In this episode, Shelley Hall and Kevin Jans outline the Dynamic Small Business Search tool. The DSBS. Industry: You may have a great product. Your service may be the best in your industry. You may…
To meet its mission, the government needs to buy things. To meet their mission, contractors need to sell things. Easy, right? Well, no. The difficulty comes when neither side is targeting. When the government is…
Communication matters. Communication between Government and Industry (between buyer and seller) is a key factor in the effectiveness of GovCon. Without effective communication, both government and industry can be very busy sending information back and…
Oral proposals are back… though maybe they never left. Either way, the government teams are using more oral proposals more often as part of their acquisition process. Kevin invited Vicky Strycharke from the Skyway team…
Protests are rarely the best course of action. Nonetheless, they are part of the GovCon landscape so it’s important to understand them. Kevin and Paul cover the basics of protests back in Episode 066. In…
In this episode, we dig into the OASIS+ contract. OASIS stands for One Acquisition Source for Integrated Services and the + is that this is the second version of the contract. In OASIS+, the contract…
In this episode, Kevin and Paul explain the concept of SETA Support or Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance Support. This is a specific type of professional services the government hires to provide direct support on…
SMB or Small to Mid-sized Businesses is a marketing term often used in the private sector to describe businesses that are larger than a sole proprietorship but smaller than a large corporation. In government contracting,…
One of the most frustrating variables of the source selection is not knowing how many proposals the government will get. One of the ways to solve this problem is to require a notice of intent…
In this episode Kevin welcomes guest Shelley Hall from The Skyway team to talk about unduly restrictive requirements. Every contract starts with a requirement, one of the roles of the Contracting Officer is to decide how…
Sometimes the government gets a vote on who contractors subcontract to. In some specific cases, mostly when using cost type contracts, the government has the right to give consent to subcontract. This means that the…
In this episode, Kevin welcomes John Ferry to talk about artificial intelligence, which is the buzzword of the day it seems and its potential impact on government contracting. Specifically, we’re going to talk about how AI and…
In this episode, Kevin and Paul, explain how a past performance questionnaire or a PPQ works in government contracts. While there are many ways to evaluate the past performance of contractors, a PPQ is specific…
Procurement Action Lead Time or PALT is how long it takes from requirement to contract. For years this has been the standard for how the Government decides how quickly contracts are awarded, or how quickly…
In this episode, Kevin and Paul explain a relatively new source selection process, the Highest Rated Technical Offer at reasonable price or HTRO. This source selection process is a mirror image of LTPA, however there are…
Sometimes the Government’s acquisition plan doesn’t line up with the schedule for a requirement. While there are lots of ways to meet a short term requirement, the Contracting Officer may use a bridge contract as…
Winning the contact is step one, managing and administrating it afterward is just as important. In this episode, Kevin and Paul describe key factors that could create pitfalls in your post-award contract management and also…
While not raising the Federal debit ceiling seems like a political exercise, it has a direct impact on Government contracts of course. In this free episode, we describe some of the impacts that may already…
The Government awards multiple award contracts in order to have more contractors to pick from after award. However, to avoid being “stuck with” the list of contractors they have, the Government may also include on-ramps…
In this episode we describe the best value continuum. We explain how the Government is always looking for “best value” through every acquisition. The question becomes where on the continuum does a specific acquisition lie?…
Contracting Officers are often required to do provide a debriefing to contractors when they are unsuccessful. However, the means to how that debriefing happens is open for the Government to choose. In this episode we…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you! It’s not just for Contracting Officers. In this episode we discuss the why, how and what of a Stop Work Order. We…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you! It’s not just for Contracting Officers. Contract value should be clear. However; the funded value, the face value, the potential value and…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you! It’s not just for Contracting Officers. Contracts are awarded by Contracting Officers other agreements are awarded by Agreement Officers. In this episode,…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you! It’s not just for Contracting Officers. One of the biggest challenges contractors face is getting the Contracting Officer to talk to them. …
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) This is the 400th episode of the Contracting Officer Podcast. Thank you to all the listeners who…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In this “companion episode” to The 3 Deciders, Kevin and Paul discuss how roles change after contract…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Skyway team member Joe Luetke discuss the importance of timely and efficient contract closeout. Listen…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin welcomes special guest Brian Burns to revisit “the three deciders”, a concept you’ll recognize from episode…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the process that industry uses to review proposals prior to final submittal. Listen…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin talks Other Transactions and consortia with Mica Dolan, Chief Operating Officer at Advanced Technology International (ATI)….
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) We spend a lot of time on the podcast talking about the Acquisition Time Zones and the…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and special guest Alan Apple (applelaw.us) discuss why the government uses Small Business Innovative Research (SBIRs)…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul talk government source selection evaluation criteria. Listen and learn how using threshold requirements and…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Questions about the solicitation are a fact of life for most acquisitions. Kevin and Paul discuss how…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul describe the process of amending a government solicitation. Listen and learn why (as always)…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss two hurdles a small business must leap in order to receive a government…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the not-very-black-and-white nature of decision making and how not making a decision is…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and special guest (and former Contracting Officer) Angela Jacobs discuss the differences between official contractual direction,…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The FAR has long defined commercial items, though the very term “commercial item” has created confusion for…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Only a contracting officer can sign a contract on behalf of the government, but as the acquisitions…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) It may be surprising to learn that the federal government sometimes duplicates effort and misses out on…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul return to the balance between process and relationships in the GovCon world. Every government…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin discusses the Acquisition Time Zones with Brian Burns, podcaster (https://www.b2brevenue.com/about) and government sales guru. Listen and…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) When an RFP is released, there has been some activity, maybe a LOT of activity, by both…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss OTAs – Other Transaction Authority, a non FAR/DFARS based, legally binding instrument –…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the government’s move into the world of flexible workspace, tapping market trends and…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul describe the Contracting Officer’s scope determination and how it impacts the government’s ability to…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Starting off the new year with acronym soup. MAC (multi-agency contracts or multi-award contracts) IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In this holiday refresher of a previously released episode, Kevin and Paul review, refresh, and update the…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the FAR’s preference for telecommuting. (or working remotely in more modern lingo) Learn…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The government wants innovative ideas from industry. The catch is that a government acquisition must start with…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin discusses indirect rates with Wayne LeLand, a former DCAA auditor, current CPA and CFO from Nperspective,…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul give an overview of the Execution Time Zones – a helpful way to envision…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the common question “when should I contact the Contracting Officer during the acquisition…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss one of the key decisions (really a determination) that a Contracting Officer must…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Sometimes the government agency or office has a requirement that they don’t have the resources to procure…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul talk relationships and how the government, prime contractors, and subcontractors must take care in…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul describe the primary online tools that government contractors must use to invoice and get…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin talks through the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) process with Shelley Hall, a former contracting…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin discusses business to government (B2G) marketing basics with Mark Amtower – marketer, salesman, and podcaster –…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Best in class contracting often creates a “path of least resistance” for government buyers and allows industry…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the final step before a Contracting Officer terminates a government contract, the “show…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin talks insurance with Rick Roman from Gulf Coast Underwriters. Listen and learn some of the unique…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the importance of planning ahead, specifically when building a past performance library. Listen…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Only the Contracting Office has the authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts. So why do…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss an acquisition strategy that can provide extra confidence in a contractor’s ability to…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul describe a key feature of government source selections, FAR 15.306’s prohibition on favoring one…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin discusses the power of standard operating procedures with special guest Troy Small, a retired Marine Corps…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the rules around obligating funds that guide the government’s acquisition strategies and contract…
