All Learning Content
CCS Digital Outcomes and Specialists 3 – Bids Open July
Mar 23, 2018
UK Crown Commercial Service (CCS) – the government commercial arm – has confirmed that it plans to launch the third iteration of the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) framework this year. The framework helps the public sector to find suppliers that can research, design, build, test and...
SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 19 – 23, 2018
Mar 23, 2018
What a week of college basketball! I don’t think anyone could have predicted a world in which UMBC knocked out Virginia and Loyola-Chicago is knocking on the door of the Final Four, but that’s where we are. Tonight, both of my teams–Duke and KU–are playing, so I’ll be spending my...
Council Moves Away from Single-Supplier and Recommissions ICT Services and Contracts In-House
Mar 22, 2018
One of the UK’s local councils – Croydon – has announced it is changing its ICT delivery model by moving away from its current single-supplier ICT contract to a mix of specialist vendors managed by an in-house team. Is this the start of a more common approach we wonder following the Carillion...
Concerns Over Security of UK Online Public Services
Mar 22, 2018
An article in The Register this week pointed to the ‘insecurity’ of the UK’s public sector’s key government services. “UK.gov’s secure server setup is patchy at best,” it says, and “The security of UK government websites is inconsistent, and local authorities are among the worst...
Bids Invited for £1.6bn Heathrow Railway
Mar 22, 2018
London Waterloo to Heathrow Airport is a proposed new rail line, and the UK government is inviting private investors to fund it. Transport secretary Chris Grayling announced that the government is seeking third-party involvement for proposals for the new southern rail link, which would be more than...
$5.5 Million Waiting to be Paid for Collapsed Bridge
Mar 21, 2018
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will suspend all remaining federal payments, about $5.5 million, for the work on the collapsed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University that killed six just days after being installed. “Before another dollar is spent on this bridge, we...
GSA, OMB Look to Congress for a Smoother Path to E-Commerce Portal Implementation
Mar 21, 2018
Congress mandated that government buyers be able to purchase common, off-the-shelf items from commercial online portals in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act. The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who are charged with putting this...
NAICS Code Appeals: Discussions With Agency Don’t Extend Deadline
Mar 21, 2018
NAICS code appeals can be powerful, and while they’re infrequent, they often succeed. But NAICS code appeals are subject to a strict, 10-day deadline–and that deadline isn’t extended by deliberations with the Contracting Officer.
In a recent NAICS code appeal decision, the SBA Office of...
No Protest of CIO-SP3 SB Order Below $10 Million, Says GAO
Mar 20, 2018
A CIO-SP3 SB contract holder could not protest the award of a task order to a competitor because the order was valued at less than $10 million.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO confirmed that civilian task order awards–including those under CIO-SP3 SB–generally cannot be protested...
Danielle Hinz talks Amazon Business, Lean Processes & Business Priorities on the Procurement Leaders Podcast
Mar 19, 2018
As Chief Procurement Officer of King County, Washington, Danielle Hinz has her own dreams for improving the procurement function. From technology modernization to shortening the RFP process using lean methods, she’s proving that private sector best practices are absolutely workable in the public...
Small Business Status: Ongoing Fiscal Year Usually Isn’t Included
Mar 19, 2018
Under the SBA’s size regulations, when a size standard calls for a company’s size to be determined by its average annual receipts, the company’s ongoing fiscal year usually isn’t included.
In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals rejected an argument that the...
Estonia’s Utilities Department Re-Announces Road Procurement
Mar 16, 2018
Tallinn, Estonia has announced a public procurement for the primary builder in the construction of the 1.7km Reidi Road project. The contract is anticipated to be for 550 days and bids will be selected on lowest cost – it is worth noting that the procurement was announced last year and was...
