Indian Government Announces New Public Procurement Policy
Jun 19, 2017
Agencies from countries where Indian suppliers cannot participate or compete in bids for government procurement, could be restricted or excluded from public procurement tenders in India. This change in the Indian government’s new policy is meant to encourage ‘Make in India’ by giving...
Workforce Cuts Not a Priority Despite Trump’s Budget Proposal
Jun 19, 2017
Agency leaders are more interested in achieving President Trump’s desired budget savings through workforce efficiency and improved customer service, vice the staffing cuts proposed in the administration’s first budget request to Congress. Speaking at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental...
OMB Strikes Select Procurement Reporting Requirements
Jun 16, 2017
In a memorandum dated June 15, 2017, Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney continues to follow through on the administration’s pledge to eliminate red tape and reduce unnecessary, duplicative, and redundant reporting requirements for federal agencies.
The M-17-26...
Amazon to Build Government-Specific Cloud Computing Region
Jun 16, 2017
In an announcement yesterday at AWS’ Public Sector Summit, Teresa Carlson, VP of worldwide public sector for AWS, said that AWS GovCloud (US-East) would be operational in 2018 and will meet a “myriad of government customer compliance requirements, including FedRAMP, ITAR, DoD impact levels 2-4,...
DHS CPO Owns FLASH Outcome
Jun 15, 2017
DHS Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa recently demonstrated what it means to provide “top cover” for an innovative procurement approach that ultimately did not succeed. Speaking at ACT-IAC’s Acquisition Excellence conference, Correa reflected on the nascent FLASH procurement: “As...
Trump Targets Faster Permitting, More Transparency for Infrastructure Projects
Jun 15, 2017
The White House Council of Environmental Quality will be responsible for delivering on the Trump Administration’s desire to “provide a clear, expedited decision for infrastructure projects and ‘to help project managers navigate the bureaucratic maze’,” said the President in remarks at the...
Silver Linings in Government Shutdown?
Jun 15, 2017
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested to the Senate Budget Committee that, while certainly not his preference, a government shutdown could lead to progress in some cases, for instance by shaking up the political culture in the capital. Upon being pressed by Senator Tim Kaine to consider the...
DISA Awards $500 Million Cloud Contract
Jun 14, 2017
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has awarded a $500 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to CSRA for its milCloud 2.0. The first iteration of milCloud was rolled out in March 2014, but this one will be run by the contractor in a Department of Defense data...
Defense Section 809 Panel Recommends Five Improvements to Acquisition System
Jun 14, 2017
The National Law Review looks at the Department of Defense’s Section 809 panel’s interim report. The panel convened to provide recommendations to DOD about ways to simplify and improve their acquisitions. Those recommendations fell under five categories, according to the paper: Improve the...
FITARA Scores Sink for the First Time
Jun 14, 2017
The latest scorecards that track how well agencies are implementing provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) were published today, and for the first time since they began coming out semi-annually, agency grades dropped. According to Nextgov, 15 agencies...
Wyoming City Revamps Procurement Process
Jun 14, 2017
This is an interesting story from the small town of Sheridan, Wyoming, which is revamping it procurement processes. Including improvements to the contracting audit system, the city is implementing a new purchase-card platform to help improve spending data and increase transparency.
Full Story:...
Congressman: Lack of Appointees Slowing IT Modernization
Jun 9, 2017
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who has led the legislative effort to prioritize information technology (IT) modernization, said a lack of appointments in the current administration could stall efforts. “Frankly, there’s a big vacuum at the top,” he said at a recent event. “We had hoped that...
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