The spread of the novel coronavirus in 2020 has proved to be a complex and costly issue for many areas of the public sector. Despite the challenges of 2020, Public Spend Forum continued to provide quality learning content in the public procurement space. Make sure that you didn’t miss any of the top events and webinars of 2020 by checking out these summaries below. Additionally, sign up to be a GovShop member so you don’t miss insightful events such as these in the new year!
Webinar on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Raj Sharma, Ben McMartin, Frank McNally, and Dr. Michael Weatherly walked through the value of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), navigating the process, and how to search for and find this data on GovShop. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated, and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs. Learn more and watch here.
Webinar on How to Quickly Complete a Market Research Report
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Every activity a contracting professional does impacts the outcome they achieve, and some are more important than others. If you mail in the price estimate, you can make up for it during the evaluation, but if you skimp on market research, you put your acquisition in serious jeopardy of failing to deliver. This means that at multiple points in your career, you’ll be tasked with developing a Market Research Report (MRR). Whether it’s part of your overall acquisition plan or a standalone report you deliver for a boss or peer, the MRR is a prerequisite to responsible government contracting. And depending on what you’re buying, it can be a bit of a chore. Fortunately, with a few tips and tricks, you can save time and energy that can be deployed on other actionable tasks. If you’re ready to produce your MRR with maximum efficiency and efficacy, this webinar is for you!
Virtual Workshop on Closing the Deal in Government Contracting
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
For startups and small businesses seeking a foothold in the government market, this series teaches you how to put your company in the best possible position to be found by government buyers so you can close more deals. Geared specifically for startups and small businesses with a commercially ready product or service, we give you techniques you can apply right away to discover new government contracting opportunities and be 100% prepared to take advantage of them. We also help you learn how government buyers select contractors and how best to navigate the procurement process. If you have a product or service that the government needs, but don’t know how to sell it to them, this course is for you! If you have new staff members who you want to get up to speed on public procurement, this course is for them! Access it here.
Related Resource: How to Become a Government Contractor: A 10-Week Email Bootcamp
Webinar on How to Conduct Government Market Research
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Conducting market research and gathering market intelligence is a critical part of any acquisition and procurement process. It can also take a good amount of time that most procurement professionals don’t have, given the other demands of the acquisition lifecycle. This webinar covers practical tips for conducting effective market research in an efficient manner. Based on their own research and experience working in public procurement, our hosts shared insights on the questions to ask early in your market research, finding keywords that describe your ideal product or service, and using GovShop filters to identify eligible small business concerns for your set aside contracts.
Webinar on Acquisition Innovation Essentials
Thursday, February 13, 2020
As commercial technologies are rapidly changing, so too are the methods by which federal agencies have sought to frame, solicit, and award contracts for them. Acquisition Innovation, as a movement, is implementing creative approaches to requirements development by leveraging new procurement authorities and instituting dynamic methods to acquire state-of-the-art technology. In Introduction to Acquisition Innovation Essentials, we will survey how agencies are procuring emerging technologies during an era where industry is out-investing government three to one. In this webinar, learn how agencies are leveraging crowdsourcing, partnership intermediary agreements, prize challenges, other transaction authorities, and more. This webinar was presented in partnership with Bunker Labs.
Webinar on Responsibilities as a Government Contractor During COVID-19
Monday, March 16, 2020
The COVID-19 outbreak raised several questions within the government contracting community. From canceled events, to closed facilities, to strains on supply chains; government contractors are having contingency plans put to the test. In this recorded “Training When It Matters” virtual roundtable, we bring together legal experts from some of the leading government contracts firms to discuss how companies should be protecting themselves in the current environment. With the help of these experts, we will discuss the differences from a typical force majeure clause in a commercial transaction and similar provisions in a government contract, the actions that vendors should be taking to protect themselves in the current environment, whether or not companies be excused from their government contracts, the possibility of insuring against these events, and more.
Global Leaders Exchange for Public Procurement Webinar
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Public Spend Forum re-introduced the Global Leaders Exchange for Public Procurement meetings with this engaging discussion including Jack Pellegrino (Director, Department of Purchasing & Contracting, County of San Diego) and Danny Mays (Director of the Procurement Bureau for Maryland’s Office of State Procurement). Both leaders joined Raj Sharma and Ash Bedi to talk about handling COVID-19 in their respective organizations. Watch it here.
If you missed a few virtual events from the past year, be sure to stay up-to-date on the latest webinars and roundtables planned for Public Spend Forum in 2021. View upcoming webinars, training sessions, and podcasts here.