Library

Are Sole Source Awards Easier?  In this episode Kevin and Paul debate this listener question. A Contracting Officer (and listener!) took issue with a comment from a previous episode regarding sole source contracts and provided…

In Part 2 of this special episode, Kevin and Paul continue their conversation about proposals with Vicky Strycharske, Senior Proposal Manager at Skyway Acquisition Solutions.  This is another “what I wish I knew”episode that covers…

In this special episode, Kevin and Paul discuss proposals with Vicky Strycharske, Senior Proposal Manager at Skyway Acquisition Solutions.  This is another “what I wish I knew” episode that covers nuances of the RFP and…

In this episode Kevin and Paul describe one step of the Government’s source selection process, Competitive Range Determinations. They explain the purpose of competitive range determinations, when the determination takes place, and why the Government…

In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the balance that both industry and the Government must consider as they plan how best to meet a requirement. Industry must decide whether or not outside vendors, suppliers,…

In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the purpose of small business set-asides.   Why would the Government only allow small businesses to bid on some opportunities? Learn the different types of set-asides and why they…

Part 2 of our interview with Michael Fischetti, Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).Part 1 focused on the training and education that contracts professionals receive, including questions of “depth or breadth” in…

A big welcome to our first guest on the Contracting Officer Podcast.   Michael Fischetti, Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), stopped by the official CO Podcast studio to discuss professionalism in contracting. …

In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the cost of writing a proposal in response to a Government RFP.  How much does it cost to write a proposal?  What drivers can increase or decrease the…

In this episode Kevin and Paul answer listeners’ questions. Specific topics are: What is an Award Fee Contract? What does “incremental funding” mean? What is “Certified Cost and Pricing Data? What is meant by the…

What is a Protest?  When Should I Protest?  What Can I Protest?  How Do I Submit a Protest? In this episode Kevin and Paul provide answers to these questions and more.   The discussion goes far…

What are weighted guidelines? In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the Government’s use of a structured approach to determine fair and reasonable profit during sole source negotiations. They explain what weighted guidelines are and…

How much communication between the Government and Industry is necessary prior to release of the RFP?   In this episode Paul and Kevin the reasons why increased communications are critical to the Government acquisition process, leading…

How much time does an offeror need to submit a proposal? How much time is not enough? How much time is too much? What is the contractor doing with that time? As contracting officers, we…

What does “Color of Money” mean?   This episode explains different types of appropriations and how they impact acquisitions and the Government’s behavior.  Kevin and Paul give examples of why the color of money matters and…

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a Government source selection?  In this episode Kevin and Paul provide a glimpse behind the curtain and answer a listener’s questions about the source selection process….

J&A (Justification and Approval) is the common term used to describe the documentation required for a contracting officer to proceed with an acquisition using other than full and open competition.  (also known as sole source…

Targeting is a critical element of winning in the federal market. Poor targeting creates many of the problems we discuss on the Contracting Officer Podcast – from miscommunication between buyer and seller, to adversarial debriefs,…

The last in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail.  (see Episode 003 for an overview of the Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss what happens after…

The third in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail.  (see Episode 003 for an overview of the  Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul describe what information must…

The second in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail.  (see Episode 003 for an overview of the  Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the types of…

This is the first in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail.  (see Episode 003 for an overview of the  Time Zones) In this episode, Kevin and Paul describe how…

What is Section L?  What is Section M?  In this 2 part episode, Paul and Kevin explain how the Government provides proposal preparation and content instructions in Section L and provides the evaluation criteria that…

What is Section L?  What is Section M?  In this 2 part episode, Paul and Kevin explain how the Government provides proposal preparation and content instructions in Section L and provides the evaluation criteria that…

What is the difference between a Firm Fixed Price contract and a Cost Reimbursable contract?  If you’ve ever asked this question, this podcast is for you.  We provide an overview of the 2 basic contract…

In this cast, we provide an overview of the Request for Information (RFI), the Draft Request for Proposals (DRFP) and the Request for Proposals (RFP). Contracting Officers use all of these in different ways and…

In this cast, we explain the basics of what Contracting Officers do. We define the role of the CO, along with some detail on how they are appointed. We also describe the different types of…

One of the many unique elements of federal contracting is the Debriefing. In this cast, we continue our discussion on the nuances and lessons learned on the enigmatic debriefing. During Part 2, we cover some…

Listen and Learn…   One of the many unique elements of federal contracting is the Debriefing. In this cast, we explain what a debriefing is (and what it isn’t). We also describe the debriefing process…

Ever wonder why it takes, or at least feels like it takes, so long to get an RFP out sometimes? In this session, we discuss what the government team is doing while contractors wait for…

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul provide an overview of the Acquisition Time Zones. The Acquisition Time Zones are a…

Listen and Learn… One often-overlooked difference between the federal market and the commercial market is that federal market sales are won more by process than by relationships. Contracting Officers (COs) cannot buy based on relationships alone. Relationships matter (see FAR Parts 3 and 9), but relationships are usually not the most important factor. The relationship is 20% of the decision. The other 80% is the competitive process.

Contracting officers need help. They are awash in information (and data), but are starving for insights on the contractors’ perspective. Since leaving our contracting officers positions, we see how some of our actions as COs, while well-intended, impacted companies in ways we did not know. We wish we knew then what we know now. We also created this podcast to offer COs some insights on the contractors’ perspective.