping, competitive analysis, techno-economic analysis, IP securement strategy development, and financial plan creation.

“It’s essential to change our acquisition practices to mirror the commercial marketplace if we hope to attract revolutionary companies that normally avoid working with the federal government,” said Dr. Steven Walker, director of DARPA. “This move will provide DARPA the flexibility to operate at a much faster pace than traditional SBIR/STTR contracting cycles have historically allowed.”

Congress established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program in 1982 to provide opportunities for small businesses to participate in federal government-sponsored research and development. Since that time, DARPA has leveraged SBIR awards to promote and sustain small business innovation as well as foster the development and transition of critical national security capabilities.

Full details regarding DARPA’s SBIR/STTR programs and associated Broad Agency Announcements are available at: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/for-small-businesses.

Source: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2019-03-01

See DARPA’s 10 focus areas for small businesses here: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/03/darpa-highlights-10-focus-areas-innovative-small-businesses/155279/

Pentagon requests voluntary refund of millions of dollars from contractor TransDigm

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The Army and Defense Logistics Agency will both seek reimbursement on millions of dollars from contractor TransDigm, following an Inspector General report into the company’s contracts with the Pentagon.

TransDigm, which produces specialized parts for aircraft such as pumps, valves and batteries,, earned “excess profit” 112 of 113 contracts reviewed by the IG’s office, per a report released last Wednesday. The IG found that the company received $16.1 million in excess profit between January 2015 and January 2017, with a cost that could go up due to spare parts in the future.

The 112 contracts, signed with the Army or DLA, had profit margins ranging from 17 to a whopping 4,451 percent; The IG’s office calls profit percentages of 15 percent or below to be “reasonable.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/02/27/pentagon-requests-voluntary-refund-of-millions-of-dollars-from-contractor-transdigm/

Pentagon auditors advised to better monitor contractor business systems

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The Defense Department’s management and auditing sub-agencies need to clarify their roles and improve the timeliness of their examinations of contractor accounting, estimating and purchasing systems, a watchdog found.

“DoD currently lacks a mechanism based on relevant and reliable information, such as the number of [contractor business system] reviews that are outstanding, the risk level assigned to those systems, and the resources available to conduct such reviews,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a report released on February 8th.

Citing directives from Congress over the past decade, GAO reviewed data from the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Defense Contract Audit Agency and found that the DCAA, for example, conducted few business system audits in the past six years, due, in part, to the need for it to reduce its backlog on completing incurred cost audits.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2019/02/pentagon-auditors-advised-better-monitor-contractor-business-systems/154758/

Small Business Mentor-Protege Program fuels cooperation

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Small businesses are underutilizing a mentor-protégé program that streamlines their access to the federal marketplace, say government officials. Known as the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, or ASMPP, the effort provides small businesses with a new avenue into federal contracting.

Developed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the ASMPP fits a niche and fills a need that had been a gap for some time, said Lori Gillen, ASMPP director at the SBA. Sandi Clifford, ASMPP deputy director, explained at an AFCEA Small Business Committee presentation that it was modeled and expands on the SBA’s 8(a) mentor-protégé program by opening doors for non-8(a) firms under the umbrella of a single governmentwide program for all small businesses. It does not involve the Defense Department, which has its own mentor-protégé program, nor the Federal Aviation Administration, as neither comes under the purview of the Small Business Act.

“It helps streamline access for small firms to get into the federal marketplace; it helps enhance business capabilities and growth potential through mentoring with large—or other small experienced—federal contractors; it helps increase the protégé firm’s wealth and create jobs through government contracts; and it also helps large mentor firms develop and increase their supply chain through building capable small business contractors,” Clifford declared.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.afcea.org/content/small-business-mentor-protege-program-fuels-cooperation

2019 NDAA analysis: Changes affecting small businesses and the SBIR program

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The 2019 NDAA contains significant changes that will impact many facets of government contracting.

In this post, we discuss the Sections of the 2019 NDAA that affect small businesses.

As discussed here, these changes include:

1) the codification and reauthorization of defense research and development rapid innovation program;

2) the establishment a Department of Defense small business strategy;

3) the improvement of prompt payment of small business contractors;

4) the increased participation in the SBA microloan program;

5) the extension and amendment of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/ Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs;

6) the funding for procurement technical assistance program;

7) the creation of a commercialization assistance pilot program; and

8) the increasing of opportunities for employee-owned business concerns through SBA loan programs.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=775556

Readying contractors’ security plans for evaluation

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The Defense Department recently issued final guidance for requiring activities to assess contractors’ system security plans and their implementation of the security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171.

It includes a compliance guidance document, which explains how department entities will assess contractor implementation of its security controls, and an impact guidance document, which explains how the Pentagon will assess the risks of security controls not implemented.

The compliance guidance addresses three objectives pre-award: requiring a self-attestation of implementation of the special publication in all proposals; imposing enhanced security controls in certain situations; and providing alternatives for compliance as an evaluation factor.

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 252.204-7008, which is required in every noncommercial off-the-shelf solicitation, provides that “[b]y submission of this offer, the offeror represents that it will implement the security requirements specified by [NIST SP 800-171].” The Defense Department has interpreted “implementation” as having a completed security system plan and a plan of action and milestones for the relevant covered defense information.

If a requiring activity believes that enhanced security controls are required beyond those in NIST SP 800-171, the compliance guidance provides direction for adding the requirements to a solicitation.

The guidance does not define what constitutes “enhanced controls.” NIST is expected to issue a new appendix of enhanced controls in the first quarter of 2019.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/1/30/readying-security-plans-for-evaluation

See GTPAC’s video, template and other resources designed to help contractors comply with the DoD/NIST cybersecurity rules at: http://gtpac.org/cybersecurity-training-video/

FAR definition of “recruitment fees”: No means no

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On December 20, 2018, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to clarify the FAR’s prohibition on assessing employees with recruitment fees in connection with federal contracts.  The rule provides a final definition of “recruitment fees” and clarifies the FAR’s broad prohibition on federal contractors or subcontractors assessing employees or potential employees with any such fees.

The final rule brings long-awaited clarity to the scope of the prohibition on recruitment fees, as the term has not previously been defined in anti-trafficking regulations.  Upon publication of a proposed rule change in January 2015, the FAR Council invited the public to comment on a draft definition of the term “recruitment fees” in a notice-and-comment process.  The final rule, which took effect on January 22, 2019, incorporates a definition that has been revised pursuant to comments received during that rulemaking process. Government contractors will need to take these new rules into account in their compliance efforts in connection with their supply chains.

Background

On January 29, 2015, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule amending the FAR to strengthen and enhance the human trafficking-related prohibitions applicable to all federal contracts. The final rule implemented Executive Order (E.O.) 13627, “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts,” and Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, entitled “Ending Trafficking in Government Contracting.”  The amended FAR, which applied to all future contracts and orders under existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, imposed significant responsibilities on federal contractors and subcontractors to prevent human trafficking and forced labor.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=768098

DoD makes immediate change to limitations on subcontracting rule; FAR Council issues proposed rule

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The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a class deviation that resolves the inconsistency between the Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations and the clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-14 related to the Limitations on Subcontracting Rule (LOSR).

The FAR Council has also issued a proposed rule to amend FAR 52.219-14 to fully resolve this issue for all small businesses. Government contractors should be aware of these new changes and proposed changes.

Generally, the LOSR prevents small business prime contractors from subcontracting the majority of the work under a prime contract to large businesses. The LOSR is intended to ensure that small businesses get the benefit of the set-aside prime contract. The government does not want a small business to get an award, perform only a small portion of the work, and then subcontract out everything else to large businesses.

Since 2016, SBA small businesses have struggled to comply with the LOSR because the regulations at 13 C.F.R. § 125.6 are inconsistent with the contract clause at FAR 52.219-14.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=777544

See DoD’s Jan. 8, 2019 Class Deviation 2019-O0003 on this subject at: https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/policy/policyvault/USA000039-19-DPC_Class_Deviation_2019-O0003.pdf

See the proposed rule here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-12-04/pdf/2018-25506.pdf

GTPAC hosts ‘Creating the Next: Defense Innovation Conference’

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The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) recently sponsored an event where 200 small innovative tech companies learned about special funding opportunities and programs that are available to small businesses at the Department of Defense (DoD), including the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

“The goal of the January 14th conference was to help small companies, especially small technology companies and innovative manufacturers, learn about how they can do business with the Defense Department and its various components,” explained Andrew Smith, GTPAC’s program manager.  “We wanted to have an event where we could educate the small business community about DoD opportunities.”

GDX connects Georgia businesses with each other and with DoD contract opportunities.

The event featured numerous prominent speakers.  Khai Edouard, the co-founder of the technology consulting firm The Simple Vue, spoke about the Georgia Defense Exchange (GDX), a technology platform that was built for the Georgia Department of Economic Development that helps government defense contractors network with other contractors and find contracting opportunities with DoD.  Contractors can access the Georgia Defense Exchange at https://gdx.georgia.org

The National Security Technology Accelerator prospects, vets, and develops technology.

Tim Greeff, the founder, and CEO of the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), which prospects and develops innovative technology for the Department of Defense, spoke about Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracts, and how DoD utilizes OTAs to fund research and prototype development.

Adele Navarrete, senior corporate counsel for the Logistics Management Institute, a major not-for-profit defense contractor, provided attendees with insights and advice on how to win business with the Department of Defense.  Ms. Navarrete later joined an industry panel with Raven Smith, senior regulatory compliance analyst with Lockheed Martin, and John Roman, senior vice president at Huntington Ingalls Industries – Technical Solutions.  They discussed the important attributes and qualities defense contractors look for in subcontractors.

Panelists, representing defense industry giants, provided attendees with subcontracting insights.
Lisa R. Sanders with U.S. Special Operations Command discussed technology problems she’s counting on industry to solve.

The keynote address was delivered by Lisa R. Sanders, the director of science and technology for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).  As a defense intelligence senior leader, Ms. Sanders is responsible for all research and development funded activities for the U.S. Special Operations Forces at MacDill Air Force Base.  Ms. Sanders gave an overview of USSOCOM’s technology and purchasing priorities, and the difficult technology problems Special Operations Forces needs industry to solve.  Ms. Sanders also gave an overview of how industry could engage and do business with the USSOCOM.

After the keynote speech, attendees were able to network with one another and forge potential business relationships.

Four concurrent workshops were also held in the afternoon sessions that covered a variety of topics of interest to government contractors, including how to develop successful bids and proposals and how to comply with DoD cybersecurity requirements.

“Overall, I’m very proud of the event and how industry and government came together to provide such excellent information and training to our attendees,” said Mr. Smith.  “I think everyone came away learning a lot about how to best engage the Department of Defense if you are a small technology company or manufacturer with the next great product or idea.  I firmly believe Georgia Tech can help connect the next great idea to those in DoD who need that idea and solution — and that is going to keep our nation safe.”

Copies of all presentations made at the Jan. 14, 2019 event — along with related resource materials — can be downloaded from: https://gtpac.org/training-video/

 

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