If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Government Contracting Officers are required to make a determination that a contractor is “responsible” before awarding a…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) What happens if you don’t submit your proposal by the time specified in the RFP? Are you…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) What is a novation? How is it different than a name change? How do you know which…
This episode is brought to you by the Government Contract Pricing Summit, the groundbreaking pricing event bringing together government and industry! If you are planning to attend a conference this year, this is the event…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) What is the Freedom of Information Act? (FOIA) The Freedom of Information Act is a law that…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) A unique feature of small business set-aside source selections is the Contracting Officer is required to identify…
Listen and Learn…What is a small business set-aside? Why would the Government allow only small businesses to bid on some opportunities? In this ENCORE presentation, Kevin and Paul discuss the different types of small business…
The Contracting Officer Podcast is excited to announce that Kevin and Paul are speaking at the inaugural Government Contract Pricing Summit. The Government Contract Pricing (GCP) Summit 2016 is a one-of-a-kind event bringing together government…
This episode is brought to you by PROPRICER™, the #1 proposal pricing and cost analysis software used by federal agencies and small to large government contractors. Visit www.PROPRICER.com/podcast to learn more or request a demonstration….
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. What is an ACRN? Yes, another confusing Government acquisition term. ACRN is an acronym for Accounting Classification Reference Number. Kevin and Paul…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. The Federal Government proposal writing and source selection process is full of myth and mystery for the Industry players writing the proposals…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. Why is targeting so important? How does it benefit both Government and Industry? In this “Follow-on” episode Kevin and Paul dig deeper…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. This episode is brought to you by PROPRICER™, the #1 proposal pricing and cost analysis software used by federal agencies and small…
This episode is brought to you by Unanet. Unanet provides a ‘single source of truth’ and removes the barriers to sharing realtime information caused by using separate business systems. Use Unanet for all Projects, People…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. This episode is brought to you by Unanet. Unanet provides a ‘single source of truth’ and removes the barriers to sharing realtime…
If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. Proposal Managers have a unique view of the proposal process. Among other roles, proposal managers are key to ensuring that proposals are…
This episode is brought to you by PROPRICER™, the #1 proposal pricing and cost analysis software used by federal agencies and small to large government contractors. Visit www.PROPRICER.com/podcast to learn more or request a demonstration….
Listen and Learn… What is Certified Cost and Pricing Data? Cost and pricing data is exactly what it sounds like. The key word here is “certified”. Kevin and Paul describe the circumstances where the Government…
Listen and Learn… What is a Final Proposal Revision? (FPR) Kevin and Paul continue their dissection of the Government Source Selection process and discuss the process by which the Government allows revisions to Industry proposals…
Listen and Learn… Who are the players on the Government acquisition team? Who are their Industry counterparts? Kevin and Paul discuss different roles on a Government acquisition team and an Industry proposal team. Many roles…
Listen and Learn… What is an RFI? What is a DRFP? What is an RFP? In this special Encore episode, Kevin and Paul describe RFIs (Request for Information), DRFPs (Draft Request for Proposals) and RFPs…
Listen and Learn… How does the Government Source Selection Process work? Ever wonder what happens after proposals are submitted? How does the Government go about selecting a winner? Kevin and Paul discuss the FAR Part…
Listen and Learn… What is an Industry Day? What goals should the Government accomplish during the event? How should Industry prepare for an Industry Day? Kevin and Paul describe what an Industry Day can be…
Listen and Learn… What is an Unauthorized Commitment? (UA) What makes it Unauthorized? What is a Ratification? Only a Government Contracting Officer can obligate the Government to acquire goods and/or services, but…..sometimes it sure seems…
Listen and Learn… Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) has become a very important issue for Government contractors as the Government’s perception of and sensitivity to OCI has changed over the last few years. Agencies have…
Listen and Learn… In this Special Holiday ENCORE episode – Kevin and Paul discuss the Contracting Officer Podcast’s 80/20 rule. This is one of the earliest and most popular CO Podcasts, presented again “in case…
Listen and Learn… Unlike in commercial industry, the Government is required to notify bidders that they’ve lost a bid. Kevin and Paul explain what information the Government can and cannot share in the notification as…
Listen and Learn… One Year of the Contracting Officer Podcast! In this special episode Kevin and Paul look back at the beginning of the CO Podcast and answer the most common question received from listeners:…
Listen and Learn… How can the Government buy commercial items efficiently? Good question! One streamlined acquisition process has now become an official part of the FAR. (after years as a “test program”) FAR 13.5 describes…
Listen and Learn… This is Part 2 of Kevin’s interview with Garth Arevalo, CEO of Lukos, LLC. In Part 1 they discussed the perspectives they gained after moving from the Government Contracting Officer role to…
Listen and Learn… This episode is brought to you by PROPRICERTM, the Gold Standard for Cost Proposal and Government Evaluation Software. Learn how they can help you here. In this Special Episode, Kevin interviews Garth…
Did you know that the Government can negotiate with Industry right in the middle of a competition? It’s true! In the Government world negotiations during the source selection process are called “discussions”. Kevin and Paul…
There are endless calls to “fix Government acquisition” and “reduce bureaucracy” and “change or reduce Federal Procurement Policies”. Ready to scale that mountain? We aren’t either. In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the impact…
This episode is brought to you by PROPRICERTM, the Gold Standard for Cost Proposal and Government Evaluation Software. Learn how they can help you here. Letter contracts are a special type of contract that allow…
Listen and Learn… Indefinite Contract? How can a contract be indefinite? Indefinite contracts can be used when the Government knows exactly what it wants to buy, but not how much they’ll need or when they’ll…
Incentive contracts are designed to help the Government acquire goods and services at a lower cost or with improved delivery or technical performance. These contracts provide the opportunity for creativity in crafting incentives and also…
Listen and Learn… What does “Color of Money” mean? In this special encore presentation of an important topic you’ll learn about different types of appropriations and how they impact acquisitions and the Government’s behavior. Kevin…
The Government Fiscal Year (GFY is the common acronym) runs 1 October through 30 September. The last month of the GFY has the potential for great drama because Government funds have an expiration date. (check…
Almost every Federal Government contract follows the same general format. Ever wonder why? (or wonder why anyone would have a podcast about it?) Kevin and Paul explain the FAR’s framework for contract format and how…
Join Over 5,000 People Who Get Our Content Every Month! * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name Selecting the most appropriate contract type is an important step in a successful acquisition. This…
You’ve heard of sealed bids? How about Two-Step? No, not a type of dance… Two-Step Sealed bidding is a type of acquisition process that allows the Government to evaluate technical bids and request pricing from…
Ever heard of a logical follow-on? Kevin and Paul explain why logic is just one of the many factors that can influence the decision to award a non-competitive contract to an incumbent contractor.In addition, learn…
What does a COTR do? What can a COR direct a contractor to do? What is outside the scope of their authority? Learn the answers to these questions and more as Kevin and Paul discuss…
What does it mean if your contract has “options”? Kevin and Paul explain the reasons why options are used in Government contracts and how they impact proposals and source selections.Learn how the execution and administration…
Join Over 5,000 People Who Get Our Content Every Month! * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name Kevin and Paul explain Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) and help listeners understand why they…
In this special rebroadcast of one of the most popular early episodes, Kevin and Paul explain what Contracting Officers do. They define the role of the CO and provide detail on how they are appointed….
In this special episode, Kevin and Paul explain the “connection” between the Contracting Officer Podcast, The Skyway Connection Community, and Skyway Acquisition Solutions. If you’re wondering what we’re talking about when we mention the Connection…
Are Sole Source Awards Easier? In this episode Kevin and Paul debate this listener question. A Contracting Officer (and listener!) took issue with a comment from a previous episode regarding sole source contracts and provided…
In Part 2 of this special episode, Kevin and Paul continue their conversation about proposals with Vicky Strycharske, Senior Proposal Manager at Skyway Acquisition Solutions. This is another “what I wish I knew”episode that covers…
In this special episode, Kevin and Paul discuss proposals with Vicky Strycharske, Senior Proposal Manager at Skyway Acquisition Solutions. This is another “what I wish I knew” episode that covers nuances of the RFP and…
In this episode Kevin and Paul describe one step of the Government’s source selection process, Competitive Range Determinations. They explain the purpose of competitive range determinations, when the determination takes place, and why the Government…
In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the balance that both industry and the Government must consider as they plan how best to meet a requirement. Industry must decide whether or not outside vendors, suppliers,…
In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the purpose of small business set-asides. Why would the Government only allow small businesses to bid on some opportunities? Learn the different types of set-asides and why they…
Part 2 of our interview with Michael Fischetti, Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).Part 1 focused on the training and education that contracts professionals receive, including questions of “depth or breadth” in…
A big welcome to our first guest on the Contracting Officer Podcast. Michael Fischetti, Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), stopped by the official CO Podcast studio to discuss professionalism in contracting. …
In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the cost of writing a proposal in response to a Government RFP. How much does it cost to write a proposal? What drivers can increase or decrease the…
In this episode Kevin and Paul answer listeners’ questions. Specific topics are: What is an Award Fee Contract? What does “incremental funding” mean? What is “Certified Cost and Pricing Data? What is meant by the…
What is a Protest? When Should I Protest? What Can I Protest? How Do I Submit a Protest? In this episode Kevin and Paul provide answers to these questions and more. The discussion goes far…
What are weighted guidelines? In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the Government’s use of a structured approach to determine fair and reasonable profit during sole source negotiations. They explain what weighted guidelines are and…
How much communication between the Government and Industry is necessary prior to release of the RFP? In this episode Paul and Kevin the reasons why increased communications are critical to the Government acquisition process, leading…
How much time does an offeror need to submit a proposal? How much time is not enough? How much time is too much? What is the contractor doing with that time? As contracting officers, we…
What does “Color of Money” mean? This episode explains different types of appropriations and how they impact acquisitions and the Government’s behavior. Kevin and Paul give examples of why the color of money matters and…
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a Government source selection? In this episode Kevin and Paul provide a glimpse behind the curtain and answer a listener’s questions about the source selection process….
J&A (Justification and Approval) is the common term used to describe the documentation required for a contracting officer to proceed with an acquisition using other than full and open competition. (also known as sole source…
Targeting is a critical element of winning in the federal market. Poor targeting creates many of the problems we discuss on the Contracting Officer Podcast – from miscommunication between buyer and seller, to adversarial debriefs,…
The last in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail. (see Episode 003 for an overview of the Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss what happens after…
The third in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail. (see Episode 003 for an overview of the Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul describe what information must…
The second in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail. (see Episode 003 for an overview of the Time Zones) In this episode Kevin and Paul discuss the types of…
This is the first in a 4 part series describing the Acquisition Time Zones in greater detail. (see Episode 003 for an overview of the Time Zones) In this episode, Kevin and Paul describe how…
What is Section L? What is Section M? In this 2 part episode, Paul and Kevin explain how the Government provides proposal preparation and content instructions in Section L and provides the evaluation criteria that…
