Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GSA eyes summer release of final RFP for Polaris small business IT GWAC

By

The General Services Administration (GSA) plans to release a final request for proposal (RFP) for its new Polaris small business IT contract by summer 2021.

Polaris is a new governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC).  It emerged as a replacement for Alliant II Small Business (A2SB), following a protest decision in March 2019 that forced GSA to ditch A2SB awards.

Polaris will fill a major gap left by A2SB for agencies to acquire IT service-based solutions from small business that have a range of cutting-edge technologies.  Detailed in a March 9 agency announcement, the contract will be divided into three subcategories, or pools, for companies as follows: HUBZone businesses, women-owned small businesses (WOSB), and other small businesses.

Continue reading at:  Bloomberg Government

GSA kicks off two-year effort to innovate service contracting beyond OASIS

By

Let’s get the jokes about the General Services Administration’s working title of its new services governmentwide acquisition contract out of the way.  Today it’s known as a BIC MAC—Best-in-Class Multiple Award Contract.

Go ahead have some fun.

Whatever name GSA eventually comes up with that is not BIC MAC, the new approach to services contracting aims to shake things up in a way the federal contracting community hasn’t seen in at least five years.

GSA released the first of at least two requests for information on March 2 seeking industry feedback on some of the basic ideas around the contract like socioeconomic reserves, the initial list of functional domain areas, contract structure, and much more. Responses to the 27-page survey are due March 17.

Continue reading at:  Federal News Network

GSA preps guidance for using CMMC in civilian contracts

By

The General Services Administration wants to get ahead on training and education materials contracting officers will need as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements become standard in government contracts.

Keith Nakasone, the GSA’s deputy assistant commissioner for IT acquisition, said the agency is developing ordering guides for contracting officers who use government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs).

“We know that training is going to be required as we go through this process with our Department of Defense partners,” Nakasone said during an AFFIRM event on CMMC on Feb. 17.  “So as we move forward, we want to present an ordering guide where we have created templates, some guidance in our ordering process [on] how to use the GSA contract.”

Continue reading at:  FCW

An inside look at GSA’s federal marketplace strategy

By

In a Federal News Network podcast, Emily Murphy, administrator of the General Services Administration, shares her vision for the agency’s Federal Marketplace Strategy (FMS).

During the podcast, Murphy outlines the four cornerstone initiatives (4C’s) of FMS:

  • MAS Consolidation
  • Commercial Platforms
  • Catalog Management
  • Contract Writing System

Murphy also provides an update on customer agencies growing use of GSA’s procurement portfolio, including the MAS, IT GWACs and OASIS.

Finally, she gives us a preview of the Federal Acquisition Service Training Conference scheduled for April 14-16, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.  FAST 2020 is a national training conference for the federal acquisition workforce, industry partners and customer agencies.

Listen to the podcast at:  Federal News Network

80 small businesses to get a spot on Alliant 2

By

The federal government is likely to award around 80 companies a spot on a massive contracting system approving certain IT companies to sell to government.

Alliant 2, known as a “Government-Wide Acquisition Contract,” is managed by the General Services Administration. Last month, GSA made awards on its larger $50 billion IT GWAC, with a special emphasis on companies selling emerging technology such as artificial intelligence.

The Alliant 2 small business contracts are worth up to $15 billion, with a five-year base and five-year extension option. GSA on Thursday published a pre-award list of businesses likely to get a spot.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/12/80-small-businesses-get-spot-alliant-2/144393/

Reducing the costs of procurement regulation – A step in the right direction

By

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is around 180,000 pages and is growing at about 2,000 pages a year.

In 2008, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Small Business Administration estimated the regulatory compliance costs to be approximately $1.752 trillion.

These figures were cited in 2015 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee by the Honorable Jacque S. Gansler, Ph.D., currently professor emeritus at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. He cited these figures in making the case for reducing regulations, policies, and procedures to reduce barriers to entry to the federal market and to increase the Defense  Department’s access to commercial innovation, which is needed desperately to ensure technological superiority on the battlefield.

That is why the Jan. 30, 2017 executive order Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, is a step in the right direction in reducing regulatory burdens.  The EO provides, in part, that for fiscal year 2017, the heads of agencies are directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations to be finalized this year, including repealed regulations, shall be no greater than zero.  The EO further provides that any new incremental costs associated with the new regulations shall be offset by the elimination of existing costs of at least two prior regulations.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2017/02/reducing-the-costs-of-procurement-regulation-a-step-in-the-right-direction/

IT spending on government-wide contracts tops $10 billion

By

Federal information technology spending on government-wide acquisition contracts, or GWACs, topped $10 billion for the first time in fiscal 2016, Bloomberg Government data show.

The government spent $10.9 billion on IT products and services using GWACs in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up from $9.4 billion in fiscal 2015, and the fifth-straight annual gain.

gwac-spending-growth-2012-2016

Keep reading this article at: https://about.bgov.com/blog/spending-government-wide-contracts-tops-10-billion/ 

GWACs remain the vehicle of choice for government buyers

By

GSA logoBusiness in governmentwide acquisition contracts is booming, with agency buyers turning to the large-scale vehicles for price breaks and convenience.

“The word has gotten out on the flexibility and ease of use of GWACs,” said Casey Kelley, acting director of the General Services Administration’s GWAC Program.

During a panel discussion at the Digital Government Institute’s 930gov conference on Aug. 24, Kelley said GSA’s Alliant contract has $3.5 billion in the pipeline for fiscal 2017. GWACs like Alliant, which is set to expire in 2019, typically see declines in their later years, he added.

Keep reading this article at: https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2016/08/25/gwac-popular-rockwell.aspx

Top takeaways concerning GSA’s final rule on transactional data reporting

By

GSA logoBy now the entire government contracting community is well aware that one of the most significant changes in Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracting in years occurred just a few weeks ago, as the General Services Administration (GSA) issued its Final Rule on transactional data reporting.

The Final Rule amends the GSA Federal Acquisition Regulation supplement (GSAR) to require FSS contractors and others with certain GSA Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), and Government-wide Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to report transactional data related to orders placed under those contracts.

As indicated over a year ago in a prior client alert, both the contracting community and the GSA Office of Inspector General had concerns with the draft transactional data reporting rule.  GSA has addressed some, but not all, of these concerns.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=507342

A future where price is no longer a factor for many RFPs

By

The General Services Administration first brought up the concept of having an “unpriced” schedule a year or so ago.

GSA logoThe idea is to evaluate vendors for their capabilities, past performance and overall skillsets, and not on their prices. And then let the price competition happen at the task order level.

This concept would be a huge change in the federal market where price has always been a factor in the evaluations of bids.

But the recent success of governmentwide multiple award contracts such as OASIS, and the acceptance of a similar approach for the recent $11.5 billion Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) procurement and the soon-to-be released solicitation for Alliant 2, there is a growing recognition that this may be the future of federal contracting for multiple award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity vehicles.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/06/future-price-no-longer-factor-many-rfps/

Contracting News

Read More

Contracting Tips

Read More

GTPAC News

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Read More