All Learning Content
Avoiding Using Unsolicited Proposals to Circumvent Regulations and Best Practices when Procuring PPPs
Oct 25, 2017
Emerging International Trends
Over the past year, I have become increasingly aware of an emerging trend by governments to consider Unsolicited Proposals (USPs) as a panacea to unlock the inertia that they face in launching Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) or for attracting much needed foreign...
Over 200 Cities Bid for Amazon HQ2
Oct 25, 2017
This week, Amazon said it received 238 proposals from cities and regions looking to be home for the $5 billion second headquarters the company is planning to build, also known as HQ2. Proposals were due last week and many contained videos showing off what the municipalities had to offer. According...
Unverified SDVOSB JV Partner Couldn’t Protest VA Set-Aside Solicitation
Oct 24, 2017
A non-SDVOSB company couldn’t protest the terms of a VA SDVOSB set-aside solicitation, despite entering into a joint venture agreement with an SDVOSB–because the joint venture hadn’t started the process of becoming verified by the VA.
In a recent bid protest decision, GAO held that because...
GAO: Agency’s Oral Advice Didn’t Amend Solicitation
Oct 24, 2017
An agency’s oral advice, given at a pre-proposal conference, did not amend the solicitation or legally bind the agency.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO reiterated that offerors rely on oral advice from agencies at their own risk–particularly when the oral advice in question appears to...
GAO: Agency Corrective Action After Eight Months of Protests Was Not “Unduly Delayed”
Oct 24, 2017
In a GAO bid protest, recovering costs after an agency takes corrective action turns on whether or not the agency unduly delayed the corrective action.
A recent GAO case shows that, in certain circumstances, an agency may be able to fight a protester almost to the bitter end, then take corrective...
Small Montana Company Gets Puerto Rico’s Largest Contract
Oct 24, 2017
Puerto Rico’s state-owned utility has turned to a two-year-old, Montana-based company to restore its electrical grid. Whitefish Energy signed a $300 million contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to repair and reconstruct large portions of the island’s electrical...
SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 16-20, 2017
Oct 20, 2017
My Cubs couldn’t pull off the World Series repeat, losing badly to the Dodgers last night in the National League Championship Series. And you know what? I’m okay with it. We Cubs fans are a different breed: after 108 years, many of us thought we’d never see a title. So after the...
GSA’s Blockchain Blockbuster
Oct 19, 2017
The other week I got an email from Jose Arrieta, the new director, arrived less than a year ago, of the General Services Administration’s Schedule 70 (IT products and services) operations. He told me his organization had awarded in late June the federal government’s first contract to use...
Irony of Wales National Procurement Service Set Up to Save Money
Oct 19, 2017
Wales’ top public spending watchdog has raised concerns about a body that was set up to save Welsh public bodies money – but which has been running at a loss – reports Wales Online. A report has been issued on how Welsh public bodies, which spend £6 billion a year, are not using the National...
WOSB Program: Company Ineligible Because Husband Managed Business
Oct 19, 2017
A self-certified woman-owned small business was ineligible for a WOSB set-aside contract because the woman owner’s husband held the company’s highest officer position and appeared to manage its day-to-day operations.
A recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision highlights the importance...
UK Government To Spend Millions on Testing 5G
Oct 19, 2017
The UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, under MP Matt Hancock, has announced it wants the UK to be a global leader in the next generation of mobile technology. The government’s 5G programme is being set up now, and a 5G prospectus illustrates how it will work and what it...
NAO Publishes Investigation into NDA and Reveals Some Disturbing Issues
Oct 17, 2017
We featured the procurement problems at the nuclear de-commissioning authority last year in some depth. A mis-handled procurement process led to unsuccessful bidders taking the Authority to court and winning their challenge, which has cost the British taxpayer some £100 million.
Now, the National...
