All Learning Content
Big Challenge Ahead for Procurement
Aug 24, 2017
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommends three steps to help agencies expedite the process of getting roughly 2,300 grant-making programs and 3,200 procurement offices to implement the DATA Act. The recommendations are part of OMB’s recent report on the DATA Act’s two-part Section 5...
Government Urged To Overhaul Public Sector Procurement Process for SMEs
Aug 24, 2017
The UK government is being urged to review its public sector procurement process after a Federation of Small Businesses report finds that of the £200bn a year spent on third-party goods and services, very little goes through small firms. Only 23% of SMEs have worked with the public sector in the...
Hospital Breaches Procurement Law With Lack of Transparency in Procuring Equipment, Furniture and IT In One Package
Aug 24, 2017
The Public Procurement Office of Slovakia has found a Bratislava hospital in breach of public procurement law. It is claimed that the hospital violated the law when it was procuring medical equipment, furniture and information technologies in one package, which resulted in a €23 million deal with...
Ofcom Welsh Branch Controversial Contract Terminated
Aug 24, 2017
Communications regulator Ofcom awarded a contract to a Cardiff-based consulting firm which has two senior officials on Ofcom’s advisory committee for Wales. But the firm had not had to submit a competitive tender before being given the contract by the publicly-funded body. The award is said to...
SBA Considering 8(a), HUBZone Changes
Aug 23, 2017
The SBA is considering making changes to improve its socioeconomic programs–particularly the 8(a) and HUBZone Programs.
In a talk yesterday at the 2017 Navy Gold Coast Procurement Conference, Robb Wong, the SBA’s recently-appointed Associate Administrator, Office of Government Contracting...
Auditor’s Report Reveals New Mexico Overreliance on No-Bid Contracts
Aug 23, 2017
According to a new study by the State Auditor’s Office, the New Mexico State government spent more than $1 billion on goods and services in the 2016 budget year without seeking competitive bids. The study found state agencies, in violation of the government procurement law, used emergency...
Gartner Explains Tech Hype in New Report
Aug 23, 2017
Research and advisory company, Gartner, Inc., released an emerging technologies “hype cycle” report that points to an acceleration in how new technologies are moving from idea to implementation. Mike Walker, research director for technology innovation and enterprise architecture at Gartner and...
A Global Study of Progress in Sustainable Public Procurement 2017
Aug 22, 2017
The Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement 2017 was published recently by the United Nations Environment Programme. It was conducted in the framework of the 10YFP Sustainable Public Procurement Programme, and examines the state of sustainable public procurement (SPP) policies and...
Alliant 2 and Other Billion-Dollar Contracts to Watch This Fall
Aug 22, 2017
After almost a year of no updates, the Government Services Administration asked vendors bidding on Alliant 2, the $65 billion multiple award IT services governmentwide acquisition contract, to guarantee their bids through Dec. 31. And while a lot of the federal technology community is watching and...
Details Released on How GSA’s $50 Billion EIS Contract Will Be Split
Aug 22, 2017
The General Services Administration (GSA) posted detailed data on how the $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract might be divvied up. The newly released information includes coverage details for the 932 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) in the U.S. for circuit-switched...
Agile Procurement for the Public Sector
Aug 19, 2017
TRADITIONAL PRACTICES VS MODERN-DAY REALITIES
Public sector procurement practices are based on the fundamental principles that procurement must be fair, open, and transparent. That you must say what you will do, say so in a public fashion, and do what you said you would do. This is founded on the...
EC Temporarily Bans Slovakian Government From Drawing on EU Programme Funds
Aug 18, 2017
Slovakia’s Prime Minister announced this week he will replace the Education Minister (SNS coalition) for allegedly mismanaging EU subsidies in his department (the row is over €300 million in EU subsidies). “Slovak media have reported that the ministry chose several companies with no history...
