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...
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...
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...
The Role of Prediction in Agile Government Decision-making
Aug 18, 2017
Agility and prediction are not mutually exclusive in government decision-making, according to a new study by the Center for a New American Security. The authors argue that potential power of prediction is often diminished in favor of agility but that forecasting and agile response to rapidly...
European Commissioners’ Travel Expenses Probed and Published For First Time
Aug 17, 2017
Some European Commissioners’ travel expenses have been analysed by Belgian magazine Knack and the findings were published recently. It discovers that in the first two months of 2016, for example, almost €500,000 was spent on 261 official trips. While some tallies show that expenses on travel...
ICYMI: Agencies Need Agile Contracting Officers
Aug 17, 2017
Agile development is driving innovation in IT and government services and two Department of Homeland Security officials say it should also stretch to the contracting office. Continuous Diagnostic and Mitigation Program Manager Kevin Cox and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Deputy...
Playbook To Help UK Public Sector Organisations Reform ICT Procurement and Contracting
Aug 17, 2017
The UK Government Digital Service is looking for a new approach to the procurement and contracting of digital and technology services in central government. The aim is to remove as much ‘friction’ as possible from the process and attract suppliers with the right products, skills and services...
Artificial Intelligence Tools Replacing Federal Employees?
Aug 17, 2017
The Heritage Foundation is recommending that hundreds of thousands of federal jobs be replaced by automation as part of a larger government reorganization strategy. Referencing research on the possible impacts of automation on the United Kingdom’s civil service, the foundation’s authors...
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Perspectives and Insights
I have been interested in the question of getting successful commercial companies, especially tech companies, to sell to the government from the time I was …
The Contractor Accountability and Transparency Act of 2017 (S. 651), introduced by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., is yet another example of a …
Think you know all about public sector owned professional buying organisations (PBOs) and what they do? Here are ten interesting facts that might just surprise …
Policies and Regulations
It’s no surprise President Trump has been systematically dismantling President Obama’s executive orders, since taking office. Obama himself knew it was a possibility: Frustrated by …
Past performance is an important step in being successful as a federal government contractor. Once firms get into the mid-tier range, they normally have amassed …
A few months back, we published several articles about the very interesting – and somewhat shocking – court case around the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning …