Contracting Officer Podcast 2.0 (samples)

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss another one of those "only in GovCon" situations - you have a contract in hand, but you're not allowed to work because there isn't any money allocated to it. Listen and learn how FAR Part 32 and a couple clauses - FAR 52.232-18, "Availabilit...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The Small Business Administration issued a final rule that includes significant changes that impact small businesses overall and also large businesses who are required to commit to small business subcontracting goals.   Listen and learn as Kevin and Paul discuss a subset of changes and wh...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The 8(a) Business Development Program is a Federal government program designed to give a lift to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Paul welcomes special guest Shelley Hall (retired Contracting Officer and Skyway team member) to d...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul provide guidance on how the FAR handles situations like the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  Learn how your contract may be impacted, why the FAR's contract termination clauses come into play, and what other options are preferable where possible.  As always, o...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss FAR Part 18, Emergency Acquisitions.  Learn how the flexibilities within the FAR (not just in Part 18) enable rapid acquisitions to support crises like current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  Both Government and Industry professionals can streamline the acquisitio...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In this update to Episode 239 Kevin and Paul talk working from home, or remote, or anywhere not in your regular office building.  Most of us are working from home for the time being.  Surprisingly, the FAR has little to say about that.  Don't worry though...rules and regulations are...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Document, document, document.  Kevin and Paul discuss the CARES Act.  Well, not the law itself, more the ambiguities within just one section.  Learn why you must document, document, document everything related to COVID-19 impacts and mitigations in order to increase your company's ch...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Are Sole Source Awards Easier?   In this encore presentation of a very early episode, Kevin and Paul debate a question from a Contracting Officer who took issue with a comment from a previous episode regarding sole source contracts and provided not only a great idea but encouragement to e...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In Part 1 of our past performance series (Episode 267) we covered the factors the government uses in evaluating past performance and what they mean in context. Part 2 gets deeper into how past performance is used in the source selection process. Listen and learn as Kevin and Paul explore...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) There is no such thing as a late protest.  As you might expect, the rules around when a protest is allowed can be quite confusing.   Kevin and Paul discuss the factors that impact whether a protest is timely and must be considered by the Government or not timely, and ignored.   _________...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) We've discussed the importance of targeting many times on the podcast.  For a fresh take on what successful targeting looks like in practice, we invited Cameron Cozzens and Amy Sadeghzadeh from The Arbinger Institute (www.arbingerinstitute.com) to the podcast to share their experienc...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The term "classified contract" is often misconstrued. Both Government and Industry need to understand the exact nature of any classified information prior to contract award and throughout contract execution.   Listen and learn the differences in terminology, how they impact an a...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Can the Government negotiate with an individual offeror after the selection process has begun but before awarding a contract?  You may be surprised to learn that the answer is yes! Kevin and Paul discuss a source selection technique called "select to negotiate".  This process is...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) We talked about colors of money way back in Episode 19, including the limitations that are attached to each color regarding purpose and availability.  Today Kevin and Paul take a different route and discuss the stages that Government money travels through regardless of color.   Listen and...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) GovCon isn't static.  Many of the common themes of the podcast, like context and communication, never change.  But sometimes the specifics of how you get the job done change, and in this case it is long overdue.   The federal government is transitioning and consolidating legacy GovCo...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Today we welcome Mike LeJeune from RSM Federal and host of the Game Changers for Government Contractors podcast.  Mike and Paul discuss sales strategies for winning your first government contract as well as common mistakes that contractors make while attempting to win a government contrac...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Subcontracting in the Government world can be a complicated process. We've talked about small business goals and set-asides among many other subcontracting topics. Today we tackle second-tier subcontractors. What is a second-tier sub? How can they be viewed differently on services co...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)   This is a special holiday encore presentation of a previously released podcast.   Kevin and Paul discuss the power of succinct writing set up by a quote from Mark Twain, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”.  Government Requests for Proposals and the proposals sub...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Use past performance to your advantage? When you read that, did you think of how Government contractors can use past performance?  Or how Government Contracting Officers and acquisition teams can use past performance?  Maybe because it is a required source selection evaluation factor, pas...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) What is the advantage of being in a HUBZone? (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) Kevin and Paul gave an overview of the HUBZone program in Episode 178.  Today they dive deeper into this special niche for small businesses.   Listen and learn how FAR 19.1305 gives contracting officer...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) It's a common human tendency. When things are going well, we become complacent to the reality of why they are going well and what risks could materialize if things stop going well.  Kevin and Paul discuss this tendency in the context of Government acquisition. What happens if the Gov...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In this holiday encore presentation of a foundational episode,  Kevin and Paul explain  the  role of a Contracting Officer along with some detail on how they are appointed.  You'll also learn about the different types of contracting officers. (with some personal experience mixed in,...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) The question was "How do I get to the decision maker?".  Before we can answer that one we have to ask (and answer) a few other questions. Kevin and Paul discuss the questions that have to be covered before "getting to the decision maker": what decisions have to be made...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Paul welcomes USAF Major Dan Finkenstadt to the podcast to discuss knowledge-based services. (KBS) Dan has had a long career in the acquisition world and is currently at UNC Chapel Hill working on his PhD.  His research is focused on measuring perceptions of quality and value in knowledge...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul torture yet another metaphor, this time using storm surge to discuss the wave upon wave of contracting activities that tend to stack up at the end of the government fiscal year.   Learn why the surge can happen and strategies for both industry and government professionals t...