For more than 50 years, the Brooks Act has shaped how the federal government acquires architect-engineer services, putting qualifications and expertise ahead of low price. While most government contracting discussions focus on competition and cost,...
What happens when the government ends a contract—even when the contractor has done everything right? In this episode of the Contracting Officer Podcast, Kevin and Shelley Hall explore termination for convenience, or T4C. They explain...
Moving fast is important in government contracting. Agencies need results sooner, and contractors want to respond quickly. At the same time, both sides must follow rules, manage risk, and make sound decisions. The challenge is...
Acquisition planning is not always the most exciting topic in federal contracting, but it is one of the most important. Many contract successes and failures can be traced back to decisions made long before a...
Government agencies do not buy everything the same way. Contracting officers use different tools and systems to get the products and services they need to support the mission. Some of these systems are widely known....
Government contracts are full of rules, but some of the most important ones are not printed in full. Instead, they are added through a process called incorporation by reference. In this episode, Kevin and Shelley...
Every contract starts with a simple but important choice: what contract type to use. That choice affects who takes on risk, how contractors are paid, and how work gets done. While contract type selection may...
Acquisition is a team sport. But too often, team members work alone. They pass plans and documents from one office to another. This can cause delays, confusion, and extra work. In this episode, Kevin and...
Technology moves fast. Mission needs can change just as quickly. Yet government acquisition often takes months or even years to deliver solutions. That gap creates risk. By the time a contract is awarded, the technology...
As the FAR overhaul moves forward, FAR Part 16 stands out as one of the most important updates for government contracting professionals. Every contract starts with a contract type decision, making Part 16 a key...
The FAR overhaul series continues with a look at one of the most important small business programs in federal contracting: the SBA’s 8(a) Program. In this episode, Kevin and Shelley break down the updates to...
More than a decade ago, the Contracting Officer Podcast released Episode 060, “Who Are the Players?” to explain who does what in government contracting. The people involved are mostly the same today, but the world...
In 2021, Best-in-Class (BIC) Contracting was seen as a preferred way to buy products and services across the federal government. Today, it plays a much bigger role. New policies, changing contract vehicles, and a stronger...
In this episode, Kevin and Shelley explain the Nonmanufacturer Rule in plain language. This rule can affect who is eligible for a small business set-aside contract and who receives the benefit of those opportunities. While...
What happens when a crisis puts critical military operations at risk? Natural disasters, cyberattacks, pandemics, and other emergencies can disrupt the services the Department of War depends on every day. In this episode, Paul and...
Every government contract starts with a need. Before an agency can buy a product or service, it must clearly explain what it needs and why. That is the purpose of FAR Part 11, Describing Agency...
In this episode, we keep our focus on the FAR Overhaul and take a clear, practical look at Part 37—Service Contracting. This section may not always get the spotlight, but the recent changes matter. Service...
The federal government is the largest buyer in the world, so it’s reasonable to expect it can leverage that scale for better pricing, or even the best pricing. The Most Favored Customer (MFC) framework is...
Step into the world of federal contracting in our latest episode, where we take a clear and practical look at the role of the Contracting Officer and the impact they have on creating opportunity. We...
In this episode, Kevin welcomes Hector Navarro again to take a closer look at the Warfighter Acquisition System (WAS) and what it means for today’s Contracting Officer. We build on our last discussion and focus...