The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech conducted two workshops for 150 contracting professionals in Washington, D.C. this month.
On Sunday, November 8, 2015, the Academy presented “Counseling Businesses for Government Contracting Success,” a workshop featuring seven case studies based on real-life scenarios. During the instruction, attendees explored seven counseling principles which matched the case studies. The workshop’s purpose was to help attendees define effective business counseling traits and discover counseling resources. Each person also was given the opportunity to develop a Personal Action Plan to improve counseling skills. Senior instructor Kathy Cames conducted the four-hour session, assisted by the Academy’s program manager Donna Bertrand.
The workshop was presented to members of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) in conjunction with the group’s annual fall training conference. APTAC represents 97 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) – a nationwide network that assists local businesses compete successfully in the government marketplace.
On Wednesday and Thursday, November 11 and 12, The Academy also presented a post-conference workshop entitled, “GSA Schedule Proposal Preparation.” This workshop was entirely paperless as it was conducted on 10-inch Windows-based tablets which each participant got to keep. The tablets were pre-loaded with templates and instructional materials based on successful GSA Schedule contracts.
The workshop began with a half-day of instruction conducted by Microsoft representatives on how to install Windows 365 and how to use the tablets. Following this orientation, instructors Alexis Kirksey, Kevin Grimes and Chuck Schadl walked participants through the entire GSA Schedule proposal process including administrative requirements, the necessary proposal ingredients and documentation, and the submittal procedures. Post-award contract administration tips were provided as well.
The GSA workshop represents a significant breakthrough in instruction on this subject. It was the first time The Academy used tablets to conduct instruction — and the first time ever the GSA Schedule proposal process has been transformed into a computer application.
The Academy partnered with two firms to develop instructional content and the app. Ms. Kirksey and Mr. Grimes of Atlanta-based CFO Leasing, Inc. collaborated with The Academy’s instructional design team in creating the app’s content, including the exercises, templates, and appendices. Matt Gonzalez of IVSN Group, LLC was selected by The Academy to build the customized app for the tablets.
