A new federal watchdog analysis of governmentwide contracting data shows a decline in defense agency contracts to buy products and services over the last five years, but commitments to buy IT and telecom services remained top priorities for defense and civilian agencies.
In a tight vote the evening of March 6, the Senate approved a measure to strike down the final “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Federal Acquisition Regulation, often referred to as the “blacklisting rule.”
Dr. Jason Providakes assumed his new role as president and CEO of the MITRE Corporation March 6.
MITRE is a not-for-profit, government-sponsored organization that operates federally funded research and development centers. Providakes has been with MITRE since 1991, and has overseen federal civilian strategy and customer engagement programs sponsored by the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. He also has overseen programs sponsored by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
When President Barack Obama officially took office in 2009, the first iPhone had been on the market for a scant 18 months, cloud computing use was non-existent and a social networking site called Facebook was starting to gain steam.
The First Responder Network Authority is preparing to announce the award for its nationwide broadband public safety network, once it settles an ongoing bid protest.
Federal agency officials are optimistic that efforts to optimize spending across government will continue, but some experts say deep agency cuts could short circuit some IT spending.
Source: Will deep budget cuts alter federal buying strategies? — FCW
Innovation shop 18F is playing by its own rules, according to the General Services Administration’s inspector general.
A recent roundtable discussion found strong consensus that agencies and industry must team up to improve communication, collaboration and trust.
Source: After the award: How to make contracts deliver — FCW
A big governmentwide contract vehicle at the National Institutes of Health is looking to support more large acquisitions, including cloud computing services.
The General Services Administration released an RFI looking for input on an open numbering system for federal procurement.
