Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

An inside look at GSA’s federal marketplace strategy

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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/

NIH wants more veteran, HUBZone small businesses on GWAC

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NIHThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) wants to add more companies to its CIO-Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3) Small Business government-wide acquisition vehicle and has declared open season for potential vendors.

This government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) is one of three managed by the NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) and the only one set-aside entirely for small businesses, including service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), 8(a) and HUBZone vendors.

There are currently 94 contract-holders on the small business GWAC.  NITAAC expects to award an additional 20 to 35 slots during the ramp-on period, with an eye toward boosting participation from some of the small business categories that are currently underrepresented, according to NITAAC Director Robert Coen.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/it/health/2016/03/17/cio-sp3-ramp-on/81905732/

GSA’s $2.93 billion Alliant contract is biggest GWAC in history

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The General Service Administration’s Alliant governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC) had an outstanding year helping agencies achieve their mission through a fast, flexible, and reliable acquisition vehicle. Agencies obligated $2.93 billion dollars to Alliant during FY15, marking Alliant as the largest utilized single GWAC in GSA history by dollar value.

Alliant is GSA’s premier enterprise GWAC, providing flexible access to customized IT solutions from a large, diverse pool of industry partners. Alliant allows for long-term planning of large-scale, complex program requirements.

Alliant FY15 Success Analytics

Since contract inception, more than 63 agencies have used  Alliant and awarded an estimated $22.8 Billion in task order value. Seven agencies used Alliant for the first time in FY15. This steady growth can be attributed to numerous factors. For example, approximately 870 federal acquisition and program professionals have received the Alliant GWAC Delegation of Procurement (DPA) training – 248 contracting officials in FY15 – a 23% increase.  During FY15, 96 Statements of Work (SOWs) were submitted for review, representing a 13% increase.

Top Agencies and Vendors

The top three agencies utilizing Alliant, in terms of obligated dollars, are the Air Force at $3.49 billion, the Department of Homeland Security at $3.00 billion, and the Army at $2.83 billion. The Department of State comes in at a close fourth at $2.62 billion.

Currently, the firm SAIC leads obligations – over $2.12 billion spread across 44 task orders. Booz Allen Hamilton Engineering Services follows with $881 million across 12 task orders, and Lockheed Martin follows with $853 million across 21 task orders.

Strong relationships between Government and Industry

As pre-competed vehicles, GWACs can streamline the acquisition process, which naturally leads to saving time and money. Alliant consists of 57 prequalified contractors.  To date, 51 out of 57 primes have received awards.

GSA’s Enterprise GWAC division recently invited representatives from each of the 57 Primes to participate in Alliant’s twice-a-year Program Management Review (PMR). The event spans two days and allows industry to interact with government and participate in collaborative program updates and breakout sessions.  Success on projects through Alliant is a three-part partnership – GSA, the procuring agency, and the company performing the work under the task order.

Source: http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/technology/2016/01/26/alliant-enterprise-gwac-update/

4 government contracting trends to watch in 2016

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Today’s times represent an ongoing shift in the federal services marketplace. The changes are broad and include shifts in technology; acquisition methods; and the economics of being a contractor with significant hurdles and barriers to success.  These market dynamics will play out over the coming months and years – here’s a rundown of the most significant of those changes now well underway.

1. Cloud Computing Continues to Absorb IT Services Opportunities
Federal agencies have moved beyond the 2010 Cloud-First mandate to adopt cloud computing, and have begun embracing the cloud to support their business and mission objectives.  Cloud computing represents a significant change to the way that the federal government had done business. Cloud computing permits the customer to spend less time managing complex IT resources and more time investing in core mission work.  Companies that have cloud-based offerings are winning significant business away from providers that have historically supported “in-house” solutions.

FedRamp opt outAn estimated $20 billion of the federal government’s $80 billion in IT spending is a potential target for migration to cloud computing solutions, according to the White House’s Federal Cloud Computing Strategy. The size and scope of cloud programs are becoming larger, driven in part by the success of smaller projects, and by the manifestation of supporting policies, including FedRAMP, a security “stamp of approval” that lets government agencies know a solution has an appropriate and detailed security plan in place. To date, 48 systems have been authorized FedRAMP compliant.  With the cost of a FedRAMP certification reaching as high as $300,000 and authorizations taking 9 to 15 months, gaining certification is a major commitment for any company.  As a result, many firms, especially small businesses, may be locked out of this segment of the market.

Read all 4 contracting trends to watch in 2016 at: http://www.washingtonexec.com/2015/10/guest-column-4-government-contracting-trends-to-watch-in-2016-by-mark-abel/

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