Contractors lured to task-order contracts by the promise of a big payoff...

In sports parlance, it’s known as going for the gold. The term also applies in government contracting, as more and more companies are seeking the gold to be found in the large federal indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract vehicles.

“Come July and August, the IDIQs light up like Christmas trees,” said Paul Strasser, senior vice president and general manager of Dynamics Research Corp.’s federal group. “There are task orders going out like crazy because, with the continuing resolutions, agencies are trying to spend the money they have allocated. The IDIQ has become by far the vehicle of choice. So you have to prepare.”

“The smarter smaller companies are looking at the vehicles earlier and seeing what resources it’s going to take to win,” said Mark Amtower, co-founder of the Government Market Master certificate program at the George Mason University School of Management and a Washington Technology contributor. “The large companies have two avenues. They can buy a company that owns the IDIQ or wait until the recompete and try to win it. However, there are no guarantees for the recompete.” Read full article.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released the Small Business Procurement Scorecard for all agencies reflecting each agency’s contracting accomplishments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is pleased to announce DOT received an “A” rating for its FY 2010 small business efforts. This is the second consecutive year DOT has received an “A” rating for its small business contracting achievements.

“We’re extremely proud to earn an “A” rating from SBA for small business contracting. It takes a dedicated team, led by Secretary LaHood, the modal administrators, small business specialists, and our regional staff to achieve this level of success,” remarked Brandon Neal, OSDBU Director.

The annual Scorecard is an assessment tool to (1) measure how well federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals, (2) provide accurate and transparent contracting data and (3) report agency-specific progress. The prime and subcontracting component goals include goals for small businesses, small businesses owned by women, small and disadvantaged businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).  Reference article

The “A” rating reflects the Department’s ongoing commitment to providing the small business community the greatest access to federal contracting opportunities and to ensure that DOT’s procurement officers have the information and tools needed to connect with these innovative small businesses.

DLA Land & Maritime, Small Business Programs Office will be conducting a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Webinar on July 21, 2011 from 2:30PM until 3:30PM to instruct SDVOSBs how to do business with DLA Land & Maritime as we are searching for an unlimited number of SDVSOB Manufacturers that are interested in finding opportunities in manufacturing weapon system spare parts for land & maritime vehicles, electronics, and gun parts for the U.S. military.  We will be conducting a series of 1 hour seminars on a monthly basis and also will be there to answer your questions on any facet of not only doing business with us, but also with the DLA Troop Support in Philadelphia, PA and DLA Aviation in Richmond, VA.
Contracting Office Address:
P O Box 3990
Columbus, Ohio 43218-3990
United States
Place of Performance:
DLA Land & Maritime, Small Business Programs Office
3990 East Broad Street

Columbus, Ohio 43218
United States
Primary Point of Contact.:
Dwight deWeaver
dwight.deweaver@dla.mil
Phone: 6146927935
Fax: 6146926892
Secondary Point of Contact:
Vikki Hawthorne
vikki.hawthorne@dla.mil
Phone: 6146924864
Fax: 6146926892
 www.fbo.gov/index

The Defense Intelligence Agency will host outreach events for small concerns interested in teaming on DIA contracts. These events will be held August 8, 11, and 12, 2011, in Conference Center Side B of the Defense Intelligence Analysis Center, Building 6000, Joint Base Bolling, Washington, DC, 20340. The events will be separated into eight 1.5 hour sessions. Each of the eight sessions will exhibit a DIA prime contractor. The purpose is to explain the primes’ processes for selecting team members, as well as describing what capabilities small firms should possess in order to be successful subcontractors. All small firms are welcome. However the focus will be HUBZone small businesses. Each session is limited to 2 representatives per firm with a maximum of 60 individuals.

The sessions are scheduled as follows:

Monday, August 8:

* Session M1: SAIC, 10:00 – 11:30 am

* Session M2: BAE, 12:30 – 2:00 pm

* Session M3: L-3, 2:30 – 4:00 pm

Thursday, August 11:

* Session T1: BAH, 10:00 – 11:30 am

* Session T2: CACI, 12:30 – 2:00 pm

* Session T3: SRA, 2:30 – 4:00 pm

Friday, August 12:

* Session F1: Northrop Grumman, 10:00 – 11:30 am

* Session F2: CTC, 12:30 – 2:00 pm

Please respond to this announcement by COB Monday, August 1, 2011, via email to primary POC. State which session you would like to attend in your response. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you like, provided they are still open.

For individuals who do not possess a community badge or TS/SCI clearance, please provide your full name, company name, date of birth, social security number, and country of citizenship in your response.
Contracting Office Address:
Bolling AFB, Bldg. 6000
AE-2
Washington, District of Columbia 20340-5100
Place of Performance:
Washington, District of Columbia 20340
United States
Primary Point of Contact.:
Kenneth Hartwell
kenneth.hartwell@dia.mil
Phone: 2022312166
 www.fbo.gov/index

While Washington, D.C., swelters under scorching heat, Denver offered cool, pleasant weather and unusual heavy rains for the 1,300 people who journeyed to the city for the big annual meeting of the professional association of contracting professionals in industry and government., the National Contract Management Association World Congress.

The overall atmosphere here reflects a fairly sour mood about the state of government contracting. Partly, the contractors (most contractors in NCMA are from the defense industry, and some are from IT) are realizing that contracting dollars are going to be really tight given the budget situation. But there also seems to be a feeling — among the government people as well as industry — that the system is still in a mode, dating to the George W. Bush years, of laying on more regulations, requirements and burdens that are hard for the government to meet given limited resources.

Industry resents such regulations as attacks on their integrity and their bottom line. Read More.

The FOSE Conference serves the federal, state and local government technology market as well as the broader international and commercial technology community as a forum for bridging ideas and innovations between the public and private sector—and provides forward-looking view of upcoming federal IT initiatives that impact the private sector.

Maximizing End of FY Sales: 30 Tips in 60 Minutes

When: Thursday, July 21
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Government Solutions Theater #2
FREE TO ATTEND

In good times, the end of the Federal FY is a time to reap the rewards of hard work done during the year. During an FY with a perpetual continuing resolution, the end of FY represents a time when you truly need to maximize your share of the much smaller pie. The tactics used during the final months of the FY will determine your success or failure for the year. Those attending this session will hear from seasoned veterans on how to achieve the maximum results in an otherwise tough year.  Check out all of the Free workshops.

Antonio Hunter, the director of D.C.'s Department of Small and Local Business Development, who was confirmed by the D.C. Council in April, is leaving for a job with a division of Magic Johnson Enterprises, the Washington Business Journal has learned. His resignation is effective at the end of July, an agency official said.

Hunter did not return calls and emails for comment.

I'm told his exit was simply a matter of a job opportunity he couldn't pass up, not one related to his job performance. That said, Hunter hadn't generated much momentum for small and local businesses in his brief stint, small business leaders say. How could he, in only seven months? Read Full Article

Research is the first key to success. When you are on the outside looking in, you might often wonder what it takes to get from where you are (Point A) to where those, say, on Washington Technology’s annual Top 100 and Fast 50 lists are (Point B). All companies, large and small, have to start somewhere, but you don’t start out on any of those lists.

When you boil it down to its basic elements, there are Three R's that are the keys to success in this government market: research, resources and relationships. While this may be over-simplifying things, the three remain basic building blocks for the market. I’ll devote this article to the first R — research.

Regardless whether you are just getting started or bidding on your 100th contract, research is critical.

The problem for the novice is where to start. Although there are both paid and free research tools, some better than others, some harder to find, and most who are new to the market are overwhelmed by how many tools there really are. They often don’t know which to use or how to use those they select. So it’s better to start with some good, free resources to determine some things about your company before you start paying for resources you may not need.

For the novice, the research must start with answering the question "Does the government buy what you sell?"  Read full article.