NCMA | The Contracting Education Academy

July 28, 2017 By AMK

Commentary: Contract management’s new certainty of uncertainty

As anyone involved in contracting with the federal government is already well aware, this is the age of complete uncertainty.

What are the government’s requirements? What are its priorities? What is its budget? When will it receive its funding? When will solicitations be issued? When will contract awards be made? Once contract awards are completed, will they last? Will the program survive? What will be the effect on existing contracts of changes in budget priorities, funding reallocations, funding stoppages, funding shortages, government shutdowns, stop-gap funding, the administration’s changing or still unknown goals and intent, etc.?

The only sure “knowns” in contracting today are the multitudinous “unknowns.” The once weakly supported notion of wider use of multi-year funding — to provide increased program stability, efficiencies and contract savings — is a distant memory. Such uncertainty was the subject of a recent message to Congress by the Secretary of Defense.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/articles/contract-managements-new-certainty-of-uncertainty-commentary

April 5, 2017 By AMK

Regulatory reform starts with understanding

Acquisition reform has become somewhat of a chaotic practice unto itself. It often complicates more than it solves. Proposals are layered upon other proposals, often requiring the rolling back of previous reform efforts, which are in turn replaced by new efforts, which themselves may still conflict with previous or concurrent efforts.

The argument is often made that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) itself is the problem; that the FAR and its agency specific supplements prevent smart and agile contracting due to far too many onerous and counterproductive requirements. The other side of this argument, often made by those who understand and know how to use the regulations, states that proper acquisition is a people issue, not a regulatory issue.

However, with that said, people can work more effectively when the overriding policies and guidelines are clear, consistent, easy to understand and relatively constant. In this, federal procurement guidelines — as documented in the FAR, Executive Orders, policy letters, memorandums, guides and instructions — can and do certainly and significantly contribute to unnecessary complexity and thus become part of the problem. This problem has grown over succeeding acquisition reform efforts and the steady stream of rulemakings supported by all constituencies involved.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/articles/regulatory-reform-starts-with-understanding-commentary

September 6, 2016 By AMK

Distinguishing fact from myth with government contracting data

While not totally accurate and complete enough to speak definitively, fiscal year data is generally solid enough to permit the drawing of conclusions.

As such, several speculative conclusions can be made based on fiscal 2015 government contracting data.

Unfortunately, the outlook is not positive — for the most part. Recent negative trends in government contract spending and opportunities continue, declining last year (to no one’s surprise) another 1 percent. This may not seem like much, but it represents another $6 billion drop in potential contracting obligations, according to the National Contract Management Association’s 2016 annual review of government contracting.

However, many believe this to be the low point, with increases likely to occur during the 2016 fiscal year.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2016/08/distinguishing-fact-myth-government-contracting-data/

See a summary of NCMA’s 2016 government contracting review at: http://www.ncmahq.org/stay-informed/blog-list/ncma-blog—post-detail/contract-management-blog/2016/06/10/a-summary-of-the-findings-of-ncma-s-annual-review-of-government-contracting-2016-edition

August 23, 2016 By AMK

Achieving effective competencies in contracting

A key challenge to improving acquisition is defining what good contracting really is — and the proper skill sets necessary for those working within it.

There are many different views on this topic that show up in various legislation, course curricula, job descriptions, and a variety of professional certifications across public- and private-sector agencies, firms, and associations. These include large government contractors; Defense Acquisition University; Federal Acquisition Institute; colleges and universities with supply chain, contract management, and business programs; corporate training criteria; and all manner of nonprofit standards and certifications. Unlike many other professions, there is no universally agreed upon “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” that gives those working in or contemplating entry into contracting a universally adopted set of competencies for today’s acquisition manager. Instead, “good contracting” and its skill sets are defined (if at all) piecemeal, employer by employer, segmented by type and size of organization.

However, there are models in use today that could be a starting point. For example, the Volcker Alliance recently published a list of fundamental skills and experience required for those responsible for public procurement, based on interviews with procurement officials and academic experts, leveraging their expertise to develop a competency model and evaluate the current public procurement workforce against those competencies.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.wifcon.com/discussion/index.php?/blogs/entry/3193-effective-competencies-in-contracting/

August 3, 2016 By AMK

How to innovate in federal contracting

Federal contracting officials, like their state and local government counterparts, find that innovation in public contracting is hard to define, but they know it when they see it.

Something else they agree on, in the words of Robert Johnson, procurement manager for the Central Florida Expressway Authority, “Legal runs 10 years behind innovation.”

That comment drew knowing chuckles from government and industry attendees at the National Contract Management Association’s big annual confab in Orlando.

But Tom Sharpe, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) at the General Services Administration (GSA), pointed out that law and regulation don’t necessarily stifle innovation. He cited the Treasury Department when Congress gave it billions to stabilize the banking industry after the 2008 crash. Sharpe was Treasury’s acquisition executive at the time.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition/2016/07/innovate-federal-contracting/

As anyone involved in contracting with the federal government is already well aware, this is the age of complete uncertainty.

While not totally accurate and complete enough to speak definitively, fiscal year data is generally solid enough to permit the drawing of conclusions.

A key challenge to improving acquisition is defining what good contracting really is — and the proper skill sets necessary for those working within it.

Federal contracting officials, like their state and local government counterparts, find that innovation in public contracting is hard to define, but they know it when they see it.

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