It’s Thursday. Time for another proposal color team review. The Proposal Manager is faced with one of these all-too-familiar scenarios.
Source: Are your proposal review teams derailing the win? | Lohfeld
The VA has proposed eliminating its SDVOSB and VOSB ownership and control regulations, and will follow the SBA’s regulatory eligibility requirements for SDVOSBs and VOSBs.
Source: VA Proposes Elimination of SDVOSB Ownership & Control Rules – SmallGovCon
Are contractors (and subcontractors) harmed financially because the Government can’t (or won’t) definitize change orders in a reasonable amount of time? Are small business contractors more harmed than non-small businesses? That seems to be the case based on legislation recently introduced in the House by Congressman Bacon (Nebraska).
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Congressman Wants Agencies to Compile More Data
The Pentagon last year started asking contractors to update their policies and procedures for how they handle controlled, unclassified government data on their own computers. Now contractors are asking what their obligations are this year, and the Defense Department is even going to verify compliance. David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
Source: David Berteau: DoD to verify how contractors control unclassified data – FederalNewsRadio.com
The Department of Defense (DoD) commissioned a study by RAND Corporation, a federally funded research and development center, to assess the prevalence and impact of bid protests on DoD acquisitions.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Bid Protests on DoD Awards are Relatively Rare
By now, federal contractors realize that they must own multiple award contracts to compete in the $95 billion federal market. (If we subtract classified spending from this figure, fiscal 2017 IT spending topped $80 billion).
Source: Behind the curtain: A look at the government’s hidden market | Lohfeld
The FAR mandates that agencies use the AbilityOne program to award contracts for items on the AbilityOne procurement list to qualified nonprofits. The purpose of the program is to increase employment and training opportunities for persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.
Source: Agencies Cannot Circumvent AbilityOne by Bundling, GAO Confirms – SmallGovCon
This week, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) hosted an Industry Day on Section 846 of the 2018 NDAA, “Procurement Through Commercial e-Commerce Portals.” The meeting kicked off the agencies’ implementation planning phase pursuant to that section, and it was very informative, as it provided an opportunity for a thoughtful and engaging dialogue.
The agency will accept public comments about the regulations later this year.
Source: GSA Plans to Formalize Cyber Rules for Contractors – Nextgov
A lot of IT purchases slipped by acquisition offices too, the Government Accountability Office found.
Source: Agencies Spent Billions on IT Without CIOs’ Approval in 2016 – Nextgov