All Learning Content

On August 8, Jack Pellegrino, Director of Purchasing & Contracting for the County of San Diego, presented a webinar on how public procurement is a service profession and the importance of customer service within this area. While providing good customer service takes a little extra time,...

Summer is the silly season in federal government contracting. When it comes to business development, many events that most of us go to are on temporary hiatus until September to allow for vacations that limit attendance, so what do we do? Well, there tends to be no shortage of bidding...

The Pre-Procurement PhaseWe wrote here about the reasons why many contracting authorities around Europe have found it difficult to get the proportion of their contracts and business won by small or diverse firms up to a reasonable level.  But the good news is that there are many steps that...

There is no shortage of advice for businesses who want to sell products or services to the public sector. Unfortunately, some of this is not good advice, and there are firms who exploit the ignorance of many firms to sell expensive training, consulting, or advice that brings little value. Why...

On July 24, Dr. Steven Kelman, Professor of Public Management at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government presented a webinar for suppliers interested in entering the government market. “Selling in the Government – Understand How the Government is Different and What That Means for...

At Public Spend Forum, we’re proud of the work we’ve done to connect buyers and suppliers in the public sector. We’re also struck by the irony that in few markets would this type of work really be required. When a private company decides it needs products or services, offers can be solicited...

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...

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...