A just-released Government Accountability Office report describes the challenges that middle-tier government contractors face in the market and whether anything can really be done about it.
Source: GAO report offers little hope for mid-sized firms — Washington Technology
This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower interviews Carla Bass, author of Write to Influence! regarding the many ways writing can help or hinder your career.
Topics include:
- the ever-shrinking attention span of Americans and the need to convey key information quickly and concisely
- how to frame your argument
- keeping a personal log to document your accomplishments, kudos and more
- how to frame alternatives to current thinking
Source: Learning to write: Brevity wins! | Federal News Network
Your small business is interested in submitting a proposal that requires a Department of Defense Facilities Clearance (FCL). While you will not have the required FCL when proposals are due, you have applied for the FCL and all signs indicate you will have the FCL by the time contract performance begins. In this scenario, can the agency outright deny your proposal or would it have to refer your proposal to the SBA for a certificate of competency? Turns out, it all hinges on whether GAO views the FCL requirement as a matter of proposal acceptability or corporate responsibility.
SOURCE: GAO Walks the Line on Whether Facility Clearance is Proposal Acceptability or Responsibility Matter
In the age of consolidated contracts and increased competition, small business federal contractors are searching for a way to improve their odds of winning the next opportunity. One of the most important tools for doing so is to form a joint venture.
In 2016, SBA established the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, or ASMPP, enabling mentors of any size to provide business development assistance to small protégé businesses to enhance the protégé’s ability to compete for federal contracts. Since then, the ASMPP has served as a powerful tool for many businesses and, as of August 1, there were 885 active mentor-protégé agreements.
SOURCE:SBA OIG All Small Mentor-Protégé Program Evaluation Reveals Concerns and Suggests Improvements
Internal Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs) are frequently used to gauge the reasonableness of contractor prices during proposal evaluation. But can these internal estimates also impact other evaluation factors? GAO was recently asked to resolve this question in the context of past performance evaluations, and the answer was essentially “you sure can!”
SOURCE: GAO Green Lights Use of IGCE in Past Performance Evaluation
There are tons of valuable government contracting events in the DC metro area, from networking happy hours to training seminars to opportunity overviews. We’ve narrowed down the top 5 events that you should attend in the upcoming weeks.
Source: Top 5 Government Contracting Events in October | Red Team Consulting
We are tracking three prominent government contracts this month: Alliant 2 Small Business (Alliant 2 SB), 8(a) Streamlined Technology Application Resource for Services (STARS) III, and Business Oriented Software Solutions (BOSS). Learn more about these opportunities in the descriptions below.
Source: Alliant 2 SB, STARS III & BOSS Contracts on the Horizon
There’s a scene in 2016’s War Dogs where the Jonah Hill character explains to his employees that they are going to spend all day every day digging through one website. In the background, extras are seen staring in to the blue and yellow glow of FedBizOpps.gov.
SOURCE: FedBizOpps is Almost Gone
On August 19, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it will accept revised proposals for Alliant 2 Small Business (SB) – a 10-year, $15 billion, small business contract. Alliant 2 SB is only open to offerors who initially applied for the vehicle, so if you applied last time around, you must re-submit this time.
Source: What Can We Expect from Alliant 2 SB? | Red Team Consulting