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SmallGovCon Weeks in Review: April 9 – 20, 2018
Apr 20, 2018
I was enjoying a day off last Friday, so we have a lot of catching up to do on government contracting news and notes. It’s time for a special two-week super-sized edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review.
In this edition, the GAO looks at NASA’s investigations of contractor whistleblowing...
Cabinet Office Awards £1.5bn Contract For Utilities Switching Services
Apr 19, 2018
NS Tech publishes a weekly roundup of the top 10 (biggest) UK public sector IT tenders and awards. This week it announces that the top 10 tenders amount to more than £88m with the biggest being Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company’s £60m contract. It is looking for a strategic partner to...
UK Urged to Overhaul Public Procurement to Take Advantage of AI
Apr 19, 2018
The UK House of Lords appointed a Select Committee last year to examine Artificial Intelligence and its potential impact, both positive and negative, on UK society, economy, regulations and ethics. The report has now been published and it urges the UK government to take more action to support AI...
Toronto Province Eliminates Bid Submission Fees
Apr 19, 2018
A province of Toronto Canada has announced it is eliminating the fees businesses have to pay to access procurement contracts. Although not a European story, we wonder whether it’s an initiative that may encourage other provinces, indeed other regions, that do charge, to do the same in the light...
Striking a Blow for Agile with DOD Weapons Systems
Apr 19, 2018
In a recent report, called Design and Acquisition of Software for Defense Systems, the Defense Science Board (DSB) has raised its influential voice on behalf of a move by the Department of Defense towards greater use of agile development approaches for software being developed for weapons...
Open Opps Platform Makes Data on Public Sector Spend Accessible To All
Apr 19, 2018
Last year, we introduced here on Public Spend Forum the Open Opps (as in “opportunities”) platform that is monitoring public sector contract opportunities in the UK and more widely. A recent initiative has seen the site now offering a spend analysis tool which enables users to carry out more...
Albanian Construction Firm Banned from Public Procurements for Falsified Documentation
Apr 19, 2018
Albanian construction firm Alko-Impex has been disqualified from taking part in public procurement procedures for a period of between one and three years. The Public Procurement Agency made the decision following a fact check when the firm bid for a “cleaning and tree-planting” contract in...
Scotland’s Supplier Development Programme Appoints Millstream
Apr 19, 2018
The Scottish Business News Network reports this week that Aberdeen-based Procurement firm, Millstream, has been awarded a place on the Scottish Government’s and local authorities’ Supplier Development Programme (SDP) framework: an initiative that assists more Scottish SMEs (small and mid-size...
Star Wars: Should DoD Have One JEDI Master or Many for Massive Cloud Contract?
Apr 18, 2018
The Department of Defense (DoD) is doubling down on its intent to award a massive 10 year, $10 billion contract to a single cloud provider, and the decision is generating quite the debate across the #govcon wires.
At stake for industry is whether and how they get involved in a contract that will...
SBA Affiliation Rules: Owner of One Share (of 120) Controlled Company
Apr 18, 2018
The owner of a 1/120th interest was presumed to control a company under the SBA’s affiliation rules.
You read that right. In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals held that where 120 owners each held one share of stock in a company, all 120 were presumed to...
No Competitor Size Protests of 8(a) Sole Source Awards, Says SBA OHA
Apr 16, 2018
The SBA’s regulations do not allow an 8(a) company to file a size protest challenging the award of an 8(a) sole source contract to a competitor.
In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals confirmed that size protests relating to 8(a) sole source awards can be filed...
Off-Site Construction Manufacture Could Boost Productivity – But Public Procurement May Need to Change
Apr 13, 2018
In the UK, the House of Lords, Science and Technology Committee, is running an inquiry into off-site manufacturing for the construction industry. This involves the construction of components before they are brought together for final assembly at their destination. In looking at the potential...
