Contracting Academy | The Contracting Education Academy

January 15, 2020 By cs

Challenged with navigating the FAR? Learn how Jan. 28-31

Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy (The Academy) is presenting a four-day course, beginning on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, covering all of the fundamentals of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), including how to navigate the FAR’s 2,000 pages.

By attending, you’ll also learn all about each of the federal agencies’ supplements to the FAR.

The course is being conducted at Georgia Tech’s world-class professional education facilities in the Global Learning Center located on campus in midtown Atlanta.

This contracting overview of the FAR, covers Module 1 of the Defense Acquisition University’s CON 090: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals.

The course includes:

Identification of the basic principles of contracting by the federal government and how they’re structured in the FAR,
Access to and use of relevant on-line resources, including tools developed exclusively by Georgia Tech, and
Instruction on how to locate, properly cite, and interpret the FAR, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and other agency FAR supplements.

More information about this course is available at: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-1-contracting-overview-far. Complete registration information is located there, too.

**Students attending Georgia Tech’s acquisition courses work in teams to tackle real-life contracting problems.**

Originally designed exclusively for federal contracting officers, this course’s scope has been expanded by The Academy so that it is relevant to multiple audiences, including contractors seeking to learn more about the federal contracting process, federal officials who need to satisfy job-related continuous education requirements, and anyone seeking more information about the federal acquisition profession.

In all, there are four modules that make-up the complete CON 090 course series. Information about the entire series can be found at: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-1-contracting-overview-far.

The Academy’s complete list of government acquisition courses, and course scheduling, is at: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/training.

**The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is an official equivalency training provider of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Federal Acquisition Institute.**

Students attending CON 090 courses at Georgia Tech receive expert instruction, a printed Student Guide, helpful handouts, a deck of FAR Cards, and access to exclusive on-line resources. Students earn 2.8 CEUs. In addition, a complimentary breakfast in provided each class day.

January 2, 2020 By cs

Don’t miss our comprehensive contract planning course in February!

Whether you represent government or industry, this is your chance to learn how the Government plans its acquisition of products and services!

As a member of the government’s acquisition team, don’t you need to learn how to conduct acquisition planning properly?
As a contractor, wouldn’t you like to gain insights into the government’s contract planning process?

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech will address these questions, and many more, in a comprehensive five-day class, “Contract Planning in the FAR” (CON 090-2) to be presented February 3 – 7, 2020.

The course will be presented at the world-class Global Learning Center in midtown Atlanta. Registration details are here.

This in-depth course covers all aspects of acquisition planning, including:

How government agencies conduct market research and rely on businesses to provide information,
How the government’s buying needs must be described, and
The government’s preference for commercial and non-developmental items.

This course is the second in a series of four educational modules that examine the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Government’s “procurement bible.” Because of Georgia Tech’s unique instructional approach, the four modules can be taken in any order.

Why Have So Many Contracting Officials Taken This Course?

For government contracting officials, this course is required to earn and maintain a contracting warrant. A warrant is a written document providing a contracting officer with the limits of his or her authority. Per FAR 1.602-1, Contracting Officers have the authority to “enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings” to the extent of the authority delegated to them by their warrant. Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy offers a set of courses — each equivalent to Defense Acquisition University (DAU) course standards — that help each member of the acquisition workforce maintain their warrants and enhance their professional development.
For business people who compete for and fulfill government contracts, Academy classes are just as pertinent. Contractor personnel who attend Academy courses gain real-world knowledge about how government officials are trained to formulate and administer contracts. Insights into these areas provide invaluable guidance for reaching greater success in competing for, winning, and fulfilling government contract work.

Benefits of attendance include expert instruction, a printed Student Guide to be used back on the job, valuable handouts, and exclusive electronic resources. In addition, a complimentary breakfast is served each morning, along with snacks throughout each day. For groups of 10 or more, Georgia Tech offers discounts.

Improve Your Win Rate — **Government and industry representatives sit side-by-side in small group settings to learn government contracting fundamentals at Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center.**

For details on all of Georgia Tech’s government contracting classes, including the FAR Fundamentals course series, please visit: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/training

December 3, 2019 By cs

FAR Fundamentals course kicks off 2020

The New Year at the Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy (The Academy) begins with a four-day course on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, covering the fundamentals of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

The course is being conducted at Georgia Tech’s world-class professional education facilities in the Global Learning Center located on campus in midtown Atlanta.

This contracting overview of the FAR, covers Module 1 of the Defense Acquisition University’s CON 090: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals.

The course includes:

Identification of the basic principles of contracting by the federal government,
Access to and use of relevant on-line resources, and
Instruction on the location, citation, and interpretation of the FAR, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and other agency FAR supplements.

More information about this course is available at: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-1-contracting-overview-far. Complete registration information is located there, too.

In all, there are four modules that make-up the CON 090 course series. Information about the entire series can be found at: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-1-contracting-overview-far.

The Academy’s complete list of government acquisition courses, and course scheduling, is at: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/training.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is an official equivalency training provider of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Federal Acquisition Institute.

November 12, 2019 By cs

Academy provides customized instruction on small business certification to national association

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech provided four hours of intensive instruction to a group of 90 counselors on the topic of “Teaching Your Clients How To Obtain a Small Business Certification.”

**Representatives of PTACs across the country attended the certification workshop.**

The workshop, held in Washington, DC on Nov. 10th, was conducted as a part of the semi-annual national training conference held by the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC). Members of APTAC work for procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) across the country. PTACs provide assistance to businesses — primarily small businesses — who wish to compete for government contracts.

Guest instructor and small business expert Steven J. Koprince conducted the workshop on behalf of the Academy. He is the founder and former managing partner of Koprince Law LLC. Earlier this year, he retired from active practice of law, but he continues to be involved in government contracting as a teacher and writer. Koprince has served as an instructor for The Academy on previous engagements with APTAC and with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

**Training materials included a certification handbook and a flash drive containing resources such as customizable training presentations.**

The Academy’s program manager Alexis Kirksey provided an orientation to the workshop’s training resources. Each attendee received a 100-page instruction manual on four different types of small business certifications, including fact sheets on each program, and a flash drive containing customizable PowerPoint presentations and dozens of other resource materials which PTAC counselors may use to counsel and train their clients.

The workshop’s objectives were:

Learning the eligibility requirements for each small business category.
Gaining insights into the preparation process for making a certification application.
Identifying each of the steps of the application process.
Learning how a small business can leverage certification in the federal marketplace.

The workshop provided an explanation of small business size standards, and then launched into a detailed examination of the 8(a) Business Development Program; the HUBZone Program; the Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Programs; and the Woman-Owned and Economically-Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business Programs.

Workshop participants learned about important concepts applied by the federal government in the certification process such as unconditional ownership and direct ownership. In order to be eligible for certification, the owners must be in charge of such activities as strategic policy-setting, day-to-day management, and overall administrative responsibility for business operations.

**Workshop attendees listen carefully to instruction provided by Steven J. Koprince.**

The significance of what is known as “affiliation” was also a topic of the workshop. Affiliation exists when one business controls or has the power to control another, or when a third party controls or has the power to control both businesses. Control may arise through ownership, management, or other relationships. If another business controls a certification applicant’s business, this may be a disqualifier for small business certification.

Attendees also learned about all of the documentation requirements associated with each type of small business certification. In addition, the workshop addressed what is called the “presumption-of-loss” rule, which provides that if a business misrepresents its small business size or status, there is a presumption of loss to the government equal to the entire value of any contract or subcontract received as a result of the misrepresentation.

Multiple paths exist for submitting certification applications. Workshop participants learned about self-certification within the System for Award Management, certification through the Small Business Administration’s on-line portals, and certification through the Veterans Administration.

The workshop concluded with advice PTAC counselors can give to their clients about following-up on their certification applications and how to leverage their small business certifications once granted. Tips included the need to research both federal spending and contract forecasts, the importance of responding to Requests for Information, and the roles played by Procurement Center Representatives, Small Business Officers, and Small Business Liaison Officers. Also discussed was the use of certification branding, teaming and joint venturing, how to keep certifications updated, and participation in outreach events.

The Academy is available to conduct this and other customized training workshops on any topic associated with government contracting. Contact us by email at info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu for further information.

Challenged with navigating the FAR? Learn how Jan. 28-31

Georgia Tech’s Contracting Education Academy (The Academy) is presenting a four-day course, beginning on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, covering all of the fundamentals of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), including how to navigate the FAR’s 2,000 pages.

By attending, you’ll also learn all about each of the federal agencies’ supplements to the FAR.

Top 10 government contracting news articles of 2019

Folks just like you visited The Contracting Education Academy’s web site over 70,000 times in 2019!

Visitors took advantage of our daily news feed, learned about Georgia Tech’s support of government projects, checked-out our upcoming acquisition course offerings, and researched numerous acquisition topics.

So, what news developments interested our visitors the most?

Below is a list of the Top 10 news developments of 2019, based on our 45,500 visitors’ interests. Each one is hyperlinked to the original news story so you can read it again — or perhaps read it for the first time!

Hill AFB’s FARSite to go away on Oct. 1st – Despite the fact that the hugely popular FAR search engine operated by Hill Air Force Base was used 2.3 billion times since its launch in mid-1996, it was decommissioned in 2019 and replaced by Acquisition.gov.

What’s your acquisition approach — FAR or non-FAR? – During 2019, contracting officials increasingly decided to not use a traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation-based acquisition model, opting instead to use Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs).

FedBizOpps to merge with SAM.gov before year’s end – In August, GSA announced that FedBizOpps.gov will migrate to a new SAM.gov site as early as the first quarter of FY20. The merger took place on Nov. 12 with noticeable delays in the new site’s responsiveness.

Why contracting challenges put VA on the ‘High-Risk’ list – In March, the GAO announced it found that the Department of Veterans Affairs had not updated key purchasing regulations since 2008.

Why not make a New Year’s Resolution to visit our website every weekday in 2020? You’ll benefit by learning about the very latest developments in government acquisition!