Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Training
    • Class Registration
    • On-demand Training
    • GTPAC COVID-19 Resource Page
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans Verification Video
    • GTPAC Community
    • Other Training Audio & Video
  • Useful Links
  • Team Directory
    • Albany Counselor
    • Atlanta Counselors
    • Augusta Counselor
    • Carrollton Counselor
    • Columbus Counselor
    • Gainesville Counselor
    • Savannah Counselor
    • Warner Robins Counselor
  • Directions
    • Atlanta – Training Facility
    • Atlanta – Office
    • Albany
    • Augusta
    • Carrollton
    • Columbus
    • Gainesville
    • Savannah
    • Warner Robins
  • COVID-19
  • New Client Application
  • Contact Us

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

July 17, 2019 By Andrew Smith

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

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: commercial item, DoD, Section 809 Panel

Good news for new tech: Panel recommends DoD IT acquisition reform

April 5, 2019 By Andrew Smith

As information technology (IT) companies have known for years, the U.S. government regularly acquires inferior technology, often slowly and at high prices. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), which stands to benefit the most from state-of-the-art technology, is encumbered by a web of complex and archaic procurement regulations. For emerging technology companies looking to serve the government, DoD’s procurement approach can be a major source of frustration, discouraging many of them from entering the federal arena altogether.

Fortunately, meaningful reform may be on the horizon. The Section 809 Panel, a group tasked by the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act to identify ways to improve the defense acquisition system, has recently set forth three recommendations aimed at streamlining DoD’s IT procurement process. These IT-focused recommendations are found in Section 3 of the panel’s Volume 3 Report, at numbers 43 through 45. The panel recommended the following:

  • Rec. 43: Revise acquisition regulations to enable more flexible and effective procurement of consumption-based solutions.
  • Rec. 44: Exempt DoD from Clinger-Cohen Act provisions in Title 40.
  • Rec. 45: Create a pilot program for contracting directly with IT consultants through an online talent marketplace.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/good-news-for-new-tech-panel-recommends-46249/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, Clinger-Cohen Act, DoD, information technology, IT, procurement reform, Section 809 Panel, technology

GSA launches enhanced debriefing pilot, but why not make it permanent?

February 26, 2019 By Andrew Smith

The perception that bid protests are mucking up the federal procurement process is one of those urban myths that will not die, like how Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 or that the Air Force hides away UFOs in the desert.

Despite the fact that these “theories” are continually disproven, the myths just will not go away. Plenty of people swear they hear “Paul is dead” when you play “Revolution No. 9” backward.

For instance the most recent attempt to limit bid protests to improve acquisition is from the Section 809 panel. It recommended making substantial changes to the federal bid protest process by limiting vendors to filing before the Government Accountability Office or the Court of Federal Claims, but not both, as well as prohibiting protests of contracts for “readily available” products or services of less than $15 million.

The Senate Armed Services Committee a few years ago tried to “restrain” bid protests by making it harder on contractors to bring complaints before the GAO.

Despite the well-known fact that protests impact less than 1 percent of all procurement actions a year, there is this ever-present concern that bid protests are fouling up the system and a major part of the reason why federal contracting takes so long.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/02/gsa-launches-an-enhanced-debriefing-pilot-but-why-not-just-make-it-permanent/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: bid protest, Court of Federal Claims, debriefing, GAO, myths, Section 809 Panel, USCFC

‘Eliminate most DoD small business set-asides,’ says Section 809 Panel

January 29, 2019 By Andrew Smith

The Section 809 Panel has recommended that Congress eliminate most small business set-asides for DoD acquisitions.

The Panel would replace the longstanding set-aside system with a meager five percent small business price preference.

For small government contractors, this recommendation is the policy equivalent of a five-alarm fire. Small contractors may need to fight hard to save the set-aside system.

Get ready for a battle.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/statutes-and-regulations/eliminate-most-dod-small-business-set-asides-says-section-809-panel/

Find all of the Section 809 Panel’s reports here: https://section809panel.org/media/updates/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, Congress, DoD, innovation, price preference, procurement reform, Section 809 Panel, set-aside, small business

5 ‘bold’ recommendations to improve DoD acquisition

January 22, 2019 By Andrew Smith

Congress and the Defense Department are paying close attention to recommendations coming from the Section 809 panel to change the military’s acquisition process.

The House and Senate Armed Service committees added every idea from the group’s May 2017 interim report as well as many of the recommendations from the panel’s January 2018 volume one report to recent Defense authorization bills, said David Drabkin, the panel’s chairman.

“During this process, we have met frequently with both the House Armed Services Committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, and on occasion we have met with the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee and Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Defense, and have worked closely with the department as you can see on the panel, three of the department’s acquisition executives have been a part of the panel itself,” Drabkin said Tuesday during the roll out of the volume 3 recommendations in Washington, D.C. “We can’t assure Congress will accept our work, but we have an indication that they are very interested. As you look around the room, you can see members from the staff of the HASC and SASC sitting in the meeting today.”

So with the congressionally-mandated group of public-private sector experts issuing their third and final set of recommendations on Jan. 15th detailing 58 new ones across 13 sections, the likelihood of many of these proposals advancing is good. In all, the panel made 93 recommendations, provide implementation plans and legislative language across more than 1,000 pages and three volumes of work since 2016.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/acquisition/2019/01/5-bold-recommendations-to-improve-dod-acquisition/

See the 809 Panel’s final report here: 

  • Final Report – Part 1 – Sec809Panel_Vol3-Report_JAN19_part-1
  • Final Report – Part 2 – Sec809Panel_Vol3-Report_JAN19_part-2

See the 809 Panel’s earlier reports here: https://section809panel.org/media/updates/ 

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, Congress, DoD, House Armed Services Committee, innovation, procurement reform, Section 809 Panel, Senate Armed Services Committee

Congress aims to redefine ‘subcontract’

June 25, 2018 By Andrew Smith

If an agreement qualifies as a “subcontract” under a government contract, then it may be subject to certain flow-down, compliance, and reporting requirements.  These requirements are intended to protect the government’s interests, and have significant ramifications for contractors, e.g., increasing transaction costs, expanding potential areas of exposure.

These compliance obligations and risks can even deter some companies from performing under government contracts, especially those companies offering commercial items.

Currently, there is no uniform definition of “subcontract” in the applicable procurement regulations or in the procurement chapters under Titles 10 and 41 of the U.S. Code.  Indeed, there are more than twenty varying definitions of “subcontract” in the FAR and DFARS, with many clauses failing to specify which definition applies.  Now Congress is looking to address this lack of uniformity through the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2018/06/congress-aims-to-redefine-the-subcontract/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Congress, FAR, flow down clause, NDAA, rulemaking, Section 809 Panel, subcontracting

Latest effort to reform DoD acquisition borrows heavily from expert panel’s recommendations

April 24, 2018 By Andrew Smith

For the fourth year in a row, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is pushing a package of legislation that he says will modernize and accelerate the Defense acquisition system.

This year’s version includes at least a couple of key differences though. For one, it attempts to prod the Defense Department to implement the changes Congress has already passed as part of prior-year reform bills.

For another, most of the changes Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) is proposing were first recommended by the Section 809 Panel, an 18-member team of acquisition experts Congress commissioned in 2017 to provide advice on how to streamline the system.

Among the traits shared by the Thornberry bill and the recommendations the 809 panel has already delivered is an emphasis on scraping years of detritus from the federal statutes that govern the acquisition system.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/defense-main/2018/04/house-chairmans-latest-effort-to-reform-dod-acquisition-borrows-heavily-from-expert-panels-recommendations/ 

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, commercial item, HASC, House Armed Services Committee, NDAA, procurement reform, Section 809 Panel

Recent Posts

  • Podcast: Buy American executive order and recent changes
  • Podcast: Contractors say they’re seeing a resurgence of LPTA procurements
  • Reminder: If pricing is too high, VA “rule of two” might not apply
  • CPARS challenges: No appeals without contracting officer claim
  • GAO: In “best value” procurement agency has wide discretion to pay price premium

Popular Topics

8(a) abuse Army bid protest budget budget cuts certification construction contract awards contracting opportunities cybersecurity DoD DOJ False Claims Act FAR federal contracting federal contracts fraud GAO Georgia Tech government contracting government contract training government trends GSA GSA Schedule GTPAC HUBZone innovation IT Justice Dept. marketing NDAA OMB SBA SDVOSB set-aside small business small business goals spending subcontracting technology VA veteran owned business VOSB wosb

Contracting News

Podcast: Contractors say they’re seeing a resurgence of LPTA procurements

CPARS challenges: No appeals without contracting officer claim

GAO: In “best value” procurement agency has wide discretion to pay price premium

Contractor settles fraud claims related to 8(a) joint venture

Senator: Pandemic makes anti-fraud law more important than ever

Read More

Contracting Tips

Podcast: Buy American executive order and recent changes

Reminder: If pricing is too high, VA “rule of two” might not apply

Startups should try to win city and school district contracts. Here’s why.

Surviving proposal weaknesses after discussions: what not to do

E-Verify records purge scheduled for May 14, 2021

Read More

GTPAC News

DLA hosting event March 10th with special emphasis on Women-Owned Small Businesses

Navy Office of Small Business Programs holding three events in March

SBA hosting conversations with contracting officers forum Feb. 25th

USACE seeks vaccination center construction support

GTPAC updates cybersecurity resource page to include CMMC guidance

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Future of 5G is under the microscope at Georgia incubator

Collective worm and robot “blobs” protect individuals, swarm together

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation is now accepting applications for pilot programs

Georgia Tech will help manage DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory

Dr. Abdallah testifies on U.S. competitiveness, research, STEM pipeline at Congressional hearing

Read More

  • SAM.gov registration is free, and help with SAM is free, too
APTAC RSS Twitter GTPAC - 30th Year of Service

Copyright © 2021 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute