The Contracting Education Academy

Contracting Academy Logo
  • Home
  • Training & Education
  • Services
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for White House

November 19, 2020 By cs

What a Biden administration will mean for contractors

For federal contractors, much will change under a Biden administration.

Some changes will return the familiar.  Some wags are already calling the next presidency a third Obama term.  That may or may not be accurate, much less fair to Biden.

One thing is certain, the government won’t retreat one dollar from its $500 billion-a-year contracting appetite.  Beyond that, the pH of the procurement waters will change.

The agency to watch, if you’re a contractor, and by extension a contracting officer, is the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.  This Labor Department unit is the source of many policies that apply to contractors, starting with ensuring contractors follow what used to be called employment standards.  Mainly that contractors don’t, in their own employment practices, violate equal opportunity laws and regulations.

Administrations use it as one of the levers of power the general public doesn’t see, unlike, say, the Environmental Protection Agency or Justice Department.  Its policies apply to contracts and contractors.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/tom-temin-commentary/2020/11/what-a-biden-administration-will-mean-for-contractors/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: DOJ, DOL, EPA, federal contractors, government spending, Justice Dept., Labor Dept., OFCCP, spending, White House

May 19, 2017 By AMK

White House sets June deadline for suggestions from public on revamping government

White House officials have set a deadline of one month from now for members of the public to offer their suggestions on how to reform the federal government.

Shortly after Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney issued guidance to federal agencies ending the hiring freeze and asking them to restructure themselves and reduce their workforces, the White House set up a web page where Americans could offer suggestions on how “to reorganize the executive branch and eliminate unnecessary agencies.”

The online form allows users to choose from a variety of agencies, including OMB itself, and lay out a case for changing how they operate—or eliminating them outright.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2017/05/white-house-sets-june-deadline-suggestions-public-revamping-government/137867/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: government reform, OMB, White House

March 29, 2017 By AMK

President pledges new office to bring business innovation to government operations

The Trump administration is launching a new office to spur innovation in government operations, the White House announced Monday, promising to give business acumen a more prominent role in federal activities.

President Trump tapped Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, to lead the new White House Office of American Innovation. The administration is billing the initiative — first reported by The Washington Post — as a SWAT team of former business executives. The goal, the White House said, is to shake up the status quo of the federal bureaucracy by infusing new ideas that allow private enterprises to succeed.

The administration billed the office as non-partisan, looking for any new ideas from both inside and outside government. It will aim to make improvements at every federal agency, including through technology overhauls, projects stemming from Trump’s promised infrastructure investment and procurement reform. A particular area of focus will be improving the Veterans Affairs Department. The White House said the innovation office will function as a service organization offering its assistance to agencies.

When an agency is struggling with certain projects, the office and its team of White House advisers and business leaders will come in to offer creative and cost-efficient solutions. The team will look to ensure agencies keep pace with the latest innovations in the private sector.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2017/03/trump-pledges-new-office-bring-business-innovation-government-operations/136493/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Grace Commission, innovation, National Partnership for Reinventing Government, U.S. Digital Service, VA, White House, White House Office of American Innovation

November 13, 2015 By AMK

Challenges buy government what contracts can’t

When the government needs to buy supplies or capital items, or it needs to develop a new bomber, it awards a contract.  But what if it needs answers that aren’t for sale in the classic sense?

Office of Science and Technology PolicyJenn Gustetic says contracts are how you access value available from companies. But over the past five years, the executive branch has found an effective and relatively inexpensive way to tap into the brain power of individuals. Namely, challenge grants.

Gustetic is the assistant director for open innovation at the Office of Science and Technology Policy. On my show this morning, she noted that as the challenge grant program crosses its fifth birthday, it’s awarded 450 prizes to some 200,000 individuals for a total of about $150 million.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/temin/2015/10/challenges-buy-government-contracts-cant/ 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: CDC, challenge grant, NSA. crowdsourcing, OSTP, science, technology, White House

August 24, 2015 By AMK

GTRI represented at White House summit on rural education

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) representative at a recent roundtable discussion held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House Rural Council had a chance to share how the Atlanta-located Georgia Tech unit is working to reach out to the state’s rural students.
GTRI attended a recent roundtable discussion held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House Rural Council, organized by Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden.

Organized by the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden, the roundtable discussion centered on the Obama Administration’s goals of the U.S. Department of Education’s investing in rural schools and the Rural Jobs Accelerator. Mindy DiSalvo, a senior research associate working with STEM@GTRI’s science, technology, engineering and math educational initiatives, was invited to speak on Georgia Tech’s behalf.

Existing STEM@GTRI initiatives have impacted more than 1,000 students in rural communities, DiSalvo said. Additionally, GTRI has supported a USDA proposal that, when implemented, will equip classrooms in nine rural school systems with technology and software applications that will enable them to connect with GT laboratories.

“When funded, this program will have the potential to reach thousands of students, most of whom are in schools with an average 28 percent graduation rate, and in communities that have been consistently impoverished for at least 20 years,” DiSalvo said.

Through Georgia Tech’s Direct to Discovery (D2D) program, researchers at GTRI are able to connect with kindergarten through 12th-grade students in their classrooms. This program helps to introduce students to STEM content, college opportunities and careers.

“Our researchers can provide context to the science and technology curriculum and why students should be learning it,” DiSalvo said. “When we are able to share our researchers with classrooms, student invariably say ‘Oh. Now I see why I need to know this.’”

GTRI is no stranger to assisting with educational outreach. GTRI was instrumental in developing the Family Technology Resource Centers in DeKalb County, Georgia, a few decades ago. During his administration, President Bill Clinton gave the FTRC a permanent place in the Smithsonian Institution as an example of an effective community outreach program.

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: Agriculture Dept., Georgia Tech, GTRI, STEM, USDA, White House

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Popular Topics

abuse acquisition reform acquisition strategy acquisition training acquisition workforce Air Force Army AT&L bid protest budget budget cuts competition cybersecurity DAU DFARS DHS DoD DOJ FAR fraud GAO Georgia Tech GSA GSA Schedule GSA Schedules IG industrial base information technology innovation IT Justice Dept. Navy NDAA OFPP OMB OTA Pentagon procurement reform protest SBA sequestration small business spending technology VA
Contracting Academy Logo
75 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30308
info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu
Phone: 404-894-6109
Fax: 404-410-6885

RSS Twitter

Search this Website

Copyright © 2023 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute