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Let’s Replace SBA Small Business Goaling Grades with Participation Trophies
May 29, 2018
For Fiscal Year 2017, SBA’s small business goaling scorecard awarded 21 agencies grades of “A+” or “A” for their small business contracting and subcontracting. Two agencies received a “B” and a single, lonely agency brought up the rear with a “C.” Not one agency received a...
Recent SBA Direct Final Rule to Impact Recertification, M&A Activity
May 29, 2018
ALERT M|E: On May 25, a small yet impactful “technical correction” to SBA’s regulations took effect. Notably, it could have a profound impact on small businesses with multiple award contracts (MAC), particularly for those involved in M&A.SBA appears to have changed the eligibility of small...
Public Spend Forum’s Public Procurement Weekly Roundup
May 25, 2018
USDS debuts new acquisition training program for digital specialists, recent FITARA scorecard shows most federal agencies backslid in their implementation of the IT acquisition law, and GSA wants to make it easier for agencies to acquire cybersecurity services faster. This is Public Spend Forum’s...
GovFlex Helps Government Contracting With Changes in Talent Acquisition
May 9, 2018
The revolution in talent acquisition has led to new companies harnessing technology to find qualified talent within the govcon marketplace. One example, GovFlex, is getting ready to roll out v2.0 this month. The company was founded in 2014 as an online service connecting both government agencies...
How Smart Operations Can Strengthen Federal Procurement
May 9, 2018
Federal Times
There is a great need for effective procurement as a means to improve levels of education, infrastructure, public safety, and more. Yet expectations for public sector procurement continue to rise as budgets shrink and the “do more with less” mantra prevails. For leaders seeking a...
GAO Releases Updated Bid Protest Guide
May 2, 2018
Coinciding with the May 1, 2018 requirement that GAO bid protests be filed using the new Electronic Protest Docketing System, the GAO has released an updated version of its “Descriptive Guide” to the GAO bid protest process.
This Guide–the tenth edition published by GAO–is packed with...
SBA Rejects Major Changes in Size Standard Methodology
May 1, 2018
The SBA has rejected several recommendations for major changes in how the SBA calculates small business size status.
In commentary published in the Federal Register last week, the SBA rejected (among other things) recommendations that it use average employee count to evaluate the sizes of...
Recognizing the Need for Innovation in Acquisition
Apr 26, 2018
The President’s Management Agenda lays out ambitious plans for the federal government to modernize IT, prepare its future workforce, and improve the way it manages major acquisitions. But many program acquisition officers cite time pressure and lack of bandwidth to learn new tools as barriers to...
Modernization Takes More Than Technology
Apr 26, 2018
With the passage of the Modernizing Government Technology Act and growing conversation on digital transformation, there’s no question that the technology and desire to modernize government are there. But plans and technology alone are not enough. New approaches to acquisition and implementation,...
Recap & Recording: Aligning Public Procurement Roles with Key Skills
Apr 25, 2018
As a continuing part of our webinar series focused on helping chief procurement officers and acquisition executives understand the key skills and gaps of the procurement workforce, Public Spend Forum, in collaboration with NIGP, presented a second webinar covering the importance of developing a...
Recap & Recording: Skills of a World-Class Public Procurement Workforce
Mar 28, 2018
As part of our webinar series focused on helping Chief Procurement Officers and Acquisition Executives understand the key skills and gaps of the procurement workforce, Public Spend Forum, in collaboration with NIGP, provided an overview of the Public Procurement Workforce Competency Model. In the...
A New Era For Big Data In Procurement: Part 2
Mar 23, 2018
As illustrated by the quote below, the case for data in business is not a new one, nor one that needs to be much discussed. The purpose is, and always was, to collect sufficient data (and not too much, ‘infobesity’ and ‘analysis paralysis’ are well-known pitfalls in that area) to make the...
