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September 26, 2016 By AMK

IG: VA contracts not based on need nor negotiated at fair and reasonable prices

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has found significant weaknesses in the planning, evaluation, and award of a series of acquisitions, determining the contracts were not developed or awarded in accordance with acquisition regulations and VA policy intended to ensure services acquired are based on need and at fair and reasonable prices.  

VA-LogoThe VA contracts in question are known as Patient-Centered Community Care (PC3) contracts, designed to provide veterans with a comprehensive, nationwide network of high quality, specialty health care services.

In September 2013, the VA awarded the PC3 contracts for an estimated $9.4 billion, with a potential cost to VA of $27 billion.  The OIG found that contracting officials solicited proposals from vendors without clearly articulating VA’s requirements.  Thus, the vendors bidding on the solicitation did not have sufficient information on the type of specialty health care services they would need to provide, where to provide them, and their frequency. Thus, according to the OIG “the VA increased the risk of not achieving the objectives of PC3 by inadequately identifying its health care service requirements.”

Documentation supporting vital contract award decisions was either not in VA’s Electronic Contract Management System or incomplete. Of the documents available, the OIG noted that the awarded costs were actually negotiated at a higher rate than originally proposed by one of the vendors. Among the OIG’s other findings:

  • Evidence for negotiated cost decisions was not documented in the price negotiation memo.
  • Accountability for ensuring the effective award of the PC3 contracts was not vested with a senior executive at VA.
  • Although the contracting officer had the authority to execute these contracts, the level of oversight for this degree of contract risk did not provide reasonable assurance that VA’s interests were adequately protected.

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice) was enacted on August 7, 2014. According to VA’s Under Secretary for Health in a memo dated July 7, 2016, since implementing the Hierarchy of Care memorandum in May 2015, the use of Choice has increased tremendously, while PC3 use has dwindled.  The OIG recommended the VA’s Principal Executive Director for Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction improve oversight and accountability, and ensure sufficient planning on all high dollar value and complex acquisitions.  The Principal Executive Director concurred with the OIG’s recommendations and an acceptable corrective action plan was provided , the OIG reports.

Source: http://www.va.gov/oig/publications/report-summary.asp?id=3790

Read the OIG’s full report at: http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-15-01396-525.pdf

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition planning, Choice, contact administration, cost and price analysis, fair and reasonable price, IG, negotiated price, OIG, oversight, PC3, VA

November 10, 2015 By AMK

FAI releases flow charts and decision trees for contract formation and administration

The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) released a “Smart Guide” for government contracting officials on November 9, 2015.

FAI Smart GuideThe Guide features 51 flow charts and decision trees associated with the federal acquisition process, grouped into two primary content areas: Contract Formation and Contract Administration.

In each of the sections, there are:

  • Tasks, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) references, and additional helpful information,
  • Flow charts and decision trees for each activity to visually demonstrate the tasks, and
  • Links to relevant FAI and Defense Acquisition University (DAU) training courses.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is an equivalency training provider for both DAU and FAI course work.

You can access the Contracting Professionals Smart Guide at: https://www.fai.gov/drupal/resources/contracting-professionals-smart-guide

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, contact administration, contract formation, DAU, FAI, FAR, Smart Guide

April 8, 2014 By AMK

State Dept. IG issues alert over $6 billion in contracting money unaccounted for

The State Department’s inspector general has warned the department that $6 billion in contracting money over the past six years cannot be properly accounted for and cited “significant financial risk and . . . a lack of internal control.”

The warning was the second “management alert” in State Department history, both issued by new Inspector General Steve Linick. Linick took over the job in late September, after it had been vacant for nearly six years.

oth the alert, dated March 20, and the department’s response a week later, were made public Thursday, April 3, 2014.

The department said it concurred in all recommendations and outlined steps it will take to address what it agreed is a “vulnerability.”

Linick initiated the alert format to report on problems that remain unaddressed despite repeatedly being identified in IG audits and investigations. The first alert, released in January in partly classified form, cited “significant and recurring weaknesses in the Department of State Information System Security Program.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/state-department-inspector-general-issues-alert-over-6-billion-in-contracting-money/2014/04/03/8ebf465c-bb73-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition, contact administration, DoD, IG, inherently governmental functions, internal control, spending controls, State Dept.

November 10, 2013 By AMK

Business counselors receive Academy’s instruction on managing a government contract successfully

How unusual is it for a business to put more time into winning a government contract than planning to manage one?

The answer to this question — unfortunately — is that, all too often, contractors give little thought to planning for contract performance.   Because of this, some contractors run into contract performance problems and end up damaging relationships with government agencies as well as spoiling their chance to win follow-on contract work.

To address this problem, The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech (The Academy) designed a four-hour workshop entitled, “Establishing Partnerships with the Government.”  The workshop was presented for the first time on November 10, 2013 in Washington, DC.

More than 125 counselors from procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) across the country attended this training.  The workshop was held in conjunction with the fall training conference of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC).

PTACs are funded, in part, by the Defense Logistics Agency to provide counseling and assistance to businesses seeking to compete successfully in federal, state and local government contracting.  Ninety-eight PTACs — with over 300 local offices — form a nationwide network of dedicated procurement professionals working to help local businesses in the government marketplace.

The Academy’s workshop instruction was complemented by a 121-page manual produced by The Academy exclusively for APTAC members as well as a special web page where contract administration and training resources are available for download.

Student Guide
Workshop participants received a detailed manual, access to a website, and other resources developed exclusively by The Academy.

The Academy has conducted training for APTAC before.  “We were honored to once again conduct training for the elite corps of PTAC counselors who advise businesses about government contracting,” stated Donna Bertrand, The Academy’s program manager.  “PTAC counselors provide vital assistance to businesses, especially small businesses, nationwide.”

In designing the workshop and the printed manual, the Academy’s curriculum development team analyzed the entire federal contract post-award process and selected those elements most critical to the success of businesses engaging in government contract work.  The Academy’s team then developed the training workshop and materials designed to assist PTAC counselors in their work with those businesses.

Of special value to the trainees is a special pocket guide distributed during the workshop.  Entitled “30 Tips for Successful Completion of a Government Contract,” the pocket guide consists of 30 one-page tips that they can pass along to their clients.

The Academy’s instructor, Kathy Cames, was pleased to share her knowledge of the government contracting process with the PTAC counselors.  “My goal,” she said, “was to provide insights and practical experience to PTAC counselors so they can provide good advice to their clients in advance of winning a government contract.  After all, it can be too late to plan after winning a contract.”

125 PTAC counselors received expert instruction from The Academy's senior instructor Kathy Cames.
125 PTAC counselors from across the country gathered in Washington, DC to receive expert instruction from The Academy’s senior instructor Kathy Cames.

In all, The Academy presented 13 specific “PTAC Tools” during the workshop — each designed to educate PTAC counselors about a specific aspect of the FAR that is especially important to PTAC clients.

At the conclusion of the workshop, each attendee was presented with a certificate of completion and was awarded 0.3 CEUs from Georgia Tech.

Click on the image below to see the table of contents of the printed Guide which served as the outline for The Academy’s workshop:

TOC

 

Filed Under: Academy News Tagged With: APTAC, contact administration, contract completion, Georgia Tech, partnerships, post-award, PTAC, PTAC Tools, small business

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