No discussion of the effective administration of Federal procurement can ignore the reality that the Executive Branch and Congress have leveraged the procurement system to affect important social policy goals. For example, leveraging takes place through the implementation of goals for small business acquisition and acquisition from socioeconomically challenged firms. The Biden Administration continues to focus on leveraging the procurement system to meet small business procurement goals, including small-disadvantaged business, as well as acquiring sustainable products and services, enhancing c ..read more

No discussion of the effective administration of Federal procurement can ignore the reality that the Executive Branch and Congress have leveraged the procurement system to affect important social policy goals. For example, leveraging takes place through the implementation of goals for small business acquisition and acquisition from socioeconomically challenged firms. The Biden Administration continues to focus on leveraging the procurement system to meet small business procurement goals, including small-disadvantaged business, as well as acquiring sustainable products and services, enhancing c ..read more

Now that it have been 10 years since issuing them, the White House has updated what is known as Uniform Guidance on grants and federal assistance. One reason for the update: reducing regulatory burden on both agencies and grantees. For some highlights, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Haynes Boone procurement attorney Dan Ramish. Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin Dan, the uniform guidance is a little bit outside of FAR and contracting concerns. But yet, something you felt is important to highlight here. Dan Ramish Yes, Tom. So the federal government spends more than $1 tri ..read more

Non-compete clauses have been an important tool for companies to protect intellectual property and ensure they get treated fairly when employees leave. Now the Federal Trade Commission has voted to ban non-compete agreements. Presuming it holds up in court, and that’s a big if, what could it mean for federal contractors? For some insight, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with the President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Interview Transcript  David Berteau We are Tom, and thanks for having us on here today. The Federal Trade Commission obviously puts it ..read more

Agencies, once again, set new records almost across the board for contracting with small businesses in fiscal 2023. New data from the Small Business Administration shows agencies awarded an all-time high of 28.4% of all eligible federal contract dollars to small businesses. At the same time, SBA’s new small business scorecard data shows agencies met or surpassed governmentwide goals in three of five socio-economic category, including service disabled veteran-owned small businesses. In all, agencies awarded $178.6 billion to small businesses last year, which is an increase of $15.7 billion from ..read more

That new White House guidance on agency use of artificial intelligence: It embodies guardrails, but also a few opt-out scenarios that give agencies plenty of discretion. One analyst thinks it gives them too much discretion. For more on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke to the senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, Amos Toh. Interview Transcript:  Amos Toh I think that the OMB memo does provide one of the most robust frameworks for regulating how governments, how federal agencies should regulate their use of AI. But the problem is th ..read more

Dr. Bob Frey, principal, Successful Proposal Strategies This week on Amtower Off Center, Dr Bob Frey, author author of Successful Proposal Strategies On-the Go and principal of Successful Proposal Strategies LLC, joins host Mark Amtower for a discussion on winning proposals. Topics discussed include:. The six functional areas needed for winning proposals What do evaluators across the spectrum (DOD, military,IC, civilian) care about when reviewing proposals Differences in federal vs commercial and international proposals Key elements of and the importance of the executive summary The post The ..read more

You hear a lot about zero trust controls in government tech circles, especially here on Federal News Network. Could this approach to cybersecurity which requires constant verification before access to a system, be applied to protecting space assets? The U.S. Space Force certainly seems to think so. It recently granted a a $17 million contract to the company Xage Security to help the branch achieve zero-trust access control and data protection. To learn more, I spoke to Geoff Mattson, CEO of Xage Security. Interview Transcript:  Geoff Mattson You know, in the old days, people erected prot ..read more

As they do every four years at this time, political appointees begin to depart. In their absence, contractors should prepare for a slowdown in new and innovative project starts. At least, that is the view of long time federal marketing and sales consultant Larry Allen, who talked with  the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.  Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin This phenomenon is real, isn’t it? The the end of term, even if the same guy could get elected, the political start to leave in general now don’t they? Larry Allen That’s right Tom, they really do. And it’s inevitable. It really ..read more

The General Services Administration is putting the final touches on its solicitation for the Alliant 3 IT services contract. But one of the sections that GSA is already finished with is a new approach to attracting small businesses with new or emerging technology capabilities. Large businesses can get started today on meeting the requirements of GSA’s small business emerging technology solutions engagement requirements under Alliant 3 contract. Paul Bowen, the director of the center for GWAC programs at GSA, said this evaluation factor is among the first of its kind. “There’s an opportunity fo ..read more