All Learning Content
The Different Faces of Risk Aversion in Public Sector Procurement
Jun 9, 2017
At a recent meeting of the European Public Procurement Leaders Exchange we discussed the fact that in public procurement and government contracting, many staff appear to hold a risk-averse attitude.It is a generalization of course and we would never suggest that everyone in public procurement is...
Debrief of the April 2017 Meeting for the Public Procurement Best Practices Exchange
Apr 13, 2017
At the most recent meeting of Public Spend Forum’s Public and Social Sector Procurement Best Practices Exchange, leaders from across the public sector gathered to discuss three key topics on the agenda:
Mid-Tier Supplier Challenges in the Federal Market – (discussion led by Jerry Miles,...
October 2016 Meeting Summary And Notes
Jan 26, 2017
In this document, available to members of our Global Leaders Exchange, we provide a debrief of the October Exchange meeting, where leaders discussed not only what metrics are most vital to their organization, but how the public sector can rethink its approach to measurement to get at what drives...
Dave Zvenyach: How 18F Found Success with Its Micro-Purchase Platform
Jan 10, 2017
If you’ve been watching the federal acquisition landscape of late, you may have seen an increased rumbling coming from the Hill about the value and the approach of the teams of tech experts that have come to government in the wake of the Healthcare.gov launch. Teams like the US Digital Services...
Don’t Fight the FAR: Innovation and Regulation Can Go Hand in Hand
Jan 10, 2017
You hear it time and again: If it weren’t for the regulations, we’d have loads of innovation in the public sector. Nowhere in government is there a more maligned document than the FAR, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which has been blamed for any number of hurdles and failures in federal...
IT Contracts That Defined 2017
Dec 29, 2017
The trend in acquisition has shifted toward standardized technology and stronger cybersecurity, from the massive telecommunications upgrades anticipated with the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract to the new version of the General Services Administration’s Alliant IT vehicle. The...
Rogue Agencies: Lower tier publics with little oversight gone rogue?
Dec 29, 2017
Rogue Agencies: Lower tier publics with little oversight gone rogue?Topic keywords: Integrity in Public Procurement, Bribery in Public Procurement, Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement, Preventing Corruption in Public ProcurementIn reviewing various quasi public agencies that are near purely...
3 Predictions for Government Tech in 2018
Dec 27, 2017
Next Gov provides a quick look at which technology will move from buzzword to implementation in 2018. Emerging tech like blockchain has been examined as a possible way to secure transactions, documents, and messaging for a variety of applications in government. Another tech, artificial...
Fight Waste and Fraud with Tech
Dec 27, 2017
Note: This is a post co-authored with my friend and colleague Nick Sinai as lead author. Nick is a former U.S. deputy CTO in the Obama administration, currently venture partner at Insight Venture Partners, and adjunct faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Last week was a big step for IT...
Doing Market-Making Doesn’t Mean You’ve Made a Market
Dec 27, 2017
Market-making is an activity or process that is a relatively new element within the procurement periodic table. It started being used in the public sector in the UK perhaps 15-20 years ago, although arguably something resembling it has no doubt been going on for longer.
It applies when an...
GAO Says “No” to Air Force Buying Employees Sporks
Dec 27, 2017
The U.S. Air Force cannot buy sporks, at least not in many situations.
One would think that the recently passed $700 billion defense bill would provide a little wiggle room for the military to buy paper plates and utensils for its civilian contractors, but, according to the GAO, that is not...
Smart Cities: Connected Bikes Launch in Las Vegas
Dec 26, 2017
Through a network of connected devices, Boston-based startup, Charles River Analytics, hopes to make cycling a safer activity by allowing bicycles to communicate with connected vehicles and smart-city technology to promote safer shared roadways. Las Vegas is currently testing the technology....
