The “Category Management” initiative, started under the leadership of former OMB executive Anne Rung, is expanding to help the federal government buy goods and services in ways similar to how leading companies operate.
The July 2013 edition of Contract Management magazine, published by the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), included an encouraging article on how communications between government and industry not only can improve outcomes and business relationships, but also show positive results to improve requirements and the opportunities for better outcomes overall. The article, “MythBusting – CommunicationsRead… Read more »
Last week, the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) conducted their inaugural 2013 Mythbusting Awards to three Federal agencies for their work in improving vendor communications in the acquisition process. The program also contained a forum on Mythbusting, in addition to breakout sessions on various MythBusters issues related to the previous memosRead… Read more »
As the meat grinder of sequestration continues to move forward, the initiatives to improve and develop the acquisition workforce will more than likely come to a grinding halt, and move capabilities backwards at a time where forward movement is badly needed. At this past week’s 2013 Acquisition Excellence Conference, The American Council for Technology-Industry AdvisoryRead… Read more »
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) is hoping that third time really is the charm in its seemingly desperate attempts at getting agencies to properly document contractor performance using the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). Although similar memos in 2009 and 2011 (here and here) focused on this issue of poor past performanceRead… Read more »
Article By John Coombs, Fellow, CFCM, DAWIA III On a trip to San Diego I watched a Navy destroyer slip quietly under the Coronado Bridge. I remembered a phrase I’ve repeated many times throughout my career as a procurement leader and manager: “Don’t try to dial up an aircraft carrier in port to the perfectRead… Read more »
Since coming onboard as new Administrator of The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Joe Jordan has seemingly looked to policy, regulations, and guidance on tactical execution to help solve the procurement woes that are being faced by the federal government. However, it has been some time since OFPP focused on what really is theRead… Read more »
Welcome to the weekly news kick off post from the FedConnects blog. With the long holiday weekend behind us, it is time to re-enter the working world. And what better way to get acclimated to your professional life than by arming yourself with all the actionable news you need to be the smartest and mostRead… Read more »
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is turning its attention to a long-neglected function, that of the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative, or COTR. Starting January 1, 2012, COTRs will simply be called Contracting Officers’ Representative, or COR. The switch from COTR to COR is much more than just a simple title change. It is aRead… Read more »
Contractors rarely get up on their collective hind legs and counter an administration head on. But it happened this month. After the Office of Management and Budget issued it’s ninth or 10th interim rule, the members of TechAmerica, the Professional Services Council, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Aerospace Industries Association said enough isRead… Read more »