Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

How US Army Futures Command is working with small biz, academia

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U.S. Army Futures Command is laying the groundwork to strengthen collaboration with academia and small businesses to solve some of the service’s most major problems.

The Army has struggled with relationships outside of the established defense industry, particularly with small businesses and Silicon Valley.

Small businesses have expressed concerns about working with the government, mostly in regard to the time it takes to secure a contract award as well as the complex and cumbersome government-contracting process.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report last week that found Army Futures Command could improve how it works with small businesses.  The report was released on the eve of AFC’s declaration of full operational capability, which is officially set for July 31.

“The funny thing is if I talk to defense primes, they are convinced all we are working with is small business, and I talk to small business [and they are] all [convinced] … we are [just] working with the defense primes,” Gen. Mike Murray, AFC commander, said during a July 18 press briefing at the Pentagon.

“It’s going to take a combination of both for us to accomplish our mission, and in many ways a combination of both working together” to achieve the command’s goals in modernizing the Army, he said.

Continue reading at:  Defense News

The FY 2020 NDAA: What government contractors should watch for

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Congress is moving closer toward passage of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  Although key differences remain between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the legislation is ultimately likely to include authorization for new investments by the Department of Defense (DoD) in software and cybersecurity, and potential changes in areas relevant to government contractors, such as commercial items, data rights, and cost or pricing data.

On June 27, 2019, the Senate passed its version of the NDAA, S 1790, which would authorize $750 billion in DoD spending for FY 2020.  On July 12, 2019, the House of Representatives passed its version of the bill, H.R. 2500, which would authorize $733 billion.  The process of reconciling those bills and passing a final NDAA for the president’s signature appears likely to be a lengthy one.  No Republicans voted in favor of the House bill, which the Trump administration has threatened to veto, in large part because it falls short of the administration’s $750 billion budget request.

Following is a preview of the key procurement-related provisions of the 2020 NDAA that government contractors and others should watch for as the legislative process continues.

Continue reading at:  Perkins Coie

If you’re working on a military installation, don’t lose your base access

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In the classic 1993 movie Gettysburg, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, a great American hero (played by Jeff Daniels), commented on the power wielded by military commanders, particularly generals:  “Generals can do anything.  Nothing quite so much like God on Earth as a general on a battlefield.”

It turns out that this this power extends to actions that might affect your Government contract.  For instance, a base commander can revoke a contractor’s access to the base; if that happens, and the contract required the contractor to maintain base access eligibility, the Government can rightly terminate the contract for default.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon

 

Cybersecurity: front and center for industry

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“Deliver Uncompromised,” the “Fourth Pillar of Acquisition” or “Securing the DoD Supply Chain” — no matter what turn of phrase one uses to discuss protecting the defense industrial base and the equipment and support it provides warfighters from cyber threats, this issue stands front and center for the Pentagon and for the people and companies that provide its capabilities.

Experts estimate losses of about $600 billion per year in the transfer of wealth, expertise and trade secrets due to cyber crime.  Adversaries and bad actors specifically target the defense industrial base, using the pilfered data to close capability gaps with the United States, its allies and partners.

The National Defense Strategy and the National Cyber Strategy lay it bare, “Our competitors — including … foreign adversaries such as Russia and China — are also using cyber to try to steal our technology.”  Protecting U.S. advantages demands better government-industry collaboration.  Fortunately, that is happening with the end state an effective, holistic cyber defense.

Despite being the home of cyberspace and the innovative tech giants who used it to transform society and the economy, America — both its government and its traditional industries — has responded slowly to growing and increasingly adaptive cyber threats.  That said, stakeholders now recognize the challenge and have begun responding with concrete actions.  Called out in the series of 2018 strategy documents, the cyber hygiene of U.S. government contractors, especially those in the defense industrial base, will likely soon require third-party cybersecurity certification for contractors to participate in any Defense Department contract.

Continue reading at:  National Defense Magazine 

House passes NDAA with federal employee amendments

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In a 220 to 197 vote that fell primarily on party lines, the House voted to pass the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes provisions to grant federal employees 12 weeks of paid family leave and to block the breakup of the Office of Personnel Management.

The legislation now must be reconciled with the Senate version of the same bill, which does not include the family leave or OPM amendments.

Continue reading at:  Federal Times

Section 809 chairman shares quick fixes for defense acquisition, no Congress needed

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Three reports and nearly 100 recommendations later, the Section 809 panel is set to wrap up July 14.  While many of the panel’s suggestions will take time and resources to enact, the chairman says there are several that could be implemented “with a stroke of a pen.”

The panel, created in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, looked deeper at ways the Defense Acquisition System could deliver capabilities to warfighters easier and quicker than near-pier competitors and non-state actors.  Dave Drabkin, panel chairman, said the Defense Department wasn’t doing the best job.

“We looked at various aspects of the system that needed to be fixed, from our perspective,” Drabkin said on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.  “One of our driving forces is we realized from the very beginning, or we all knew but we agreed, that the department doesn’t value speed, it doesn’t value time.  However long it takes, it takes.  So if it takes 18 months to buy a computer, it takes 18 months.  In the private sector, it doesn’t take that long.”

Aside from speeding up the process and maybe eliminating some of the extra layers needed to approve acquisitions, Drabkin said Ellen Lord, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, and her team could start with a few quick fixes.

Continue reading at:  Federal News Network

Federal government spent $1.7 billion on temporary help services in 2018

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The value of federal government contracts with temporary help service agencies has more than doubled under the Trump administration, according to a new report.

The study by the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit that advocates worker rights, found the government spent $1.7 billion on the contracts in 2018, five times the amount it spent in 2008.  The largest increase came in the past two years — from $812 million in 2016 to $1.7 billion in 2018.

“The Trump administration’s desire to privatize government-provided healthcare services is the largest factor driving increased use of temporary help services,” the report stated.  Such contracts cover traveling doctors and nurses, as well as contract dentists, pharmacists, therapists, social workers and medical billing staffers.

Continue reading at:  SIA

DOD’s proposed cybersecurity maturity model certification requirements: what we know and how to prepare

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The final DFARS cybersecurity rule promulgated in 2016, which included the latest changes to the DFARS clause at 252.204-7012, was a significant development for DoD contractors, in part because it mandates compliance with the 110 security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171.  DoD has been working with the contracting community since that time with respect to the implementation of the final rule, but has concluded that further compliance steps are needed in the form of cybersecurity certification standards.

The anticipated new cybersecurity certification standards for DoD contractors are quickly taking shape.  Katie Arrington, former South Carolina legislator and current special assistant for Cybersecurity to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, recently announced that DoD is partnering with the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in developing the new certification standard: the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification or “CMMC.”  This Alert outlines what has been revealed thus far about the CMMC, how the CMMC will affect DoD contractors, and steps you can take to be ready when the CMMC goes live.

Continue reading at:  Miles & Stockbridge

7 steps for getting right with NIST 800-171

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The deadline for defense contractors and subcontractors to implement the information security requirements listed in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 has come and gone.  There are more than 100 information security requirements in NIST 800-171, and it is a good bet that many smaller companies without ample IT resources fall into the category of: “We missed the deadline… what now?”

If you want to continue working with the Department of Defense, the simple answer is you will have to be 800-171 compliant.  This includes secure file sharing and information exchange governance, namely how you store, access, exchange and govern sensitive (but unclassified) information with the agency.  And while the December 31, 2017, deadline was directed at DOD’s industry partners, NIST 800-171 applies to all non-federal organizations that work with U.S. government systems and data.  So the suggestions below are in no way limited to defense contractors!

Continue reading at:  Federal Computer Week

OTA agreements exploding in popularity

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The Defense Department is ramping up spending on other transaction authority agreements, according to a recent report by big data analytics firm Govini.

The agreements are a contracting mechanism intended to cut through bureaucratic red tape associated with the Pentagon’s standard acquisition practices, and help the department tap into innovation from nontraditional suppliers.  The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act expanded their application.  OTAs are now available for basic, applied and advanced research projects and for prototype projects and follow-on production, noted the Govini report titled, “Evaluating the Innovative Potential of Other Transaction Authority Investments.”

“To ensure U.S. military advantage, it is imperative for DoD to partner with businesses and academia to incorporate innovative technological advancements into military capability,” the study said.  “DoD is increasingly using OTAs to leverage commercial technology for research and prototyping.”

Following the change in the NDAA, obligation totals grew by 122 percent, eventually reaching a total of $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2018, according to the report.

Continue reading at:  National Defense Magazine 

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