All Learning Content
Procurement Regulatory Reforms within the U.S.
Sep 21, 2016
If you scan the headlines (or have the right Google Alerts set up), you see that states all across the U.S. are wrestling with reforming their procurement processes, either in response to high-profile problems, or a need to find efficiency in an era of tight budgets. The National Association of...
Temporary Labor Market – Key Procurement Priorities: Maturity and Value Levers
Sep 20, 2016
We have a new research paper available for download – “Contingent Labour Review: Key Procurement Priorities – Setting the scene for change”.
This is a paper where the word “research” really means something. It wasn’t just our own Spend Matters views or analysis, but came from...
BidView: An Idea Born On The Battlefield
Sep 15, 2016
In some ways, the story of Sevie Sarabia (above, right) and Jesse Longoria is unfortunately not unique. Both served in the military, both fought in Iraq. And both also saw how the military supply chain—the way they and their fellow soldiers were equipped—was failing them.
Necessary vehicles...
6 Ways for Public Sector Buyers to Get a Better Price
Sep 8, 2016
In the first article on driving value in public procurement, I outlined four areas where you can achieve the many goals of procurement while also fulfilling your mission needs. In other words, ways to get the most value out of the work you do. Those levers were split into four groups:...
Is Open Source Software a FAR Part 12 Commercial Item?
Aug 31, 2016
The other morning I received an email from a federal contract specialist asking my opinion about whether open-source software is a commercial item subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation’s (FAR) Part 12 commercial item procedures. The question is a great one with important implications: an...
Know Your Agreements: The Difference Between BPAs and BOAs in Federal Contracting
Aug 30, 2016
Federal Contracting Professionals Can Use These Flexible Arrangements To Maximize Procurement Outcomes
We ran a story in our daily Public Spend Forum Newswire about the Army’s intent to establish a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) to support its transition of legacy applications into the commercial...
Op-Ed | Communication Breakdown: Fixing The Way Buyers And Suppliers Talk
Aug 25, 2016
Several years ago, while I was an active duty Air Force acquisition officer, I received a call from a buddy who worked at a large defense contractor (which shall remain nameless). He explained that he was part of a business development team working on a new proposal and he had a dilemma.
“This...
Five Ways to Fix a Broken Federal Proposal Model
Aug 25, 2016
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the federal proposal process is soul-crushing. Countless hours are spent by both we contractors, and our federal partners, setting up and jumping through needless hoops, and torturing the English language. And the truth is, most of what gets produced by this...
Don’t Fight the FAR: Innovate While Complying with Regulations
Aug 24, 2016
You hear it time and again: If it weren’t for the regulations, we’d have loads of innovation in the public sector. Nowhere in government is there a more maligned document than the FAR, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which has been blamed for any number of hurdles and failures in federal...
USAID Announces First Winners of Challenge to Stop Zika
Aug 24, 2016
If you’ve been watching the Olympics at all, chances are the Zika virus has been on your mind. The threat of the virus is something South Americans have been living with for some time, but it’s also now spread (minimally) to Florida, prompting the CDC to take the unusual step of issuing a...
Changing the Public Sector Procurement Game
Aug 24, 2016
There’s a growing realization that the federal acquisition process impedes our nation’s ability to access the capabilities it needs to keep pace with the challenges of modern government. The process is so convoluted that it skews the game in favor of specialists structured for the federal...
White House Announces New Mobile Device Policy
Aug 24, 2016
You knew this was coming: Following the release of category management policies that sought to improve the way the federal government purchased laptop and desktop computers, as well as software licenses, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released a new policy targeted at...
