All Learning Content
18F Founders Argue for Share-in-Savings in IT Procurement
May 11, 2017
Chris Cairns and Dr. Rob Read, the co-founders of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) 18F organization, make an argument for government to use “share-in-savings” (SiS) contracts to help tackle IT procurement challenges. “With SiS, agencies can launch IT projects with little or no...
Treasury Releases Update to USASpending.gov
May 11, 2017
The U.S. Treasury Department has released a new beta version of USASpending.gov, an update to the spending data site three years in the making. The beta version of the site provides standardized data on agency appropriations and expenditures, which can be organized by agency and by category, as...
Slew of Commercial Buying Regulations Added in the Last Decade
May 10, 2017
Jason Miller of Federal News Radio reports that since 2009, there have been 114 new regulations added to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. That number comes from an analysis by the Aerospace Industries Associations. About a third of those...
Inside the Service Contracting Industry
May 10, 2017
Inc. magazine takes a “peek inside the biggest industry you never hear about,” federal services contractors. The article profiles a number of contractors, and looks at how those companies are providing services to the government, what various changes in the federal government mean to those...
Dispute Between Maine Governor and Treasurer Throwing Contracting Space into Tailspin
May 10, 2017
Maine’s construction industry is in a holding pattern as new contracts aren’t being awarded, following a dispute between Governor Paul LePage and Treasurer Terry Hayes. LePage claims Hayes did not follow procurement regulations when she awarded a contract to an out-of-state bonding agent. Hayes...
Three Top Qualities Every Public Procurement Professional Must Have
May 8, 2017
At Public Spend Forum, we’re interested in identifying the qualities that every procurement pro needs to succeed—not just in her career, but in fulfilling the agency’s mission.
One thing we discovered as we talked with experts in the field, no matter how much job descriptions change and the...
Federal Employee Union Wants Congress to Step in on DoD Contracting
May 8, 2017
The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal employees wrote a letter to Congress, is asking lawmakers to require the Department of Defense to “improve the oversight and management for the vast sums it spends so carelessly on contracted services.” “Anything...
Mississippi Procurement Reform Prioritizes Reverse Auctions
May 8, 2017
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed into law a bill to reform the state’s bidding and procurement process. According to the Northside Sun, there are a few key provisions, including an emphasis on reverse auctions, the creation of a Public Procurement Review Board to oversee smaller...
New Study Busts Myths about FedRAMP
May 8, 2017
Coalfire—a cybersecurity risk management company and a third-party assessment organization evaluating companies cloud providers under the Federal Risk Authorization and Management Program (FedRAMP)—has published a new study finding the program is more efficient than is currently perceived....
How Important is Procurement for Effective Risk Management?
May 8, 2017
I had the opportunity to sit in on Spend Matters lead analyst Thomas Kase’s e-Sourcing Survival Guide talk at the Commodity / PROcurement EDGE Conference in Chicago, and was surprised to see it take an entertaining detour down the road of supply risk management. When implementing an eSourcing...
Unlock the Potential of Your Procurement Leadership Team
May 8, 2017
Building any organization or team is challenging and requires diligence, expertise and a little bit of luck. Having a great product or service is great, but it’s not enough. Among other factors, what’s needed is a cohesive leadership team that is performing at full potential. In our experience,...
DHS Looking for Info on Tech Commercialization
May 4, 2017
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate has published a request for information, seeking assistance in bringing the technology it funds to market. The S&T is looking for help commercializing some of the successful technology it has sponsored. The RFI states DHS is...
