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March 6, 2012 By AMK

House committee takes on contract bundling

Two House Small Business Committee members are now tackling contract bundling in a new bill as a part of a comprehensive contracting-reform plan.

The Contractor Opportunity Protection Act would make it tougher for agencies to bundle contracts. The bill would provide the Small Business Administration and third-party groups with the ability to appeal an agency’s decision to bundle several contracts into one. Officials would also have to consider small businesses early on when planning a procurement.

Contract bundling is the practice of packaging many contracts together, essentially making it impossible for small businesses to compete for the work. The bundled contracts can limit competition.

The new bill would create a third-party arbiter to fight unjustified bundling by allowing SBA to appeal a questionable bundling decision to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals or the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals. If SBA declines to do so, the legislation allows third-party groups to protest to the Government Accountability Office.

Furthermore, it would require agencies to publish their justification for the bundled contract to provide greater specificity and transparency into federal officials’ decisions. At least 45 days before an agency issues a solicitation, procurement officials have to send it to their procurement-center representative, who advocates for small businesses.

Along with the solicitation, they must explain their decision, answering why officials are choosing to bundle the contacts and why the contract cannot be divided into smaller parts. Officials also would have give a list of the contractors affected by the bundling, especially if it is a small business.

“Contract bundling is a legitimate part of federal contracting, but it can sometimes be carried out unfairly,” said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the Small Business Committee. Graves and fellow committee member Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) introduced the bill, intended to address some of these problems, on Feb. 17.

The contract bundling legislation is part of a comprehensive initiative from the Small Business Committee aimed at reforming small-business contracting policies. Since January, a number of committee members have introduced bills that address small-business issues.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week. This article was published Feb. 17, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/17/contract-bundling-legislation-graves.aspx?s=wtdaily_210212

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: bundling, competition, GAO, SBA, small business, unbundle

January 5, 2012 By AMK

USAID pushes for more competition, less onerous regulations

The U.S. Agency for International Development is seeking to increase competition for its contracts and make its programs more accessible to small and disadvantaged businesses as part of a larger agency-wide reform effort.

Concerned that a reduction in contracting staff has led to an increased reliance on a fairly small group of contractors and nongovernmental organizations, USAID has made changes to its procurement program a key part of its reform.

In its plan for change, the agency says it is “falling short” in accessing the full range of talent in both U.S. businesses and organizations and those in developing countries.

USAID has started by promoting more competition within its programs, particularly focusing on setting aside more awards for small and disadvantaged businesses.

The agency has established a review board that looks at ways to make large contracts more accessible to small businesses, such as by splitting them into smaller pieces, said Aman S. Djahanbani, USAID’s chief acquisition officer.

“Broadening our partner base … just makes good business sense, and it furthers sustainable development,” Djahanbani said.

At the same time, the agency is trying to work with more of the organizations and companies that are local to a given country. Littleton Tazewell, senior adviser to USAID’s general counsel for implementation and procurement reform, said the agency often relies on intermediaries — such as U.S.-based contractors or international nongovernmental organizations — to work with local bodies.

“The idea here is to increase our direct engagement with local organizations,” said Tazewell, who said a deeper understanding of local organizations will help USAID craft better solicitations.

The agency also is seeking to make its regulations and rules less burdensome to encourage more companies and organizations to compete for contracts and grants.

USAID acknowledged that some larger contractors or NGOs may see reduced work as a result of its procurement reform moves.

“Our partners need to realize that there is more competition,” said Djahanbani. “However, they definitely have a role to play — maybe a different role.”

For instance, he said, in some cases a local organization could serve as the prime contractor while an international or U.S.-based organization could function as a subcontractor.

Tazewell said USAID has engaged the companies and organizations it frequently uses as it reforms in an effort to identify their particular problems.

Still, USAID is only about 18 months into what it expects to be a five-year process, Tazewell said.

“We’re going to trip and make some mistakes along the way, but our expectation is at the end of that five-year process we’ll be a much better organization,” he said. “We will have a structure [and a] regulatory framework that allows for a broadened partner base that’s both local- and small business-oriented.”

— by Marjorie Censer – The Washington Post – published December 25, 2011 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/usaid-pushes-for-more-competition-less-onerous-regulations/2011/11/28/gIQA1chUHP_story.html.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: competition, procurement reform, small business, small disadvantaged business, subcontracting, unbundle, USAID

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