ALLEN FEDERAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

Protests continue to plague large Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) programs.  While GSA is not the only agency to see the impact of protests, two of its higher-profile acquisition programs are now delayed because of them.  Most recently, the OASIS+ program has been hit with seven GAO protests over decisions to award, or not, contracts to certain companies on the OASIS+ small business contract.  The only good news there is that there appears not to be any protests at the Court of Federal Claims, meaning that resolution could be faster and the program allowed to move forward once the known protest issues are addressed. Read more

As we reported earlier, the Senate left Washington at the start of August by passing its version of the FY’25 defense appropriations bill with a significant increase in funding over what the administration had asked for in its original budget request and from what their House counterparts had been considering.  This sets up a potential conflict with House deficit hawks when Congress returns in September.  Similarly, a review of the different defense authorization measures being worked on in each chamber shows that spending conflict could very well spread.  The Senate bill calls for more funding in many areas than its House Read more

With Congress out of town, the pace of federal year-end business increasing, and the Democratic Convention coming up, we thought we’d share our ideas now on changes GSA’s next political appointee management team may want to focus on for the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).  We also welcome reader feedback and suggestions as we expect this list to evolve as the election and subsequent inauguration draw nearer.

1. Create A True Schedules Management Office: The GSA Schedules program realizes over $40 billion a year in business, yet its operation is so highly decentralized that there is little continuity throughout the program.  The current Schedule Program Management Office (PMO) is a step in the right direction but does not have the resources or authority that are actually needed.  The GSA Alliant 2 and 3, OASIS and OASIS+ contracts all have true PMO’s that manage all aspects of those programs, even though the amount of business they conduct is far smaller than the Schedules.  The Schedules program is simply too important to the efficient running of government to not have an SES-led PMO.  Indeed, it is likely that officials in DOD, the largest Schedule customer agency, would be surprised to learn that the program they rely upon doesn’t already have one.

2. Set a Sunset Date for the Technology Transformation Service (TTS): TTS seemed like a good idea when it was created:  a government agency to help others in government to maximize use of new technologies and maybe help develop them.  It’s never worked well, though.  The well-documented problems with Login.gov are only one example.  This relatively small office tied up considerable agency resources to try and straighten the problems out, distracting large groups of people from their core missions.  Worse, in an agency where most operations are supposed to be self-supporting, TTS continues to operate in the red.  NextGov reports that the service lost about $30 million in FY’22 with revenue of only $35.5M.  That makes TTS a truly small FAS business line, with every FAS IDIQ contract outperforming it.  While TTS may be a pet project for some, it’s tough to justify spending taxpayer dollars on a service few agency customers seem to want.  Give TTS 18 months to turn itself around or let it sunset.

3. Reunite Acquisition Policy and Operations: The battle over whether these two FAS operations should be separated or integrated has raged for at least three decades.  Here’s our take on how that’s working:  While it may look good on paper to have the policy and operations functions separated, it doesn’t work well in practice.  The bottom line is that contracting officers and specialists end up falling into the inevitable chasm between the two and then must navigate a way forward for themselves.  Right now, this means relying almost entirely on tools to make important acquisition decisions.  As we’ve said before, tools are supposed to help you do your job, not do it for you.  Yet, the current reality is that there is no clear upside for taking a risk.  Policy people may chastise you, while operations people wonder why you didn’t use more latitude.  We can’t expect GSA’s acquisition operations to work well unless there is a unified management structure with clear lines of reporting and accountability.  Policy and operations need to be unified.

4. Empower Leaders to Lead: FAS really does have a good leadership team.  The talented crew of senior careerists know what they’re doing much more often than not.  One of the problems, though, has been that senior appointee leaders have never seemed to fully either understand that, or figure out how to make that reality work for them.  An outsider may be tempted to look at some FAS management actions and liken them to Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote for General George McLellan: “”If General McClellan does not want to use the Army, I would like to borrow it for a time, provided I could see how it could be made to do something.” That doesn’t properly reflect reality, though.  Better cohesion between political and career leaders can ensure that each group more fully exercises its leadership muscles and makes the sometimes tough choices that need to be made so that FAS functions as it should.  Political leadership that makes it clear that they have the backs of careerists in difficult circumstances can go a long way toward bolder, more innovative decisions, increase transparency, and deliver better customer value.

5. Understand the Role of the IG and the Role of Operations Offices: It is important to have a professional and well-organized Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  OIG offices play an important role in ensuring that government operates properly.  That said, GSA and FAS leadership need to understand that it is the role of the OIG to find problems.  Some uncovered problems are legitimate.  Others, however, such as the GSA OIG’s opposition to the agency’s legislative request to make a common sense change to the Competition in Contracting Act, seem more rooted in a fear that their own role will diminish, rather than a legitimate policy disagreement.  While GSA and FAS management are expected to, and should, treat the OIG with respect that’s a two-way street.  Similarly, the OIG is not, and should not be, a de facto co-program manager.  GSA and FAS management should remember that the OIG’s goal is to second guess the decisions they make.  Looked at through that lens, the agency could really implement innovative acquisition ideas, saving time and money.

We certainly have additional ideas on GSA and the Federal Acquisition Service.  We’d like your feedback, though.  Send us a not-for-attribution email at lallen@allenfederal.com.

Federal contractors are reporting mixed results as the first month of the federal fourth quarter comes to an end.  Smaller, product-focused businesses are reporting slower sales, while larger, service-based businesses are reporting something similar to “business as usual”.  This is no surprise for several reasons.  First, although the government does award service contracts right up to the end of the fiscal year, most larger projects are further along, with some already awarded and others scheduled for such action in the next few weeks.  Second, product buys are traditionally made late in the year, with this year’s exceptionally late appropriations actions likely pushing that back even further.  Reviewing Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) spending information is also of limited utility at this time of year with DOD spending being one- Read more

Bloomberg Government routinely estimates that between 40-60% of federal business is conducted in the last quarter.  As noted above, this year’s Q4 has started with mixed results.  Here are tips on what – and what not – to do to drive business from now until midnight September 30^th.

1.  Do Stay in Appropriate Contact With Customers:  Never assume that your customer remembers you or the solutions you showcased in a meeting back in the spring.  Make sure you stay in proper communication with that customer and remind them that your company has the experience and solutions they need to execute important missions.

2.  Do Not Engage in Inappropriate Contact:  Experienced govcon pros know that there is limited ability to have discussions with an agency once a procurement is on the street.  With few exceptions, agency officials will not communicate with contractors under these circumstances.  Even though the FAR allows some limited discussions, our experience has been that most contracting offices won’t consider even those out of concern over the appearance of impropriety.  This can be challenging, especially when a senior executive with limited federal experience is pressuring you to get answers.  Resist the pressure.  Inappropriate contact can boomerang against contractors.

3. Do Stay Focused:  This is our annual reminder to stay focused on business in your pipeline and avoid distractions on opportunities you’ve never heard of.  Bluebirds are always welcome, but a bluebird-based BD strategy is a recipe for failure and frustration.

4.  Do Not Team With Companies You Don’t Know:  This is the time of year where many contractors are contacted by people they’ve never heard of who have a “sure thing” in terms of a federal project.  Guess what, it can all be done over the phone with nothing in writing, too!  These should be warning signs for your company.  Business in your area that you didn’t know about?  A company you’ve never heard of?  No need to get anything in writing?  Take a hard pass and go back to the third recommendation above.  Follow these do’s and don’ts and your company should finish strong and have something to celebrate October 1^st.