477 – GovCon Meets LinkedIn (w/Mark Amtower)
There once was a time when government agencies instructed their contracting and acquisition teams not to engage on social media – at least not in their professional role. Well, that has changed over...
View Article478 – Colors of Contract Changes
Many (ok, most?) contracts do not go exactly as planned. The contracting officer typically awards contracts with the intent of not having to make unplanned changes to the contract. Likewise, the...
View Article479 – What is a Cardinal Change?
Change happens. Even in, and especially in, government contracts. Life happens….circumstances change…requirements change. Change happens. However, not all changes are equal. In episode 478, we talked...
View Article480 – What are BOS Contracts?
The government contracts out a lot of services. We’ve covered that topic in many episodes. Sometimes those contracts are for specific services for one government customer. Other times these contracts...
View Article481 – What goes in a Subcontracting Plan?
The federal government has a goal of awarding contracts to small businesses. We outlined these Small Business Goals in episode 324. Government agencies have a variety of tools to hit those goals (small...
View Article482 – Who is Responsible for Contract Quality?
Quality matters. When we buy something, we want to know we got what we paid for (literally and figuratively.) It’s no surprise that the FAR has an entire Part dedicated to how “quality” is defined,...
View Article483 – Fixed Price with EPA (Economic Price Adjustment)
The government buys many (or most) things using Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts. This contract type is a great option when the government clearly knows what it wants and the contractor knows how to...
View Article484 – What is Brand Name or Equal? (w/ Steve Lucianetti)
As consumers, we tend to stick to the same brands. So much so that there is a term for it: brand loyalty. However, the government cannot just use that same brand loyalty concept. Buying a brand name...
View Article485 – GovCon Vocabulary – Volume 4 (Proposal vs Tender)
There are some unique words in GovCon. One of our favorites is “de-obligated” (which is not to be confused with “not obligated”). It’s easy (and a little fun) to pick on these unique GovCon words....
View Article486 – Doing GovCon Market Research
There is a lot of public information available on what goods and services federal agencies buy, as well as how they buy them and from whom. It is PUBLIC information since, well, it’s public money. As a...
View Article487 – What’s an Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA)? (w/ Angela Jacobs)
The only constant is the law of change. We award contracts with the intent of not needing to change them, but things happen. Government contracts are awarded in the real world where situations change,...
View Article488 – Notification of Changes
In the last episode, we outlined the rules about when there is a contract change – and how those changes can lead to Requests for Equitable Adjustment (REAs). In this episode, we go a bit further...
View Article489 – What “IS” a Good Faith Effort?
The concept of “Good Faith Effort” came up in episode 481 (What goes in a Subcontracting Plan?). The context of “Good Faith Effort” in that episode was around the prime contractor being required to...
View Article490 – What “IS NOT” a Good Faith Effort?
In the last episode, Kevin and Paul explained how prime contractors must give a “good faith effort” to award subcontracts to small business in accordance with their subcontracting plan. Ok, but what...
View Article491 – Cutting PALT by Finding Examples (w/ Mike Weiland)
In GovCon, we often refer to the time it takes to go from requirement to contract award as ”Procurement Action Lead Time”, or PALT. The idea is that the shorter the PALT, the faster the government...
View Article492 – What are Liquidated Damages?
Liquidated damages are a pre-set amount that one party agrees to pay another in the event of a breach of some element of a contract. Easy. Sort of. In GovCon, liquidated damages can be a form of...
View Article493 – Using the F Word…“Fair”
“Fair” can often be the F word in negotiations. While the title of this episode is humorous, the term “fair” can be just as jarring as the other F word. This is because our expectations and...
View Article494 – What is Profit?
What is “profit”? The simplistic answer is something like: “the money left over after all expenses are paid.” The reality is a bit more complicated. Profit can be a polarizing topic for both buyer and...
View Article495 – Contingency Contracting Part 2 – Processes
“Government contracting” is a broad phrase that includes a wide variety of skills, processes, and judgements. One of the lesser known types is Contingency Contracting. Contingency Contracting includes...
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