Contracting Resources Group believes that being informed with current events in the world of Federal Contracting is crucial. Knowing the trends in a complicated industry can mean the difference between success and failure.
08 May 2013 GSA's Bad Idea for OASIS
Past-performance information from government projects will be counted more heavily than information from work that contractors have done for private-sector customers.
07 May 2013 NASA Seeks Feedback on Next-Generation Technology Contract
NASA's Simulation and Software Technology Contract (SSTC) provides a slew of services to the space agency, but its pending September expiration has NASA seeking new procurement approaches as it develops a follow-on contract potentially worth $132 million.
26 April 2013 SBA Opens Roadshow for Women-Owned Businesses
The Small Business Administration is going on the campaign trail to promote opportunities for women-owned contracting firms, Government Executive reported.
26 April 2013 DHS Develops ID Management Contract
300,000 ID cards expected to be issued
26 April 2013 Plenty of Unanswered Questions About $10B OASIS Contract
Will it be an oasis for professional services or a mirage?
09 April 2013 4 Ways To Win During Sequestration
Expect fewer opportunities and stiffer competition in 2013 for government contracts.
28 March 2013 GSA Releases Draft Solicitation for Massive Professional Services Contract Vehicle
The State Department has released a request for proposals to create a $150 million small-business vehicle through which it can acquire desktop computers and monitors.
27 March 2013 RFP Released for $150M Small-Biz Contract Vehicle
The State Department has released a request for proposals to create a $150 million small-business vehicle through which it can acquire desktop computers and monitors.
19 March 2013 Draft RFP Out For $10B NIH IT Contract
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center has released a draft request for proposals for the $10 billion NIH ECS III follow-on, known as CIO-CS, to allow the government to get IT commodity solutions related to health and life sciences capabilities and other IT needs.
18 March 2013 Who Needs Sales and BD Training? Everyone
We've all heard the adage "selling is everyone's job." With the shrinking government budget, not only is selling everyone's job, but so are marketing, business development and taking out the garbage.
13 March 2013 DISA Looking For More PKI Support
The Defense Information Systems Agency is developing a new cyber security contract and has stared collecting market data on possible providers of public key infrastructure services.
4 March 2013 NASA Will Kick Off A $14 Billion Governmentwide IT Buy This Week
This week, NASA plans to release the preliminary request for its fifth governmentwide information technology contract, which is valued as high as $14 billion over seven years.
14 February 2013 Questions Surround $10B OASIS Contract
A shortened business case for the $10 billion One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services has done little to calm concerns about how the huge contract will work.
08 February 2013 Army Explores New $15B ITES Contract
A formal management decision to bid on an opportunity and to release the associated bid and proposal funds is a significant commitment for any company.
05 February 2013 5 Questions To Ask Before Your Next Bid
A formal management decision to bid on an opportunity and to release the associated bid and proposal funds is a significant commitment for any company.
22 January 2013 GSA Appoints Federal Acquisition Service Chief
The Federal Acquisition Service, one of two divisions of the General Services Acquisition that courted trouble last year to overspending on conferences, has a new commissioner, GSA announced on Tuesday.
15 January 2013 GSA Plan Industry Day For New FBI HQ
The General Services Administration will host an industry day meant to give an overview of the FBI Headquarters project to potential contractors.
10 January 2013 4 Critical Factors For Picking The Right Customers
Despite the relatively flat federal IT budget, there is always a lot of talk about the pockets of opportunities in the market.
09 January 2013 Develop An Open Source Scheduling System For VA And Win $3 Million
On Wednesday, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a contest with $3 million in prizes for development of a new patient scheduling system based on open source software.
02 January 2013 How to be exceptional in a low-price world
In a recent Washington Technology Commentary, I discussed how low price/technically exceptional should replace low price/technically acceptable.
13 December 2012 GSA Delivers huge IT opportunity to 43 small businesses
Just in time for Christmas, another huge government contract has come down the pike.
12 December 2012 Air Force Kicks Off Network Operations Procurement
The Air Force wants to find a small business to manage a mammoth job: operations of its Air Force Enterprise Network, which serves 850,000 users at 129 locations worldwide.
12 December 2012 Agencies Seek More Guidance On Mobile Technology
Government agencies want more guidance on how to safely and smartly adopt new mobile technology programs, such as bring-your-own-device plans, an interagency group of chief information officers said Wednesday.
05 December 2012 DISA Exceeds FY12 Small Business Contracting Goals
DISA's Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) announced the agency has not only met, but exceeded, its small business contracting goals in fiscal year 2012, resulting in $1.3 billion DISA contract dollars being awarded to small businesses.
29 November 2012 What 5 contracts will reshape the market?
The government market might have some tight times ahead but there are still some large civilian agency contracts in the works that will help shape the market going forward.
27 November 2012 GSA Launches Governmentwide Acquisitions Dashboard
The General Services Administration launched a new online dashboard Tuesday that lists agencies' information technology spending using governmentwide acquisition contracts.
09 November 2012 GSA Plans New Governmentwide Software Contracts
The General Services Administration plans to create a slate of new blanket purchase agreements with large commercial software publishers to be used govermentwide, according to solicitation documents issued Thursday.
26 October 2012 $12B OASIS draft RFP moves closer
The General Services Administration is getting closer to releasing a request for proposals for its $12 billion OASIS professional services contract.
December 2012 Creative Capture and Proposal Training
25 October 2012 SBA and Pentagon join forces to boost women in contracting
The Obama administration's efforts to reach a congressional goal of steering 5 percent of federal contracting to women-owned small businesses were showcased Wednesday at an unusual forum that brought together Small Business Administration officials; a female contractors advocacy group; and specialists at the Pentagon, the largest awarder of federal contracts .
18 October 2012 Inside MicroTech's wining 8(a) strategy
Scoring the top spot on 2012's Top 25 8(a) contractor list is Microtech .
11 October 2012 DHS Urged to Create Reserve Cadre of Cyber Experts
A cyber skills task force has recommended that the Homeland Security Department build a reserve army of cyber specialists from across government and industry to address emergencies .
25 September 2012 Army releases $5B ITES hardware RFP
The Army has released the solicitation for its $5 billion Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3-Hardware contract .
14 September 2012 5 of the Most Innovative Government Big Data Projects
Anyone who has ever asked Siri, Apple’s automated personal assistant, for directions or to make an appointment has used a government big data project .
09 September 2012 DISA Plans Mobile Management RFP in October
The Defense Information Systems Agency said Wednesday that it plans to release a request for proposals for a mobile device management system and a mobile applications store to serve the entire Defense Department on or about Tuesday Oct. 2.
12/13 September Creative Capture and Proposal Training
23 August 2012 Don't take incumbency for granted
"We can't bid that one. There's an incumbent and he's the sure winner."
21 August 2012 Small businesses get a piece of the $12B OASIS pie
The General Services Administration plans to create a separate small business contract as part of its $12 billion OASIS professional services contract.
17 August 2012 VA Details Fiscal 2013 Spending Plans
The Veteran Affairs' Office of Information Security will see a boost in its spending as it focuses on cybersecurity, network security and privacy.
14 August 2012 4 Keys to Better Program Performance
Performance. It's a word we associate more with athletic prowess than government programs, though it's not for lack of trying.
9 August 2012 GSA's SAM may not yet be fixed
Maybe the General Services Administration spoke too soon.
27 July 2012 Contracting Resources Group, Inc. Celebrates 10 Years in Business
CRG celebrated their 10 year anniversary of being in business this past July.
27 July 2012 Air Force Plans 3 ERP Contracts
The Air Force is developing several requests for proposals that might be released this year as part of an effort to consolidate a variety of enterprise resource planning systems.
17 July 2012 A Better Way for GSA to Fix its Schedule
The General Service Administration recently announced the intention of cleaning up the outdated and oversaturated GSA Multiple Award Schedule program.
16 July 2012 SeaPort-e Adds 385 Contractors
SeaPort-e got a little bigger last week when the Navy added 385 contractors to the already 2,501 on the huge multiple award contract.
11 June 2012 White House pushes small buys for small business
The Obama administration is pushing agencies to think small when making small purchases - small business, that is.
04 June 2012 Are You Ready for the Emerging Energy Opportunity?
Government IT contractors and systems integrators prospecting for business in emerging markets for new energy technologies will encounter terrain that's pretty tricky.
30 May 2012 SBA Issues Proposed Rules for Small-Biz Participation in Multiple-Award Contracts
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has published proposed regulations in the Federal Register, clarifying how agencies should include small-business contractors in multiple-award contracts.
22 May 2012 CCR is Going Away - What to Expect
On May 29, 2012, the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system is going away, along with several other online registration systems, and will be migrated into the new System for Award Management (SAM).
21 May 2012 DHS Plans $8B Spending Spree by Sept. 30
The Homeland Security Department (DHS) expects to obligate more than half of its annual contracting budget in the remaining four and a half months of the current fiscal year.
16 May 2012 $10B NGEN Marks Navy's Pivot Toward Future
The release of the Navy's final Request for Proposals (RFPs) for its $10 billion Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) underscores the complexity of the program.
14 May 2012 DISA Plans a Single Global Network Contract
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) unveils a bold plan to develop a single, cohesive global network that will include all types of wired and wireless communications.
10 May 2012 Defense Bill Would Boost Small Business Contracting Goal
The House Armed Services Committee has proposed raising the government's annual small-business contracting goal, giving business advocates more authority throughout the acquisition process.
08 May 2012 OFPP Busts Myths, Offers 8 Ways to Make Your Customer Happy
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy released a myth-busting memo giving industry a few pointers on how to be a better vendor.
03 May 2012 GSA Readies Draft RFP for $12B OASIS Contract
Draft RFPs will be ready this summer for GSA's One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract.
30 April 2012 6 Quick Fixes That Will Improve Your Company's Win Rate
Industry tips on how to improve a company's overall win rate.
24 April 2012 Sole-source Justifications for Small-Business Contracts Made Permanent
Agencies should get used to justifying many sole-source contracts that they award to small businesses.
05 April 2012 Meet the New GSA Administrator
GSA announced that Daniel M. Tangherlini will replace Martha Johnson, who resigned on Monday, as the new acting commissioner of the General Services Administration.
03 April 2012 GSA Renames $48B IT Contract
The General Services Administration's professional services contract Integrations is now named OASIS, officials said.
30 March 2012 Women, Mentor-Proteges, NAICS Codes Get Attention
The House Small Business Committee approved five bills aimed at reforming aspects of the small business contracting.
23 March 2012 How to Avoid a Contract Protest
Avoiding contract protests during the federal procurement process.
12 March 2012 Women-Owned Biz Bill Slashes Dollar Limit on Contracts
The Fairness in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act introduced March 7, 2012 eliminates dollar-amount restrictions on contracts that WOSBs can compete for.
27 February 2012 GSA Moves Forward with New Professional Services Vehicle
The General Services Administration (GSA) is moving forward with a new contract vehicle for buying professional services.
23 February 2012 Why Digital Marketing Matters for Contractors
Three ways you can bring a compelling case forward to your management to invest in digital marketing.
21 February 2012 DHS Budget Would Double Cyber Spending to $769 Million
The Homeland Security Department nearly doubled its 2013 funding request for cybersecurity in an otherwise slimmed-down budget.
16 February 2012 NIST Solicits Health IT Vendors
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is going straight to the source, health IT vendors, to create a means for evaluating the performance and usability of electronic health records.
13 February 2012 SBA Opens Doors to More Firms by Increasing Size Limits
Federal Agencies soon will have a larger pool to draw from for their small-business procurement programs.
08 February 2012 NIH Considers New Health-Related GWAC
Officials at the National Institutes of Health said they are planning a governmentwide IT contract as a follow-up to the Electronic Commodity Store III contract.
02 February 2012 Bill Pressures Feds to Meet Small-Biz Goals or Else
The chairman of the House Small Business Committee would like to put some sharp teeth into the rules on small-business subcontracting.
30 January 2012 Congress Turns Heat Up on Small-Biz Goals
Under a new bill, a department that misses to set small business subcontracting goals could lose 10 percent of its budget.
25 January 2012 Doing More With Less: Making Your GSA Schedule Contracts More Competitive
Meeting federal agencies' missions with fewer resources has led to an increase in competition and price pressure for GSA Schedule holders.
11 January 2012 GSA Demands IT Companies Provide Security Plans
The General Services Administration (GSA) now is asking companies to submit an IT security plan within 30 days after it is awarded an IT Schedule 70 contract.
09 January 2012 NIST Plans $70M Multi-Award Contract
Sources are being sought for a planned National Institute of Standards and Technology contract with an anticipated worth of $70 million over a one-year base period and four option periods of one year.
03 January 2012 White House Urges Agencies to Remember Small Businesses for Micro Purchases
The White House is reminding agency financial and acquisition officers not to forget small firms when they make credit card purchases below the $3,000 threshold.
21 December 2011 Federal CIO Pushes for New Systems, Shared Services
Agency information technology shops often spend so much time and money trying to get the full value from old investments that there are not enough resources left to try something new.
12 December 2011 Navy Postpones $10B NGEN RFP
The Navy's $10 billion Next Generation Enterprise Network request for proposals has now been put off with no firm release date.
05 December 2011 Contracting Officers Must Be Willing to Take Risks, Panel Says
Smart contracting in a time of tight budgets requires a trained agency acquisition workforce that is willing to take reasonable risks to achieve innovation, specialists say.
01 December 2011 Cyber Opportunities are Hot in 2012
The 2012 Federal IT budget request is $80.9 billion, ahead of 2011 levels, with priorities including telework and mobile computing as well as cloud computing and virtualization.
29 November 2011 Air Force Reinstates Suspended Contractors
A team of three contractors that were suspended by the Air Force have been reinstated and have been removed from the Excluded Parties List System.
14 November 2011 Contract Preferences Proposed for Companies That Hire Vets
A Federal task force has raised the idea of offering special privileges in government contracting to companies with a certain percentage of veteran employees.
10 November 2011 Is Small Business Ready for DHS' $3B FirstSource II?
Homeland Security Department officials unveiled the details of their new seven-year, $3 billion FirstSource II contract.
04 November 2011 New Rule Funnels More Contracts to Small Businesses
Under a proposed new rule, small companies are expected to get more business through multiple-award contracts because that's where the money is going.
28 October 2011 Fraud Continues in Small Business Preference Programs
Contractor fraud in small business set-aside programs is difficult to detect and prove, but damaging to both federal spending and legitimate business entities that deserve the work.
18 October 2011 GAO Wants GSA to Reopen Email Contract
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) wants the General Services Administration (GSA) to reopen competition for its cloud computing contract.
14 October 2011 SBA Proposals Could Make Small-Biz Credit Easier to Get
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is considering changes to its rules that would allow an agency spending its money through a task or delivery order to chalk up the awards to its own subcontracting plans.
07 October 2011 Navy Releases Draft RFP for $14.5B NGEN Contract
The Navy has released a draft request for proposals for its $14.5 billion Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) program.
04 October 2011 OMB Issues Guidance Boosting Interagency Purchasing
The Federal Chief Procurement Officer issued guidance designed to reduce duplication in acquisitions by increasing interagency contracting and information sharing.
27 September 2011 Pentagon Extends Program to Defend Cyber Networks
The Pentagon is extending a pilot program to help protect its prime defense contractors.
23 September 2011 IT Schedule 70 to Get New Director
Kay Ely is coming aboard as the new director of the General Services Administration's largest Multiple Award Schedule, IT Schedule 70.
21 September 2011 SBA Adds Vets, Women to Mentor-Protégé Program
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will expand the reach of its programs as announced during the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce.
16 September 2011 URS Unveils Cloud Portal for GSA Schedule Purchasing
URS-Apptis, the IT business arm of URS Corp., has received federal approval to operate its FedCloud.com as an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) portal.
08 September 2011 $108M Up for Grabs in HHS Health IT Grants
The Health and Human Services Department is distributing $108 million to state and local agencies and rural health providers to push for broader adoption of electronic health records.
26 August 2011 Navy's NGEN Gears Up for New Contract Action
Final Request for Proposal (RFP) expected in December for ambitious follow-on to NMCI.
23 August 2011 GSA Plans Huge BPAs for Laptops, Desktops, and Other Devices
The General Services Administration plans to award a series of blanket purchase agreements through which federal agencies can buy common IT products at the best prices in government.
17 August 2011 VA Adds Tablets to Contracting Vehicle
The Veterans Affairs Department has added specifications for several tablet devices and systems in its upcoming Commodity Enterprise Contract.
15 August 2011 Medicare Agency to Launch Major Contracting Initiative for Virtual Data Center
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a pre-solicitation notice for a series of contracts to support the agency's virtual data center project.
8 August 2011 599 Firms Named to $10B Small-Business Contract
The General Services Administration (GSA) has named 599 companies as winners of its $10 billion 8(a) STARS II contract.
2 August 2011 CRG Receives 8(a) STARS II Contract Award
Contracting Resources Group (CRG) has announced that it has received 8(a) STARS II Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) from the General Services Administration (GSA).
1 August 2011 50 Fastest Growing Small Businesses in the Government Market
Washington Technology ranks the 50 fastest growing small businesses in the government market based on annual growth rates from 2006 to 2010.
29 July 2011 Budget Crunch Makes GSA Popular
GSA administrator Martha Johnson reports GSA is right in the middle of the maelstrom of this budget situation.
27 July 2011 Last Quarter Critical for Successful 2011
Will a frenzy of contract activity carry over to next year?
25 July 2011 Is Better IT Spending Data Coming Your Way?
New framework aims to improve accountability and transparency.
22 July 2011 Planning for FOSE 2011? Here's a Primer.
The show floor at FOSE 2011 will be awash with eye-catching displays of many new technologies.
20 July 2011 Do You Know the Three R's of the Government Market?
When you boil it down to the most basic elements, there are Three R's that are the keys to success in this government market.
19 July 2011 DOD to Revamp Acquisition with Cyberspace in Mind
Officials are intent on making the Defense Department agile and swift in the sea of acquisition to secure the world of cyberspace.
18 July 2011 Modernized Chavez Building Taking Shape Through Innovative Approaches
The transformation of the César E. Chavez Memorial Building into an innovative, state-of-the-art, high performing green building is well underway.
14 July 2011 City Pairs Grows to More Than 6,000 Airline Routes
The City Pairs program, operated by the General Services Administration, will expand 7 percent to include 4,374 domestic and 1,783 international city pairs, GSA announced Wednesday.
11 July 2011 VA Awards $12 Billion in IT Contracts
Fourteen contractors will share in a $12 billion Veterans Affairs Department information technology project aimed at improving access to health care and winnowing the backlog of veterans' benefits claims.
28 June 2011 GSA Plans to Split $250M IT Contract
The General Services Administration (GSA) is considering splitting a small-business contract that has brought in $250 million so far, according to a new announcement.
23 June 2011 GSA Allocates Half its FY 2011 Construction Budget for FDA in White Oak
The General Services Administration (GSA) will be allocating $44 million of its Fiscal Year 2011 construction budget for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) project at White Oak in two Maryland counties.
17 June 2011 Pentagon Will Prioritize Energy Use in Acquisition Process
The Pentagon has unveiled a comprehensive strategy that will change the way the Defense Department manages and uses energy on the battlefield.
13 June 2011 Navy Sets Timeline for $16B in IT Projects
Program Managers report progress with both Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) and the Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN).
10 June 2011 GSA Schedule Changes May Significantly Increase Small Business Contracting
The Federal Government has not met its goal to send 23% of all federal dollars to small businesses.
9 June 2011 Marines Buying $800 Million Worth of PCs, Laptops, and Tablet Computers
The Marine Corps has kicked off a massive purchase of more than 400,000 computers under a contract that also requires some commercial and rugged tablet computers.
8 June 2011 General Dynamics Snags a $1 Billion Networking Contract for DHS' Consolidated Headquarters
GSA Awarded General Dynamics a $1 billion networking contract for a new Homeland Security Department headquarters facility.
7 June 2011 New Rule Accelerates Green Procurement
The Obama administration announced a new rule requiring agencies to buy energy-efficient and eco-friendly products in at least 95% of new contract actions.
6 June 2011 Airport Body Scans to Get Less Personal by Early 2012
The Transportation Security Administration expects to mask full-body images on about half of its passenger screening machines by the end of next year.
