GWAC | The Contracting Education Academy

March 12, 2021 By cs

CMMC language is in GSA’s latest contracts, but requirements will be order-specific

Any new cybersecurity requirements the General Services Administration (GSA) asks of contractors will be introduced at the order — not the contract — level, according to the deputy assistant commissioner of IT acquisition.

While language from the Department of Defense‘s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) has been included in GSA‘s latest governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), any application of its five levels will be order specific, Keith Nakasone, deputy assistant commissioner for acquisition in GSA’s Office of IT Category, said during a recent AFFIRM event. (AFFIRM is the Association for Federal Information Resources Management.)

That way GSA can begin requiring contractors to prove their networks meet a certain maturity level while still ensuring agencies’ mission requirements are met.

“Not every single system is equal,” Nakasone said. “So we have to have the flexibility in the contracts to deliver the acquisition solutions.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/cmmc-requirements-order-specific-gsa/

Also see: https://fcw.com/articles/2021/02/17/cmmc-gsa-gwacs-get-ready.aspx

January 21, 2021 By cs

GSA kicks starts 2021 with an acquisition potpourri

When it comes to federal procurement, the General Services Administration takes no off days.

While the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service employees will never be mistaken for elite athletes — where this concept of no days off comes from — they aren’t wasting any time setting up 2021 to be a busy year for contractors and for new governmentwide acquisition contracts.

In the span of two weeks, GSA released the draft solicitation for Polaris, the small business GWAC to replace the debacle that was Alliant 2 Small Business as well as two requests for information — one for artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, and one to develop a new professional services vehicle.

These initial pieces of market research or acquisition strategy planning come as GSA already is reviewing bids for spots under the 8(a) STARS III GWAC and the ASTRO program. GSA expects to make awards for both of these programs in spring 2021 or thereabouts.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2021/01/gsa-kicks-starts-2021-with-an-acquisition-potpourri/

December 31, 2020 By cs

Making best-in-class contracts better for innovation

In recent years, federal acquisition policy and practice has been a competition between two different priorities: Efficiency and innovation.

Instead of balancing these priorities, innovation has taken the backseat, denying agencies access to companies that can deliver transformational solutions.

The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration have an opportunity to implement several straightforward changes that can address these competing priorities.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office provided several recommendations for OMB and GSA to improve their category management initiative, which oversees efforts such as the best-in-class contracts (BIC). While most of the GAO recommendations focused on improving guidance around category management, better defining requirements, acquisition workforce training and cost savings, what was left unaddressed was how OMB and GSA can improve the most important outcomes — delivering the best and most innovative product and service solutions to agency customers and citizens.

Category management has pushed government agencies to buy more like a single enterprise. This focus has prioritized driving savings and efficiency by eliminating redundancy by developing more useful governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), such as BICs. However, having a too narrow focus on streamlining and scale sacrifices the more important priority of attracting more innovative, non-traditional companies to the federal market. That focus — long championed by organizations like the Alliance for Digital Innovation — has pushed the government to leverage inventive acquisition authorities, prioritize commercial capabilities over onerous and restrictive requirements, and encourage speed in both the pilot and production phases of IT acquisition.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2020/12/making-best-in-class-contracts-better-for-innovation/

September 1, 2020 By cs

GSA imagines new small business GWAC

The General Services Administration gave the public a look at its next step in developing the agency’s new small business governmentwide contracting (GWAC) vehicle that will eventually replace the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business contract.

The new vehicle will emphasize Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) and woman-owned small business set-asides, streamlined pricing and contract submission processes, as well as a source for emerging artificial intelligence, machine learning, as-a-service offerings, cloud and edge computing technologies, as well as cybersecurity technology, according to GSA officials.

In an Aug. 27 webcast, GSA small business and IT category officials gave a loose outline of how they see the agency’s next-generation small business contract will develop in the coming months. They asked for industry input on how to maximize technologies, processes and ease-of-use for the new GWAC.

The agency anticipates issuing a draft solicitation “by the end of the year,” said Lee Tittle, program lead for small business GWACs in GSA’s Office of IT Category (OITC). To accommodate industry input and disseminate information on the effort, GSA opened a new category on its Interact online community.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/08/27/rockwell-gsa-new-gwac-smal-biz.aspx

July 10, 2020 By cs

GSA scraps $15 billion Alliant 2 small business contract

The General Service Administration (GSA) has canceled the solicitation of its $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business governmentwide IT contract after it was plagued with protests.

That agency announced late Thursday it is “planning a new approach” for small business IT governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) after “the federal government’s requirements have evolved and GSA recognizes the opportunity to strengthen, innovate, and better respond to changing technology needs and security threats,” it vaguely said in a release.

GSA had originally awarded the 10-year contract to 81 small businesses in 2018. But just over a year later, the agency rescinded those awards after one company’s successful bid protest — there were dozens of protests of the contract in total — and went back to evaluating bids.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/gsa-scraps-15b-alliant-2-small-business-contract/

Also see Experts Break Down GSA’s Abrupt Cancellation of $15B Small Business IT GWAC at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2020/07/experts-break-down-gsas-abrupt-cancellation-15b-small-business-it-gwac/166701/

Any new cybersecurity requirements the General Services Administration (GSA) asks of contractors will be introduced at the order — not the contract — level, according to the deputy assistant commissioner of IT acquisition.

When it comes to federal procurement, the General Services Administration takes no off days.

In recent years, federal acquisition policy and practice has been a competition between two different priorities: Efficiency and innovation.

The General Services Administration gave the public a look at its next step in developing the agency’s new small business governmentwide contracting (GWAC) vehicle that will eventually replace the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business contract.

The General Service Administration (GSA) has canceled the solicitation of its $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business governmentwide IT contract after it was plagued with protests.

Search this Website