training | The Contracting Education Academy

October 23, 2017 By AMK

Defense acquisition workers seeing a new era in training

The Defense acquisition workforce may see a new era in training, recruiting and retainment as the Pentagon and military services change the way they view the value of their employees.

Both the Army and the Defense Department are making changes in how they evaluate and prioritize the experience and education of the acquisition workforce.

The Army recently released a directive focused on acquisition talent management.

“We want our people to have an appropriate set of experiences,” acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said of the directive during a speech last week at an Association of the United States Army conference in Washington. “We want our program managers and officers to have fellowships with industry, masters degrees within certain disciplines. It’s also about the tenures for people in program management. We’re looking at tours of three-to-four years, so more continuity and the right set of experiences so that they have a broader perspective than the ones we’ve had previously.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/contracting/2017/10/defense-acquisition-workers-seeing-a-new-era-in-training/

January 18, 2017 By AMK

Project management for the rest of us

For many individuals thrust or drafted into the role of initiative or project leader without a formal background in project management, expect a steep learning curve and bumpy ride.

In spite of the popularity of project management training and the growth in the number of certified professionals, most projects in organizations are led by functional or technical experts tapped to pull a team together and make the magic happen. The magic, in this case, is successfully completing the initiative on time, under budget and at the right level of quality.

Experienced project managers everywhere are smiling externally while secretly writing your project obituary in their minds. Yes, the road ahead is rocky. In this article, I frame the challenges and offer some getting started ideas and resources.

Keep reading this article at: http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2017/01/project-management-rest-us/134473

May 24, 2016 By AMK

Learn contract negotiation skills in June workshops

Are you a good negotiator?

You’ll discover the answer to that important question by participating in an upcoming workshop being conducted by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech. The Negotiation Workshops are being conducted in Jackson, Missouri on June 28 and in Springfield, Missouri on June 30, 2016.

The University of Missouri is hosting the workshops to help businesses understand how government agencies negotiate their contracts.

By participating, business people will discover their own negotiating style and whether it works in the government contracting arena. Participants will be challenged to ‘think outside the box’ and put good negotiation techniques into practice.

Attendees will:

Be briefed on the latest research identifying effective negotiation practices,
Learn when and how the government negotiates contracts,
Examine effective contract negotiation techniques,
Engage in a simulated contract negotiation for a critical purchase, and
Receive a debriefing on what negotiation tactics and strategies work and don’t work.

Negotiation Workshop - quotes In addition to expert instruction, each attendee will receive a printed guide.

The workshops are being presented through special arrangements made by the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (MOPTAC). Specialists from The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, a recognized educational leader in the government contracting field, will lead the workshops and provide insights available nowhere else. As a result of attending, participants will understand how to negotiate with government agencies, prime contractors, suppliers and even potential business partners.

To attend the Negotiation Workshop on Tuesday, June 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Jackson, Missouri, OR Thursday, June 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Springfield, Missouri, please visit http://missouribusiness.net/ptac/training to register at a discounted workshop fee.

May 4, 2016 By AMK

Academy to conduct FAR webinar for NCMA

If you represent a business in need of a quick orientation to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), an upcoming webinar hosted by the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) may be just your ticket.

On Thursday, June 30, 2016, NCMA will host a webinar entitled “30 Things Every Contractor Needs to Know About the FAR.”

The webinar was developed by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, and will be presented by Chuck Schadl, group manager of government contracting services at Georgia Tech. Chuck provides instruction and advice to both government contracting officials and business professionals. He has more than 40 years of experience in the contracting field at federal and local government levels, and consults with state and local governments on acquisition reform.

By highlighting 30 provisions of the FAR, the webinar will provide insights into:

Why the 2,000-page FAR is important and how it is structured,
How the federal government plans its contracts,
How a contract is created using the FAR, and
How government agencies administer contracts.

The webinar will be conducted from noon until 1:30 pm Eastern Time on June 30th. For more information and to register, click here.

February 10, 2016 By AMK

GAO says Army needs training on how to exercise contract options

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report that finds contracting officials at the Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal have improperly used the option to extend services clause by extending three of five contracts reviewed for periods longer than 6 months.

When included in a contract, the Federal Acquisition Regulation’s (FAR) option to extend services clause allows contracting officers to extend a contract more than once as long as the total extension does not exceed 6 months. However, the three contracts GAO identified were extended for periods between 10 and 12 months using contract modifications that cited the option to extend services clause. All three contracts were sole-source bridge contracts included as a part of GAO’s October 2015 review of bridge contracts. In that report, GAO found that multiple factors contributed to the use of bridge contracts, including those reviewed at the Army, such as an inexperienced and overwhelmed acquisition workforce.

Why GAO Did Its Study

The option to extend services clause provides a way for the government to continue to receive services for up to 6 months when, for example, the award of subsequent contracts might be delayed. When noncompetitive contracts are used frequently or for prolonged periods, the government is at risk of paying more than it should for goods and services. The same is true when the option to extend services clause is used for longer than permitted, thus delaying potential competition. In October 2015, GAO reported on federal agencies’ use of bridge contracts, which GAO defined as including extensions to an existing contract beyond the period of performance of a contract (including base and option years).

As a follow-up to its October 2015 report, GAO developed its latest report to address the Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal’s use of the option to extend services clause on selected contracts, and to bring the issues GAO found to the command’s attention. For this report, GAO examined, for selected Army contracts, how the option to extend services clause was used to bridge a potential gap in services and the extent to which it was used in accordance with federal regulations.

To conduct this work, GAO relied on audit work completed as part of an October 2015 review of federal agencies’ use of bridge contracts. As part of that review, GAO selected 29 contracts, including 5 Army contracts awarded by the Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal, for an in-depth review. To review the Army contracts, GAO collected and analyzed contract documentation and interviewed contracting and program officials. In addition, GAO reviewed FAR sections 37.111 and 17.208 (f), which provides for the use of FAR clause 52.217-8, the option to extend services, to better understand the rules related to the use of this clause, and compared the Army’s use of this clause on the selected contracts to the terms and limitations of the clause.

What GAO Is Recommending

GAO has recommended that the Executive Director of the Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal provide training and, in a timely manner, issue a formal reminder to contracting officers on the appropriate use of the option to extend services clause, in particular the period of performance limitations prescribed by the FAR. The Department of Defense has concurred with GAO’s recommendation.

Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-262R