Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Lawmakers aim to restrict use of lowest-price contracts

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A contractors group has welcomed a bipartisan House bill placed in the hopper last month aimed at curbing agency use of lowest price technically acceptable contracts.

The Promoting Value Based Procurement Act (H.R. 3019), introduced by Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Don Beyer, D-Va., would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require civilian agencies to align themselves with the Defense Department and stiffen their rationales for resorting to lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) contracts, which have grown in use in recent years but are controversial.

“Price should not be the sole deciding factor when the federal government is purchasing complex, innovative information technology and engineering systems, where the least expensive option often may not lead to the best long-term value,” Beyer said in a statement to Government Executive. “We can help spur innovation by allowing contractors for certain high-tech procurements to compete on the strengths of their products, not the cost.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2017/07/lawmakers-aim-restrict-use-lowest-price-contracts/139306

$142 billion in professional services contracts coming in 2017

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Professional services contracts are going to dominate the field in 2017. That’s the biggest takeaway from Bloomberg Government’s Top 20 Opportunities in Federal Contracting.

Nine out of the top 20 contract opportunities in 2017 will be professional services, with a total potential value of $142 billion.

Chief among these contracts is GSA’s OASIS, valued at $60 billion. Although OASIS was awarded in 2014, BGOV expects at least one more on-ramp in 2017, as well as the potential for on-ramps to sub-pools requested by agencies. In addition, BGOV said GSA will likely face pressure to allow more small businesses into the program.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/contractsawards/2016/08/142b-professional-services-contracts-coming-2017/

See more details here: http://about.bgov.com/blog/top-20-federal-opportunities/

GSA continues efforts to consolidate Professional Services contracts

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The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced its intention to further promote the consolidation of professional services contracts by encouraging agencies to transition from expiring, one-off contracts to multiple-award contracting vehicles.

GSA Schedule ContractThe announcement comes on the heels of GSA’s October 1, 2015 announcement that it would be consolidating eight separate schedules into a new Professional Services Schedule (PSS) that will allow federal government agencies to use one contracting vehicle to fulfill a host of professional services requirements.

With many professional services contracts set to expire in Fiscal Year 2016, GSA is actively encouraging agencies to re-compete the contracts using existing agency indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contracts (IDIQ), GSA schedule contracts, such as the PSS, or GSA’s OASIS contracting vehicle, an IDIQ contract meant for professional services.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=441736

For more information on the PSS, read the blog post at: http://govcon.mofo.com/schedule-contracting/gsa-launches-new-professional-services-schedule/.

4 sectors where most federal procurement is happening, and why that’s bad for small businesses

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The vast majority of federal procurement is happening in four sectors — only one of which meets its goals for divvying contract dollars to small businesses.

According to a report from the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, more than 80 percent of federal procurement was concentrated in these categories in fiscal 2012:

  • Manufacturing, with nearly $200 billion.
  • Professional, scientific and technical services, with about $141 billion.
  • Administration and support, waste management and remediation, with about $43 billion.
  • Construction, with about $35.44 billion.

But within that massive chunk of contract spending, how much is making its way to small business?  For three of the four categories, not enough to meet the federal goal of 23 percent, according to the report.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/06/4-sectors-where-mostfederal-procurement-is.html

GSA may offer more cost-reimbursable contracts

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The General Services Administration (GSA) is considering adding cost-reimbursable options to its supply schedules, according to a top agency official.

Tom Sharpe, the commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said in a statement to Federal Times that the agency is conducting an assessment on “a wide array of issues, and will not be a short-term action.”

He added that GSA’s planned OASIS contract vehicle for professional services will offer a cost-reimbursable option available to agencies, and GSA plans to award the contract soon.

Contracts on the GSA federal supply schedules currently use time-and-materials and fixed-price pricing terms.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20131213/DEPARTMENTS07/312130010/GSA-may-offer-more-cost-reimbursable-contracts

Georgia Tech course begins Sept. 16th, covers the entire federal acquisition process

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Georgia Tech’s professional education unit is again offering  “Mission Focused Contracting” — perhaps the most popular of all government contracting courses — during the last two weeks of September 2013.

Conducted by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, the course covers the entire federal acquisition process and is invaluable for both business people as well as government contracting officials.

  • From a business perspective, this course is a boot camp that’s designed to provide insights and details about the government’s entire acquisition process.  Business people will leave this course better prepared to submit bids for government work, creating a positive impact on business growth and bottom line.
  • From a government standpoint, this Defense Acquisition University-equivalent course — that satisfies FAC-C and DAWIA certification requirements — educates contracting officers on the entire acquisition process, from initial meetings with internal customers to completing the contract closeout process — and everything in-between.

All participants have the opportunity to learn and apply problem-solving and negotiation skills in a highly-interactive class setting.

Formally known as CON 120 – Mission Focused Contracting, this course  includes a complete review of CON 110, 111 and 112, on-line courses that are normally prerequisites for CON 120.   Because a review of CON 110, 111 and 112 is built-in to Georgia Tech’s CON 120 offering, students are not required to complete any prerequisites.

Consider the benefits for students from both the government and private sectors:

As a part of this course, contracting officers will learn how to:

  • Complete a market research report
  • Develop a bid or proposal package
  • Evaluate proposals and award contracts
  • Monitor contractor performance, apply remedies, and make proper contract payments
  • Modify contracts, exercise options, and complete the contract closeout process

As a part of this course, companies will:

  • Discover business growth opportunities for your company in the government sector
  • Learn how to develop a bid proposal that will put you ahead of the competition
  • Gain insight on ways to get your small business subcontracting plan approved
  • Network with and learn alongside government contracting officials to gain a better understanding of the process, roles, and responsibilities of government contracting
  • Understand how your company fits in as an important member of the acquisition team

This 10-day course is priced at $2,000 and is next offered Sept. 16 through 27, 2013 in world-class facilities on the Georgia Tech campus in midtown Atlanta. For more information or to register, please visit http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-120-mission-focused-contracting.

For more information on the Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, click here.

GSA releases draft solicitation for massive professional services contract vehicle

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The General Services Administration moved one step closer to launching an overarching contract vehicle for professional services Thursday by releasing two draft requests for proposals.

The agency is inviting comments on the draft RFPs and through its GSA Interact system.

The contract vehicle, known as One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services, or OASIS, would include contracts for accounting, communication, security and transportation, among other services.

OASIS would be an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that would last 10 years in its first incarnation, according to the draft RFPs. GSA’s two draft solicitions were a general RFP and another focused on small businesses.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/03/gsa-releases-draft-solicitation-massive-professional-services-contract-vehicle/62153/?oref=govexec_today_nl 

GSA readies draft RFP for $12 billion OASIS contract

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When it comes to the final details of the General Services Administration’s new professional services contract, One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services, or OASIS, “everything is in play,” said Jim Ghiloni, GSA’s OASIS program manager.

Although he provided few concrete details about OASIS, he did unveil its timetable for the first time.

Keep reading this article at: http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/04/26/oasis-update.aspx?s=wtdaily_270412.

GSA moves forward with new professional services vehicle

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The General Services Administration is moving ahead with a new contract vehicle for buying professional services.

Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Steve Kempf approved the internal business case for the Integrations program earlier this month, according to GSA’s Integrations Blogger’s Blog on the agency’s “Interact” website.

While no dollar value has been attached to the contract’s ceiling, the government spent $79.5 billion on professional services during fiscal 2010, according to GSA data.

Integrations will be a multiple-agency indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. The Integrations contract is expected to include commercial and non-commercial services, that may include program management and consulting services. GSA is also considering having logistics services, professional engineering services and financial services on the menu. GSA is designing the contract vehicle to address needs for professional services that span several types of services that are often difficult to specify or quantify before making an award. However, the contract will elevate risk as a result, wrote Lisa McGuire, program manager for Integrations.

Mary Davie, assistant FAS commissioner for the Integrated Technology Service, said GSA’s Schedules program offers technology and other professional services on an a la carte basis. But agencies want more.

“Agencies have asked us to provide a total professional services solution, which often requires acquisition of multiple services across separate functional areas,” she wrote Feb. 21 on her Great Government Through Technology blog.

Davie said agencies want flexibility. About half of all government spending on complex integrated professional services in fiscal 2010 took place under cost-type contracts.

“That is why we are planning to include all task-order types in Integrations, including cost reimbursement,” she wrote.

Officials intend to make the acquisition process more flexible for all sorts of contract-type task orders and other direct costs at the task-order level, McGuire wrote.

At this point, the Integrations program team is working on a project schedule.

So far though, officials have said they are developing a customer working group, and, for industry, they plan to post draft documents for feedback as the working group meets. GSA wants to make the acquisition planning process to include input from industry and customers. GSA also has to register the contract vehicle with OMB’s MAX Federal website.

Davie is planning a “Tweet Chat” Feb. 29 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. She wants to interact with customer agencies and industry on a range of topics about Integrations. She will be answering tweets to @GSA_ITS with the hashtag #ITSChat.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week.  This article appeared Feb. 21, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/21/gsa-integrations-program.aspx?s=wtdaily_220212.

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