full and open competition | The Contracting Education Academy

May 21, 2018 By AMK

GAO clarifies competition standards for simplified acquisitions

A recent GAO decision has shed light on the question of what an agency must do to adequately promote competition during a simplified acquisition.

There is still no bright line for determining which agency actions meet this threshold. However, the recent decision in Bluehorse Corp., B-415641 et al. (Feb. 6, 2018), established that merely inquiring about a solicitation, without taking further action as recommended by the procuring agency, is not enough to force an agency to include a company in a limited competition.

To promote contracting efficiency, the FAR allows for special simplified acquisition procedures to be applied to certain procurements that do not exceed the regulatory threshold. An agency is not required to use the ordinary full and open competition standards to conduct these simplified acquisition procurements. However, what exactly is required of a federal agency under a simplified acquisition procedure has yet to be clearly defined by the applicable provisions of the FAR and the relevant GAO case law. The FAR requires the agency to “promote competition to the maximum extent practicable” and establishes that this standard can generally be met through the solicitation of at least three sources. See FAR § 13.104.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-clarifies-competition-standards-for-simplified-acquisitions/

October 13, 2017 By AMK

The federal market: Is competition in the eye of the beholder?

Two weeks ago, the Coalition for Government Procurement was privileged to participate in the Section 809 Panel’s September stakeholder meeting, an opportunity, for which, the Coalition is grateful, as it provided for a wide-ranging conversation on current challenges and opportunities facing the federal procurement system.

The Coalition also appreciates the opportunity to provide our 29 “common sense” recommendations to improve and streamline federal procurement.

Chief among the issues discussed was the role of Multiple Award IDIQ (MAIDIQ) contracts in supporting agency missions. With regard to MAIDIQs, the conversation quickly turned to the degree, manner, and role of competition in the federal market. It was an interesting and dynamic discussion.

The Coalition highlighted a measure of market concentration which is used by both economists and the Justice Department when evaluating anti-trust issues, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The HHI scale for measuring market concentration ranges from 0 to 10,000, with 0 representing “perfect competition,” and 10,000 representing a pure monopoly. Based on various market concentration criteria, a market is scored along this scale. Basically, the lower a market’s HHI score, the higher that market’s level of competition and vice-versa. When considering the HHI, we find some interesting results.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2017/10/the-federal-market-is-competition-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/

June 14, 2017 By AMK

VA to adopt same commercial health records platform as DoD

The Veterans Affairs Department will implement the same electronic health records platform as the Defense Department, according to an announcement today from Secretary David Shulkin.

In a press release, Shulkin said he took the unique step of signing a “determination of findings” in order to issue a solicitation directly to Cerner Corp., which—together with Leidos in a $4 billion contract—is developing DOD’s MHS Genesis platform.

“Because of the urgency and the critical nature of this decision, I have decided that there is a public interest exception to the requirement for full and open competition in this technology acquisition,” Shulkin said in a statement.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/health/2017/06/veterans-affairs-adopt-same-commercial-health-records-platform-dod/138398

October 24, 2016 By AMK

Sticks and stones: How words and terms of art can hurt the contracting profession

Contracting professional need precision in words and terms, as contract interpretation turns on minute differences in terminology and definitions.

mastery-of-words-oct-2016 Misuse of terms of art in the contracting profession leads to confusion, misunderstanding, and pernicious misconceptions. Clarity in contracting language improves professionalism and avoids inefficient or wasteful procedures.

Words, terms of art, and definitions do not get the respect they deserve. People calling themselves contracting professionals blithely misuse them. Seasoned practitioners — who should know better — stay silent and allow bad habits to persist.

This article turns the spotlight on several frequently misused and abused terms of art, but it is not an exhaustive list.

Read on to explore several flagrantly abused terms of art regarding justifications and scope of the contract: http://www.wifcon.com/analy/Sticks_and_Stones.pdf

September 2, 2016 By AMK

DoD now awarding more than half its contract spending without competitive bids

Last week marks the two-year point since the Defense Department — worried that only 56.5 percent of its contracted dollars involved a meaningful competition between two or more vendors — issued a series of corrective actions to reverse a downward slide that’s been ongoing for nearly a decade.

So far, the results are not encouraging.

Data published by the Office of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) shows things have gotten worse, not better since those orders were signed. In each quarter of fiscal 2016 thus far, DoD’s overall competition rate has been below 50 percent, meaning something dramatic would have to happen in the fourth quarter for the department to meet its goal of 57 percent for the year.

Competition Scorecard

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2016/08/dod-now-awarding-half-contract-spending-without-competitive-bids/

A recent GAO decision has shed light on the question of what an agency must do to adequately promote competition during a simplified acquisition.

The Veterans Affairs Department will implement the same electronic health records platform as the Defense Department, according to an announcement today from Secretary David Shulkin.

Contracting professional need precision in words and terms, as contract interpretation turns on minute differences in terminology and definitions.

Last week marks the two-year point since the Defense Department — worried that only 56.5 percent of its contracted dollars involved a meaningful competition between two or more vendors — issued a series of corrective actions to reverse a downward slide that’s been ongoing for nearly a decade.

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