procurement forecast | The Contracting Education Academy

July 31, 2020 By cs

Agencies could use improvement in contracting forecast data

According to an industry group study, most federal agencies aren’t sharing details about their upcoming acquisitions needs as well as they could.

**See PSC’s full Scorecard by clicking on image above.**

The federal government has room to improve in providing effective contracting forecasts to industry, according to the Professional Services Council, which represents some 400 companies that work with federal agencies.

PSC’s second Federal Business Forecast Scorecard, which evaluated 60 agencies on 15 “key attributes” necessary for an effective forecast, found 28 of the agencies reviewed “needed improvement,” while five agencies—including the Air Force, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Agriculture Department — do not provide forecasts.

PSC rated 16 agencies as “good,” which represented an improvement from PSC’s 2019 forecast.

“PSC is pleased to see substantial improvement in several agencies even as we continue to encourage all federal agencies to refine the information made available to industry,” Alan Chvotkin, PSC executive vice president and counsel, said in a statement. “Clear project needs enable contractors to plan for the needed personnel and resources to compete successfully for U.S. government contracts, thus resulting in better proposals and shorter award decision timelines allowing programs to commence in timely fashion. The benefit to agencies is that companies can prepare better and earlier in the procurement lifecycle to perform on contracts. Agency needs are met, measurable results are achieved, and competition keeps costs down.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2020/07/agencies-could-use-improvement-contracting-forecast-data/167043/

June 22, 2020 By cs

What should vendors expect from Q4 2020?

The fourth quarter sprint to the finish line of the 2020 fiscal year starts in about a week. So what can federal contractors expect?

According to Cameron Leuthy, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Government, professional services will be big, the coronavirus pandemic will present both complications and opportunities, and small businesses should already be getting ready.

To project what’s coming, analysts usually look to the previous year as a template. In 2019, Q4 included 30% of all obligations for the entire fiscal year. The Defense Department alone spent just shy of $120 billion. The departments of Housing and Urban Development, Interior and State each had more than 50% of their total obligations for 2019 in the fourth quarter. September was particularly lucrative, with $94.3B spent that month alone, 66% of which came from DoD.

There are a number of reasons for that, Leuthy said. Sometimes those reasons include policy, or maximizing potential leverage with foreign governments, in the case of the State Department. Sometimes funds are just deliberately held back from obligations, though there can be legal ramifications for that.

“Civilian agencies did hold back in some cases, because of the difference between the amount the administration asked for and the amount that Congress eventually ended up appropriating,” Leuthy said. “There’s also an incentive, and a prudent one, to hold back obligations during CRs and not get ahead of yourself.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/contracting/2020/06/what-should-vendors-expect-from-q4-2020/

November 1, 2018 By AMK

Fiscal 2019 could be ‘high-water mark’ of defense spending

With the defense budget enhanced and set for fiscal 2019, contractors should “enjoy the moment,” Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist told an industry audience on Monday.

In processing the newly augmented $700 billion spend that Congress delivered before the start of the fiscal year, many on his finance staff had no recollection, he said, of a time decades ago when the military wasn’t always coping with the uncertainty of multiple continuing resolutions and government shutdown threats.

“We’re in a very different place now,” he told 300 attendees at the Professional Services Council’s 54^th annual Vision Federal Market Forecast conference, held in in Fairfax, Va. “Under a continuing resolution, we often had to wait until spring to do some things—now we can finalize them now or do them on schedule.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2018/10/fiscal-2019-could-be-high-water-mark-defense-spending/152390

February 3, 2017 By AMK

Analysis: Who’s at risk from Trump’s priorities?

For the Trump administration to make good on its campaign pledges to radically reform the government, agencies will have to reprogram dollars from some current programs.

It was with that premise that the data analytics firm Govini launched an analysis of government contracts and spending at 19 federal agencies.

In a new report, Trump’s Swamp, the company looks at potential reprogramming at federal agencies and which agencies – and hence contractors – can turn the quickest to meet the priorities of the new administration.

Govini determined what it calls “reprogramming potential” by looking at available spending and contracting competitiveness. Govini’s premise is that an agency’s ability to fulfill its mission and the priorities of the president is related to its ability to purchase goods and services that can put Trump policies into action.

Keep reading this article at: https://washingtontechnology.com/blogs/editors-notebook/2017/01/govini-trump-budget-analysis.aspx

March 22, 2016 By AMK

GSA launches contract database for small businesses

The General Services Administration (GSA) wants small businesses to get more federal contracts and just launched a new online database to help them find good opportunities.

The new Forecast of Contracting Opportunities database went live on March 15, part of the Office of Small Business Utilization’s efforts to give small businesses more access to government contracts.

“The General Services Administration is constantly seeking new ways to improve communication and transparency to allow vendors, especially small enterprises, a better chance for success in doing business with the government,” GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth said in a March 15 blog post. “That is why we’re excited to launch our new automated Small Business Forecast Tool. This tool focuses on acquisition planning, making vendors aware of opportunities early in the acquisition process.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/gsa-gwac/2016/03/18/small-business-database/81968618/

GSA’s Forecast of Contracting Opportunities database is in the beta phase right now and managers are interesting in hearing feedback from users. Questions and comments can be sent to forecasthelp@gsa.gov.

According to an industry group study, most federal agencies aren’t sharing details about their upcoming acquisitions needs as well as they could.

The fourth quarter sprint to the finish line of the 2020 fiscal year starts in about a week. So what can federal contractors expect?

With the defense budget enhanced and set for fiscal 2019, contractors should “enjoy the moment,” Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist told an industry audience on Monday.

The General Services Administration (GSA) wants small businesses to get more federal contracts and just launched a new online database to help them find good opportunities.

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