All Learning Content
Texas A&M, U.S. Department of Energy, and India Collaborate on Energy Access Initiative
Jun 26, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award a $7.5 million grant for a five-year project to develop more reliable and affordable access to energy in India. DOE officials said the goal of the project is an energy distribution grid that is smarter and more reliable. Researchers from the Texas A&M...
What to Look for in Leadership and Organizational Performance
Jun 26, 2017
The holy grail of scholarly research on management is to find credible evidence that certain management or leadership practices actually improve an organization’s performance.
The key word here is “credible.” For years, finding this holy grail has been inhibited by methods used for management...
Sales and Procurement: Either from Mars or Venus—or More Together
Jun 25, 2017
Much has been written on differences and similarities of B2B sales and procurement professionals. Sometimes these two types seem to come from two different planets, but then we hear talk of synergies and the need to cooperate more closely. Let’s first discuss the “Women Are from Venus; Men Are...
UK’s National Audit Office Slams Nuclear Deal
Jun 24, 2017
On Friday, the UK’s National Audit Office published a damning report into the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and their Hinkley Point C nuclear power deal, entered into with providers EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN). The headline summary is somewhat...
Philippine Government Leading Green Public Procurement
Jun 23, 2017
The Philippine government has launched its Green Public Procurement (GPP) Regime in an effort to buy green and ensure ecological integrity. This initiative, part of a larger nationwide-plan, reiterates the country’s environmental goals set forth by the United Nations, to further developments of...
Is the Performance of Public Procurement Improving?
Jun 23, 2017
Since the burst of procurement reform in the 1990s (full disclosure: I was a leader of this effort while in government), there has, in my view, been a major improvement in the culture of the U.S. federal procurement system in a more performance-oriented direction.
Traditionally, the balance between...
DOT Offers Pros and Cons of Public-Private Partnerships
Jun 23, 2017
A recent Department of Transportation paper outlines 17 ways to engage the private sector. The paper focuses on the three major phases of project development that include planning, pre-procurement, and post-procurement. Throughout each phase, the paper discusses the pros and cons of various...
Why the U.S. Department of Defense Succeeds at Small Business Contracting
Jun 23, 2017
In Spend Matters global research into public sector procurement in the US and Europe, we’re continually struck by how, especially in the UK, it is front-page news when government organizations (e.g., Transport for London) make it a true priority to spend more with small businesses. It’s not...
How Technology is Changing Public Procurement
Jun 23, 2017
If you’d been sleeping for the past decade, it would be hard to figure out in an instant just how much had changed in the procurement workplace. But you’d get your bearings pretty fast, and likely with a smile on your face as a result. Gone (at least theoretically) would be applications for...
Teaching Suppliers How to Win in Federal Contracting
Jun 22, 2017
Nancy Alvarez manages the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Dallas-Fort Wort District’s 8(a) Business Development program and offers her insights on opening doors to contracts with federal agencies nationwide. “But you have to be ready,” she says. Due to estimated budget increases, now...
Cloud Computing Protest Offers Lessons for Buyers & Suppliers
Jun 22, 2017
A recent protest decision from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides several important lessons for procurement professionals who are buying cloud-enabled services as well as vendors hoping to sell them. Let’s dive in!Red River Computing Company protested the Department of Homeland...
Trump Kicks off American Technology Council with High Powered Working Session
Jun 21, 2017
Yesterday marked the inaugural meeting of the Trump administration’s American Technology Council, as executives from some of America’s leading tech companies convened in the West Wing to “transform and modernize” federal IT and advise the president on tech policy. “We’re embracing big...
