81% of government business is awarded without any competitive bidding Many people have an understanding of the basic principles of public procurement: in the U.S. it is, essentially, the process in which businesses and agencies from the private sector are allowed to bid on opportunities to produce goods and services for the public on behalfRead… Read more »
This post was originally published on cpsrenewal.ca. I find myself thinking about the launch of Healthcare.gov with a bizarre frequency. I think it’s fascinating as a case study and, I believe, emblematic of a broader unaddressed problem. The Long Story Short Healthcare.gov launched on October 1, 2013 to serve as a hub for US citizensRead… Read more »
From the Air Force to Health and Human services, 2013 proved to be an exciting expensive year for government contracts. These large federal contracts run into the billions, so smaller businesses or companies will have a more difficult time competing. However, for any contractor of any size, it is interesting to see what the governmentRead… Read more »
This post was co-authored with Rebecca Williams of the Sunlight Foundation and Code for America’s policy intern Ryan Driscoll. This summer, Code for America, Omidyar Network, and the Sunlight Foundation joined forces to investigate municipal procurement trends, best practices, and potential areas of improvement across the country with the Local Government Procurement Survey. The surveyRead… Read more »
“Certain planned procurements may be cancelled and certain existing contracts may be stopped, reduced in scope, terminated or partially terminated.” Nick Nayak, chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, has advised contractors of these potential actions in the event of a government shutdown in a letter posted Thursday on FedBizOpps. DHS will notRead… Read more »
by Steve Charles, Co-founder and Executive Vice President With the Washington Nationals now eliminated for sure from this season’s baseball playoffs, Washington the city and the market can focus fully on handicapping the possibility of a government shutdown next week. Just in case, the White House issued a memo this month on agency operations duringRead… Read more »
I’ve been researching how the US Federal budget sequester continues to impact Federal programs and projects (1). In interviews with Federal contractors I’ve heard repeatedly how sequester-driven budget reductions continue a trend to forcing quality levels and rates downward. These impacts are in addition to outright cancellations and delays in Federal project work. Especially worrisomeRead… Read more »
What metrics define a successful procurement? Is it the time it takes to go from an RFP to a new contract? Is it the number of disputes on a particular contract? The metrics around procurement are murky at best. But the National Association of State Chief Information Officers is trying to clear up some ofRead… Read more »
by Steve Charles, Co-founder and Executive Vice President Your customers need your help. Not just your products and the requirements those will fulfill, but your personal help to get fully justified purchase requests to contracting shops who can issue the order before the end of the fiscal year. I spoke on a panel discussion lastRead… Read more »
By Patricia Miller, Senior Acquisition Analyst Recently I wrote an article about the significant role that Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) play in the acquisition process flow. In “Do COR’s Matter in Your Agency? Why they Should,” I advocated the importance of reassuring CORs that they are a valuable force within acquisition teams. This blog generatedRead… Read more »