We were your source for news about government contracting in 2018

News articles on The Academy’s web site were read 79,583 times in 2018.

Compared to 2017, that represents a 37% increase in content viewed on our web site.

To you — our students, our clients, and visitors — we say Thank You!

We monitor visits to our web site to determine what interests our readers.  Some of the most popular web content was read hundreds and hundreds of times!  Just in case you missed something important last year, listed below are the top 15 most popular news stories, with each one hyper-linked to the full article.

2018’s Top Stories

1. Higher limits on micropurchase, simplified acquisition thresholds okayed by CAAC
2. Common feedback to unsuccessful bidders
3. A practical program manager’s guide to requests for equitable adjustment
4. SAM hacked: New vendor registrations require paper documentation
5. When competitors see bid info, the public loses
6. New rule allows other direct costs and order level materials on GSA Schedule task orders
7. GAO sustains protest of $771 million Defense Intelligence Agency contract
8. OTA contracts are the new cool thing in DoD acquisition
9. How to cut costs and improve performance
10. GAO sustains Oracle’s ‘other transaction authority’ protest
11. GAO looks at NAICS code assignments, SBA clarifications, and industry views
12. Bribes and kickbacks at Joint Base Charleston lead to sentencing
13. Former COR and a contractor at Eglin Air Force Base plead guilty to conspiracy and bribery
14. FAR rule implements higher dollar threshold for GAO’s protest jurisdiction over DoD, NASA, Coast Guard task orders
15. Veterans Affairs wasted close to $2 billion on failed IT projects

The 15 Hottest Topics

What were the most popular topics viewed on The Academy’s web site during 2018?  They are listed below, each hyper-linked to corresponding resources:

1. Negotiating Rules (10 basic bargaining rules followed by win/win negotiators)
2. Simplified Acquisition (an explanation of what it is)
3. Authority for Modifying a Contract (the rules for contract mods)
4. Interagency Acquisition and GWACs (an explanation, with resources)
5. Other Transaction Authority (a contract vehicle, growing in popularity, used to help federal agencies rapidly incorporate new technologies)
6. Buy American Act (news of recent developments in the federal preference for the purchase of domestic supplies and the incorporation of domestic materials into construction projects)
7. Bribery, Kickbacks and Fraud (news of corruption in government contracting)
8. Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (trends in LPTA contracting)
9. Rule of Two (what to do when the CO reasonably expects that at least two eligible small businesses will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price)
10. Fat Leonard (developing news about the contract corruption case involving more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers)
11. Fair and Reasonable Pricing (an explanation of this government standard)
12. Acquisition Reform (news of the latest developments designed to streamline the federal acquisition Process)
13. Acquisition Training (the need, the requirements, and the resources)
14. Micropurchasing (news involving micropurchases)
15. Acquisition Workforce (developments impacting the government’s acquisition workforce)

Worldwide Interest in the Contracting Academy

While 80 percent of visitors to The Academy’s web site come from all 50 of the United States and the District of Columbia, our analysis shows that personnel on U.S. military bases around the world — as well as contracting officials from federal agencies such as USAID, CDC and the State Department — are among the many international visitors to our site.

A Pair of New Year’s Resolutions

What do we recommend to you for the New Year?  Two things:

1. Keep visiting The Academy’s web site for the very latest news and information on government contracting — there is new content posted every business day!  Bookmark this site: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/category/government-contracting-news
2. Stay in touch with our latest training and educational offerings by regularly visiting our course and workshop listing here: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/training

Happy New Year!