acquisition strategy | The Contracting Education Academy

August 28, 2019 By cs

5 challenges for government adoption of AI

From transportation solutions to video-streaming applications, artificial intelligence (AI) permeates almost every aspect of our lives. This includes government, where AI is increasingly making an impact.

Consider the two examples below:

Emma chatbot: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services receives a considerable amount of service requests daily. In response, a chatbot named Emma was deployed to address immigration questions. Emma, which can operate in both English and Spanish, handles more than a million immigration queries a month.
Firebird framework: Co-developed by Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, Firebird helps the City of Atlanta prioritize buildings for inspection according to the building’s risk of fire.

Widespread adoption of AI has been slower in government than in the private sector. Given the magnitude of the impact that AI could have on public entities, it is important to understand the roadblocks that stand in the way of systemic government adoption of AI.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/artificial-intelligence-government-public-sector/

August 26, 2019 By cs

HHS plans launch of AI, blockchain-based acquisition portal

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is test launching an acquisition portal named Accelerate that infuses blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The blockchain-based acquisition portal will get a test run this fall and launch the beginning of the year, HHS CIO Jose Arrieta said.

Speaking at NextGov’s Emerging Tech summit on Aug. 14, Arrieta said the agency has been working on developing microservices for its Accelerate blockchain and artificial intelligence-infused acquisition portal.

The platform’s deep database of contracting data from the agency’s five acquisition systems will drive automatic pricing breaks for government the same way consumers can use competitive data at major retailers.

“If you look up the price of something on Amazon and show it to the cashier at Target or Best Buy,” he said, they will immediately give you the comparable discount offered at those other retailers. “That’s empowering. We created that ability for the contracting professional” on the portal, he said.

Keep reading this article at: https://gcn.com/articles/2019/08/16/hhs-accelerate.aspx

August 20, 2019 By cs

GSA’s acquisition strategy for new contracting writing system surprises some vendors

A little over two weeks ago at an event hosted by AFFIRM, Alan Thomas, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration (GSA), promised to have the acquisition strategy for a new contract writing system completed in a week or so.

Thomas’ group delivered on that promise, but the decision to move the Contract Acquisition Life-Cycle Management (CALM) system under the yet-to-be awarded IT services procurement vehicle known as COMET may have been a bit surprising.

Industry sources, who all requested anonymity in order to talk about a procurement they may be bidding on, say while in many ways it makes sense to move CALM under COMET, it’s also a decision that should’ve come more than a month ago and is a little frustrating.

Industry sources say some companies were planning on bidding on the contract writing system that could be a proof-of-concept for one that is eventually offered governmentwide. But those same companies may not have bid on the CIO Modernization and Enterprise Transformation (COMET) vehicle, but would’ve if they had known about GSA’s plan to not issue CALM as a standalone procurement or through another existing vehicle like Alliant 2.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/08/gsas-acquisition-strategy-for-new-contracting-writing-system-surprises-some-vendors/

April 22, 2019 By AMK

FBI’s long-awaited $5 billion IT services recompete goes back to draft

The FBI is once again delaying release of the final solicitation for its central $5 billion IT services contract, prompted by more significant changes to the acquisition strategy and the historic government shutdown.

Not only that, but the contract is getting a new name and a new draft request for quotes, too.

The Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract, also known as ITSSS or IT Triple-S, the FBI’s main IT contract, was set to expire in April. After extensive market research and debate, the bureau decided last year to go with a $5 billion, multitrack replacement contract to support needs across the agency.

In October, contracting officers shifted gears, opting to focus on pre-vetted contractors on the General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70 rather than solicit through an open competition. The move was first in a trend last year, with the Air Force, Pentagon and Homeland Security Department all following suit.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2019/03/fbis-long-awaited-5-billion-it-services-recompete-goes-back-draft/155936/

April 2, 2019 By AMK

Why federal IT projects fail (and how to ensure success)

In any business, it’s not uncommon to have several projects taking place at the same time, forcing organizations and their employees to play a delicate balancing act. For federal agencies and contractors, it is even more critical to appropriately juggle their projects due to the missions they are supporting.

These numerous tasks, large and small, are essential to the federal government’s efforts in aligning with and working towards their missions. Federal agencies prioritize specific initiatives, allocating resources and talent to ensure their projects are successful and their goals are met. Much blood, sweat, tears and taxpayer money is put into these projects, and yet, one in three IT projects is canceled before it’s completed.

That seems like a stunning figure. How can this be true? What goes wrong along the way for a third of every project started to be cut back?

As it turns out, projects are often derailed from the beginning. In fact, the most common problem is the lack of immediate action to get these projects back on track, allowing problems to grow until they become too large and too far gone for project managers and their teams to resolve.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2019/03/why-federal-it-projects-fail-and-how-ensure-success/155435/

From transportation solutions to video-streaming applications, artificial intelligence (AI) permeates almost every aspect of our lives. This includes government, where AI is increasingly making an impact.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is test launching an acquisition portal named Accelerate that infuses blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

A little over two weeks ago at an event hosted by AFFIRM, Alan Thomas, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration (GSA), promised to have the acquisition strategy for a new contract writing system completed in a week or so.

The FBI is once again delaying release of the final solicitation for its central $5 billion IT services contract, prompted by more significant changes to the acquisition strategy and the historic government shutdown.

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