contract formation | The Contracting Education Academy

January 27, 2015 By AMK

Contract formation is featured in March course offering

What is the Government’s simplified acquisition process? What is meant by the term sealed bid? Did you know that the Government can enter into contracts on the basis of both competitive and noncompetitive negotiated arrangements? How does the Government deal with required and preferred sources of supplies and services? What must be done to ensure competition? What are the policies for policies and procedures for pricing negotiated contracts and contract modifications? What are the policies and procedures for filing bid protests?

To answer these questions — and explain the entire process that federal agencies follow to formulate a contract — Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy is presenting a one-week course, beginning March 2, 2015, entitled CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR.

The course is designed for contracting professionals, but is open to anyone who is interested in gaining insights into the federal acquisition process. Typically, both federal contracting officers and contractors take this course. This course provides vital instruction for Government contracting personnel as well as important insights for contractors.

By attending CON 090-3, students learn how to locate, interpret, and apply the acquisition regulations applicable to federal agencies. CON 090-3 is the third of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals. The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech offers CON 090 in four, one-week classes. Each module stands on its own, allowing students multiple opportunities throughout the year to complete the entire CON 090 course without the challenge of being away from work or home for an entire month.

The course consists of limited lecture, and is heavily exercise-based. Students should be prepared to dedicate about an hour each evening for reading.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is an approved equivalency training provider to the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and provides continuing education training to Acquisition and Government Contracting professionals as well as to business professionals working for government contractors or pursuing opportunities in the federal contracting arena.

For more information on this course and to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-3-contract-formation-far.

Georgia Tech offers the entire CON 090 course series in world-class facilities on its campus in midtown Atlanta. For groups of 10 or more, Georgia Tech also brings any of its government contracting courses to your workplace.

For details on any of our courses, please visit http://www.pe.gatech.edu/Subjects/Acquisition-Government-Contracting. To make arrangements for any of the courses to be taught at your place of work, email us at: info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu or give us a call at 404-894-6109.

July 15, 2014 By AMK

Learn how the government puts together a contract during Aug. 4-8 course

To answer these questions — and explain the entire process that federal agencies follow to formulate a contract — Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy is presenting a one-week course, beginning August 4, 2014, entitled CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR.

The course consists of limited lecture, and is heavily exercise-based. Students should be prepared to dedicate about an hour each evening for reading.

For more information on this course and to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-3-contract-formation-far.

March 23, 2014 By AMK

Academy explains FAR to business counselors at national conference

On March 23rd, The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech conducted a comprehensive workshop on the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for 150 counselors from procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) from across the country.

The workshop was conducted in San Francisco in conjunction with the spring training conference of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC).

APTAC selected The Academy to create an educational workshop entitled “The Complete FAR Guide for PTAC Counselors.” The workshop provided a focused and comprehensive review of those portions of the FAR that are most pertinent to the work PTAC counselors do to assist their clients.

The workshop instruction was complemented by an 202-page manual produced by The Academy exclusively for APTAC members as well as a special web page where FAR resources are available for download.

Each workshop attendee received a 202-page manual explaining pertinent parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The FAR is the federal rule book governing all acquisitions made by the government. Contracting officers from virtually every federal agency follow the FAR each time they purchase any product or service, ranging from office supplies to major military systems. Understanding these rules is essential not only for those who issue contracts but also for those who are awarded government contracts.

In designing the workshop and the printed Guide, the Academy’s curriculum development team analyzed the 2,000-page FAR and selected those portions most critical to the success of businesses engaging, or hoping to engage, in government contract work. The Academy’s team then developed training modules and materials designed to assist PTAC counselors in their work with those businesses. “The workshop held in San Francisco was an outgrowth of one conducted by the Academy in Atlanta in April of last year,” the Academy’s program manager Donna Bertrand pointed out. “We were very proud to be invited back.”

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. More than 95 PTACs — with 300 local offices — form a nationwide network of procurement counselors who provide businesses advice about the government marketplace. More details on PTACs can be found at: http://www.aptac-us.org.

“This workshop conveys not only technical knowledge but also insights into the government’s acquisition process,” commented instructor Kevin Grimes. “Attendees come away with a complete set of tools they need to help their clients compete for and win contracts.”

Reaction to the March 23rd training session was unanimously positive. “The post-workshop evaluations reflect that 100% of the participants feel the workshop met or exceeded their expectations,” said Chuck Schadl, who oversees the Contracting Education Academy as well as Georgia Tech’s PTAC. “In fact, 75% of the participants said that the workshop exceeded their expectations.”

Here is a sampling of what attendees had to say:

“I got tons of really great info to immediately use in helping my clients.”
“What I got was beyond my expectation — I’m so glad for this opportunity!”
“I expected a tedious analysis and explanation of various FAR clauses. Instead, this was a very engaging and informative presentation with lots of information useful to counseling clients.”
“I valued the approach to learning a somewhat difficult topic, and all the solid reference points.”
“This was a fun, informative and relevant workshop. I value the instructor’s knowledge, sense of humor, great presentation style, and Georgia Tech’s amazing resources.”
“This was a good and quick presentation on a huge topic. Very good speaker who kept it moving. A wonderful reference guide.”
“This course needs to be presented every year because the FAR is something that must be repeated multiple times.”
” A lot of good information and resources!”
“A fantastic presentation on the FAR, loaded with great information. Georgia Tech programs are always good.”
“This presentation was presented in a way that was easy to follow.”
“I need more training like this.”
“Awesome seminar and resources!”
“I need this refresher once a year — also need this class for my clients.”
“I like that the presentation was tailored to help us counsel our clients.”
“I need more classes by Georgia Tech!”
“This was an outstanding session. I got an excellent hard copy resource book plus access to exclusive links and websites.”
“The workbook is a great value.”
“Excellent training on the FAR.”
“I received a dynamic and engaging review of the FAR that gave me a ton of tools to take back and better assist my clients.”
“It was a pleasure to sit in this class.”
“This training exceeded my expectations. I really like the way it was laid out. The booklet will be a great tool which I will use a lot.”
“The resources provided will be invaluable to me.”
“I value the professionalism and clarity of the instructor and the course materials.”

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

Feel free to contact The Academy for help with your next educational workshop. Call 404-894-6109 or email: info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu.

March 12, 2014 By AMK

April 7-11 class explains how government agencies assemble a contract

To answer these questions — and explain the entire process that federal agencies follow to formulate a contract — Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy is presenting a one-week course, beginning April 7, 2014, entitled CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR.

The course consists of limited lecture, and is heavily exercise-based. Students should be prepared to dedicate about an hour each evening for reading.

For more information on this course and to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-3-contract-formation-far.

August 7, 2013 By AMK

Government contracting courses for 2014 announced

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech (The Academy) has released its course calendar for calendar year 2014.

Representatives of both the government and private sectors will be pleased to learn that the courses include both traditional favorites as well as new offerings for 2014.

The Academy is an official training equivalency provider of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). Since each of The Academy’s courses is DAU-equivalent, they satisfy the federal government’s FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs. In addition, continuing education units (CEUs) are granted by the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program (FAC-C) establishes graduated education, experience, and training standards for contracting professionals in all civilian agencies. FAC-C certifications are mutually accepted among all civilian agencies as documentation of accomplishment of these standards.
The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) established a very similar, but not identical, program for the Department of Defense (DoD). Civilian agencies may accept DAWIA certification as equivalent to FAC-C certification.

Of particular interest to representatives of the business community is the fact that The Academy’s coursework has been tailored to be relevant to both government contractors and government contracting professionals. This makes The Academy’s classroom one of the few places anywhere where representatives of the private and government sectors can learn side-by-side about federal acquisition. As a result, students find Academy courses especially rich in content and lively in conduct.

Courses currently scheduled for 2014 include:

CON 090-1: Contracting Overview of the FAR (EASC 0901P)—This is the first of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that takes a look at the Federal acquisition environment from a macro-level.
CON 090-2: Contract Planning in the FAR (EASC 0902P)—This is the second of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that covers acquisition plans, market research, describing agency needs, and the preference for the acquisition of commercial and non-developmental items.
CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR (EASC 0903P)—This is the third of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that applies the relevant rules of FAR Part 13 and DFARS Part 213 to make an appropriate contracting decision.
CON 090-4: Contract Administration in the FAR (EASC 0904P)—This is the fourth and final module from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals and is a limited lecture, exercised-based curriculum that covers the various aspects of contract management to include contract modifications and contract closeout.
CON 090: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals (EASC 0900P)—FAR Fundamentals is a four week, resident, foundational course that provides a total immersion into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (Parts 1-53) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).
CON 120: Mission Focused Contracting (EASC 0120P)—Learn the entire acquisition process, from meeting with the customer to completing the contract closeout process, applying leadership, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
CON 170: Fundamentals of Cost and Price Analysis (EASC 0123P)—Learn to accomplish Cost-Volume-Profit analysis, calculate contribution margin estimates, and develop cost estimating relationships in order to accomplish an effective price analysis pursuant to FAR Subpart 15.4.
CON 260B: The Small Business Programs (EASC 0122P)—Learn the intricacies of the associated programs and initiatives that support the SBP and the DoD’s efforts to improve small business participation in prime contracting and subcontracting.
COR 206/222 – Contracting Officer Representative Course and the Contingency Contracting Environment (EASC 0124P)—The Contracting Officer’s Representative course provides a comprehensive review of the authority and responsibilities of the Contracting Officer Representative. It also addresses the role of the Contracting Officer’s Representative in the Contingency Contracting Environment.

To see each course’s scheduled dates, please click on the links above or visit: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/training.

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