The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with saying, “the only thing constant is change”. This is very true now in the federal government market. Contractors and their customers must adjust to the new reality of lengthy delays in appropriations and, coming in 7 days, a host of new people with priorities that are likely to be very different than those they’re replacing. Half-Year Fiscal Years: FY’25 will, at best, be another half-year fiscal year, just as FY’24 was. Agencies can’t possibly get all of their spending completed in the provided time and, not surprisingly, some are adapting accordingly. Just as DOD quickly adapted when spending bills were one quarter late, more and more offices are figuring out how to adjust to longer delays. Funds are Read more
Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (MAIDIQ) contracting is at a crossroads. The use of these contracts, some of which are better known as Government Wide Acquisition vehicles (GWAC’s), soared in the late 1990’s in response to legislative changes designed to spur innovation, especially in IT contracting. Today, MAIDIQ’s are a strong foundation of both IT and professional service acquisition. Are there, however, cracks in that foundation? A quick look at the market shows that there are and, if neither government nor industry pays proper attention, the use of this popular acquisition method could decline to the detriment of both parties.
Issue number one with MAIDIQ’s is that there are simply too many of them. GSA has multiple contract vehicles, yet is in the process of creating even more, notably the ASCENDENT contract for cloud solutions. NIH can’t let go of its plagued CIOSP program. Each military branch has its Read more
What do the Department of Veterans Affairs, GSA, and the Department of State have in common? They were the top three agencies in fiscal year 2024 with disputes before the Civilian Agency Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA). Contract protests get most of the attention, but the CBCA heard over 390 cases last year, with its partner, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) handling 276. The Army Corps of Engineers was the leading agency active in ASBCA cases, with the Navy being the largest military branch with disputes. While the ASBCA has seen a significant drop in total cases, nearly 100 disputes in FY’24 were handled via Read more
Welcome back from the Christmas holidays! Government procurement is right here waiting for you, just as it had been. As we shift into the second quarter of the fiscal year here are three things’ companies should be doing now to expand their federal business:
1. Get In Front of Potential Customers: The time between now and the end of May is simply the very best time to create new relationships with potential federal customers. Companies should definitely discuss their new solutions and capabilities but, more importantly, they need to listen first to what those potential customers are saying and adapt their message accordingly. More than one contractor has blown an opportunity to create a good relationship by talking much more than they should have been listening.
2. Create New Industry Relationships: It’s still vitally important for companies of any size to have a cadre of partner contractors with which they can pursue business. Companies with socio-economic classifications, larger ones with exceptional relationships, new companies with innovative technology – all should be of interest to any contractor trying to grow its business. Most importantly: Be as specific as you can be with a potential partner on how you would like to do business together. What new opportunities or recompetes are coming up? The more prepared you are the better off you will be.
3. Prepare for a Frenzied Fourth Quarter: All agencies are funded through the middle of March via a Continuing Resolution right now. Hopefully, though not definitely, the new Congress will pass FY’25 appropriations bills within this timeframe or close to it. Once they do, there will be a very short period during which agencies will have their final spending numbers and the time they need to obligate those dollars. This year-end may look like a re-run of last year but could even be busier. Make sure your contracts, partners, and contacts are up to date.
The FAR Council is currently working on a number of rules covering a variety of small business contracting issues. Make no mistake: companies of any size need to apay attention here. Whether your company or business partner is considered small today, new rules could change that and determine what type of set-asides, if any, are used in specific circumstances. One new final rule published late last week amends the FAR to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration to size and socioeconomic status re-representation requirements for orders placed against certain multiple-award contracts. Specifically, business concerns that represented their status as any of the small business concerns identified at FAR 19.000(a)(3) are required to re-represent their size and/or socioeconomic status for orders set aside under the following conditions:
(1) Under unrestricted multiple-award contracts, unless the order is issued against a reserve for which size and/or status was required.
(2) Under a multiple-award contract that was totally or partially set aside for small businesses, and the order requires a different socioeconomic status.
While this rule does not cover Multiple Award Schedule orders such contractors should be aware that ordering contracting officers may still ask for a size revalidation at the time an order is placed.
Pending rules would extend the “Rule of Two” to all non-Schedule multiple award IDIQ contracts, change small business protest rules, and how certain business transactions impact a company’s size status. Most of these are currently expected to be issued in the next 90-120 days. Few people like paying attention rules but not doing so can end up putting your company in “contractor detention”, or worse.