457 – GovCon Vocabulary – Volume 1
GovCon has unique words, like “de-obligated” (not be confused with “not obligated”) – or “colors of money” (not to be confused with regular money that’s well, green here in the US). While unique GovCon...
View Article458 – GovCon Vocabulary – Volume 2
There are some unique words in GovCon – my favorite is still “de-obligated” (not be confused with “not obligated”), but there are also words like “small business” – that in some cases can include...
View Article459 – What is a Wage Determination?
What is the minimum wage? Well, it depends. There is a federal minimum wage, but the states can also set their own minimum. Therefore, the answer to “What is the minimum wage?” depends on where you...
View Article460 – Buying “Commercial Services” in GovCon (with Desmond Culler)
The federal government buys LOTS of services. Billions and billions of dollars worth. Seriously. The government buys some of (maybe most of?) those service as “commercial” services. But what is so...
View Article461 – Ethos, Logos, Pathos (from Government side)
There is much agreement on the benefits of government and industry communicating better. However, knowing we are supposed to communicate “better” is not the same thing as knowing how to communicate...
View Article462 – Place of Performance Under Service Contracts (w/Shelley Hall)
The government awards contracts for lots of different services. One of the many variables in awarding and MANAGING these service contracts is clearly understanding where the work will be performed. In...
View Article463 – GovCon Vocabulary – Volume 3 (Consolidation vs Bundling)
There are some unique words in GovCon – one of our favorites is “de-obligated” (not be confused with “not obligated”). While it’s easy to make fun of these words, communication can go sideways when we...
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464 – What is a Determination and Finding?
There are lots of ways for the government to buy things from industry. There is rarely “the way” to buy something…it’s usually “a way” among many options. As a result, the government acquisition team...
View Article465 – Evaluation Criteria and Evaluation Factors
In this episode of the CO Podcast 2.0, Kevin and Paul outline the concept of Evaluation Criteria and Evaluation Factors in government contracts. Evaluation Criteria is a key element in any purchase...
View Article466 – Basis for Award
Here’s a Simplified Buying Process. Step 1. Identify the problem Step 2. Decide to buy something to solve the problem Step 3. Decide how to differentiate between options (choose a Basis for Award) Step...
View Article467 – Exemptions to the Service Contract Labor Standards Act – Part 1
In a few recent episodes (including episodes 459 and 462), Kevin and the Skyway team covered some of the elements of the Service Contract Labor Standards Act (SCLSA) (the law previously known as the...
View Article468 – Exemptions to the Service Contract Labor Standards Act – Part 2
In a few recent episodes (including episodes 459 and 462), Kevin and the Skyway team covered some of the elements of the Service Contract Labor Standards Act (SCLSA) (the law previously known as the...
View Article469 – What are Key Personnel?
Government acquisition teams sometimes (or often?) uses Key Personnel as an evaluation factor in competing and awarding contracts. Like the key stone at the top of an arch, the Key Personnel can hold...
View Article470 – What are Data Rights? (w/Steve Lucianetti)
When an organization develops, designs, builds, pays for, and/or managing the production of something…they “own” some of the data behind it. But what if the government funds part of it, or funds the...
View Article471 – What is an IGCE?
The government buys a lot of different things. Price is a key factor in every purchase of those things. Sometimes the price of a product or service is easy to figure out, like when it’s a published...
View Article472 – Ethos, Logos, Pathos (From Industry Side)
There is much agreement on the benefits of government and industry communicating better. However, knowing we are supposed to communicate “better” is not the same thing as knowing how to communicate...
View Article473 – Writing Requirements (w/Cesar Lopez)
The point of a government contract is not to award a contract. The point of a government contract is to meet a need for a government customer. The official term for that “need” is the “requirement”. It...
View Article474 – Late Proposals
Each request for proposals has a due date. The government posts a request for bids, quotes, etc and expects (i.e. requires) interested parties to reply by that date. Simple enough. In GovCon, the rules...
View Article475 – What is Section H?
In GovCon, many contracts are similar. To match that similarity, many contract rules, processes and clauses are designed to fit standard situations. But what about when those rules, processes and regs...
View Article476 – What is a Reverse Auction?
Price is a factor in every purchase. The seller wants the highest price and the buyer wants the lowest price. The final price will fall between those two extremes. One less common approach to finding...
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