Federal Pay Raise Clears Key Legislative Hurdle
Jul 3, 2017
Republicans in the House of Representatives did not block a proposed 1.9 percent pay raise for federal employees. According to media reporting, the provision remains in the current version of the 2018 appropriations bill which cleared an appropriations subcommittee. While Congress does have until...
GSA OIG Releases Report on Whistleblower Retaliation
Jul 3, 2017
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) inspector general released its findings on whistleblower retaliation impacting two high-ranking GSA officials. The report details correspondence between former GSA commissioner Tom Sharpe and former GSA administrator Denise Turner Roth, who is accused...
Veterans Affairs Law a Blueprint for Government-Wide Reform?
Jul 3, 2017
Last week, President Trump signed major legislation reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Now, the Washington Examiner is reporting that the law may be a model for reforming the entire government. The reform law lets VA “recoup bonuses given out to bad employees, and even lets the VA...
UK Government Urged To Find New Methods of Nuclear Build Funding
Jun 29, 2017
At a recent UK conference on nuclear new builds, a British peer and a former Defence Secretary and now chairman of trade body the Nuclear Industry Association has urged the government to come up with new funding methods for nuclear new builds, including the county’s proposed £10bn...
Best Practices for Technology Procurement from Miami-Dade County
Jun 28, 2017
Adil Khan, procurement business administrator for Miami-Dade County, offers insights and lessons learned on procurement information technology in state and local governments. According to Khan, electronic procurement management systems have benefits, but those that are currently available do not...
GSA Looks to Speed Acquisition with New Technologies
Jun 28, 2017
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced a request for quotes to improve its Multiple Award Schedules FASt Lane program. This program was implemented in 2016 to give government agencies access to new technology innovation by shortening processing times. GSA is looking to speed up...
Grant Thornton Survey Reveals Incumbent Win Rates Have Dropped
Jun 28, 2017
Grant Thornton released the results of its annual Government Contractors Survey, revealing that incumbent win rates have drastically dropped over the last year. The results also confirm efforts made during the Obama administration to encourage more competition in federal procurement. Survey...
USAID Earns First ‘A’ on FITARA Scorecard
Jun 27, 2017
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) became the first agency to receive an “A” on the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard, lifting its grade from a “D” to an “A+” in just six months. They achieved this improvement by reaching out to the Government...
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...
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...
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...
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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 …