Federal Acquisition Regulation | The Contracting Education Academy

August 29, 2018 By cs

Go far by getting picky with the FAR

Acquisition regulations don’t come with CliffsNotes, so members of a High Performance Team wrote 21 pages interpreting them and won a Department of Defense level award June 28 for their work.

The HPT members from Hanscom Air Force Base and several other major acquisition bases came together to better navigate what is commonly called Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.5. Their findings generated a 21-page Guiding Principles document, incorporated into Air Force Materiel Command’s Informational Guidance this past August and winning a 2017 Department of Defense Value Engineering Achievement Team Award. The tips laid out in the team’s document can reduce acquisition cycle times, saving money while getting products to warfighters faster.

“Many teams spend valuable time, money and resources using formal FAR 15.3 source selection procedures because there is so much stipulation, training and sample documentation available,” said Crystal Foster, chief of contracting for Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System Recapitalization team, who was one of two Hanscom members on the HPT. “Less experienced acquisition professionals gravitate toward that. They want specific direction and rules, but if they just took a closer look and use ‘broad discretion’ in FAR part 16.5, they would have more power over the process.”

Those with Air Force network access can read the final product here. To produce it, the HPT combed through 57,000 contract actions. By the team’s own estimate, those who use tactics outlined in the guide can save an average of seven weeks per order. If every program that could use these acquisition methods did so, it would streamline the process for 15 cents of every dollar the Air Force spends, for a total of $9 billion.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.afmc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1568794/go-far-by-getting-picky-with-the-far/

April 24, 2018 By cs

Two popular classes scheduled for June

Need to know the role of a Contracting Officer Representative? And how about contract formation — exactly how does the government put together its contracts?

Whether you are a member of the government’s acquisition team — or a contractor navigating the government’s acquisition process — you need to know the answers to these questions.

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

Fortunately, The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech provides all the answers — in two popular classes in June.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative course (COR 222), coupled with the Contingency Contracting Environment class (COR 206), provides a comprehensive review and detailed instruction on the role, responsibilities, authority, and limitations of authority of the federal government’s Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Students learn the fundamentals of contracting regulations, types, phases, and other elements of contract administration. Students are also coached on the ethical and legal factors that impact COR responsibilities in the normal course of business and in the Contingency Contracting Environment. This course is scheduled to be held June 11 – 15, 2018 on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

The Contract Formation in the FAR course (CON 090-3) is the third of four modules from CON 090 – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals. It explores the simplified acquisition process, the sealed bidding process, contracts entered into on the basis of both competitive and noncompetitive negotiated arrangements, the required and preferred sources of supplies and services, what must be done to ensure competition, the policies for policies and procedures for pricing negotiated contracts and contract modifications, as well as the policies and procedures for filing bid protests. This course is scheduled to be held June 18 – 22, 2018 on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

Both courses consist of limited lecture, and are heavily exercise-based. Students get the opportunity to learn the Federal Acquisition Regulation by working through many real-life scenarios. Students also are given access to many exclusive on-line resources.

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 the Contracting Officer Representative course (CON 206/222) and to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/cor-206-222-contracting-officer-representative-course-and-contingency-contracting-environment.

For more information on the Contract Formation in the FAR course (CON 090-3) and to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-3-contract-formation-far.

January 30, 2018 By cs

How many procurement regulations were finalized in 2017? The answer may surprise you

Here’s an interesting trivia question for all you acquisition lovers in the government: How many rules did the Federal Acquisition Regulations Council finalize during the first year of the Trump administration?

Give it some thought. Did the FAR Council make any changes from Jan. 20 to Dec. 31, 2017?

The answer is: the FAR Council issued one final rule for the entire year.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2018/01/how-many-procurement-regulations-were-finalized-in-2017-the-answer-may-surprise-you/

January 3, 2018 By cs

‘That’s the worst!’ — Acquisition regulations we love to hate

The sheer number of laws, regulations, and policies that apply to the defense acquisition process is staggering.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which governs how the federal government buys goods and services, is a 2,000-page document. On top of that is the 1,500-page Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), which applies specifically to purchases by the Department of Defense (DoD). In addition to all those regulations are federal statutes and DoD internal policies that govern the acquisition process. For contracting officers, that means determining the applicability of hundreds of regulations, in addition to hundreds of laws and policies, to make a purchase.

Many of these laws, regulations, and policies are outdated, but no one has taken the time to remove or update them. According to a 2017 analysis by Deloitte, over two-thirds of all federal regulations on the books have never been updated since they were created. While each outdated regulation alone may not be a significant problem, in the aggregate those regulations can pose an enormous administrative burden. Many in the defense acquisition workforce have argued that assessing and complying with the large number of regulations slows down the acquisition process, wasting time, money, and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. Additionally, the complexity and cost of compliance creates a barrier to entry for small businesses that may wish to engage in business with DoD but cannot afford the lawyers and compliance officers necessary for the job.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/regulations/2017/12/18/thats-the-worst-acquisition-regulations-we-love-to-hate/

October 25, 2017 By cs

Learn how the government puts together a contract Nov. 13-17

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 Nov. 13, 2017, entitled CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR.

The course is designed for contracting professionals — including both government officials and contractors — who are interested in learning the details of the federal acquisition process. 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 get the opportunity to learn the FAR by working through many real-life scenarios. Students also are given access to many exclusive on-line resources.

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

Acquisition regulations don’t come with CliffsNotes, so members of a High Performance Team wrote 21 pages interpreting them and won a Department of Defense level award June 28 for their work.

Need to know the role of a Contracting Officer Representative? And how about contract formation — exactly how does the government put together its contracts?

Here’s an interesting trivia question for all you acquisition lovers in the government: How many rules did the Federal Acquisition Regulations Council finalize during the first year of the Trump administration?

The sheer number of laws, regulations, and policies that apply to the defense acquisition process is staggering.

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