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 dig deep into the acquisition process and explain how a bid is often won or lost far before proposals are ever written or evaluated.  Learn why contractors must work to win the "opening" before contemplating "closing" the sale and how government acquisit...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Imagine reading your contract closely to determine how to approach a potential issue, only to find out that you are held to the requirements of a clause that isn't written into the contract.  Kevin and Paul discuss the Christian Doctrine, which holds that mandatory clauses that expre...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In the final episode of our mini-series on the “Fair Opportunity” process, Kevin and Paul discuss how the government can award a "sole source" task order within the bounds of the fair opportunity toolbox.    __________ This episode is brought to you by Skyway Acquisition.  To ge...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the government's proposal evaluation process using yet another baseball analogy. (smile...you know you love baseball analogies)   Learn how open communication before the RFP is released helps both offerors and evaluators and how the government uses judgment to...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul review, refresh, and update the Acquisition Time Zones.  The Acquisition Time Zones are the way we (this podcast) describe the chronological phases of the government acquisition process. The Acquisition Time Zones help government and industry acquisition professionals and c...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)  Kevin talks proposal automation with Skyway team member (and proposal professional) Wendy Frieman.   Learn why automation tools have become an essential part of the proposal development (and RFP development) process and which functions they can make easier for both Government and Industr...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Possibly the most common question posed to the podcast:  Why do RFPs take so long? Kevin and Paul build on earlier episodes on this topic and provide simple communication tips to improve acquisition outcomes for both Government and Industry. __________ This episode is brought to you by Sk...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the common question "when should I contact the Contracting Officer during the acquisition process?".  Learn the most effective times for different parties from both government and industry to get to know each other and why untargeted communications can be...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Government requests for proposals (RFPs) contain many explicit requirements.  They also include many "buried" requirements that, if not followed, result in non-compliance with the RFP instructions and potentially end a proposal's chance for award.    Kevin and Paul discuss...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) 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 submitted in response are well known for “dense” content.  Learn tips on how to purge y...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin welcomes special guest Steve Goldsby, founder and CEO of ICS Inc., to talk about three key activities that industry can undertake in order to win more business.  Learn how these keys can help lower costs and reduce workload as you win.  You’ll also learn how the Government can help...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Inspired by a question posted in Skyway’s “Ask a Contracting Officer” forum, Kevin and Paul discuss the concept of “shaping” and its practical and actual limits.  Besides the obvious benefits to industry, learn why shaping can help the Government achieve better acquisition outcomes.   ___...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)  Do the words cost and price mean the same thing to you?  In most of your life the answer is probably yes.  In the business world (and Government acquisition world) they are quite different.  Confusing the two can cause real problems. In this encore presentation of an early episode, Paul...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) This week Kevin and Paul explore another “only in the Government” acquisition scenario. What if you won a new services contract for the Government and were required to offer all the jobs to the employees of the predecessor contractor?  Don’t be caught by surprise.  FAR 52.222-17, Non-disp...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss the common practice of hiring, or at least planning to hire, the incumbent contractor’s employees when you win a bid for a service contract.  Listen and learn the benefits and pitfalls of this strategy from both the Government’s and Industry’s perspectives.     ____...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Just when you think you understand the rules… Kevin and Paul provide an update to Episode 210 where FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, was discussed.  Within months of that episode’s release a deviation to the FAR was issued that impacts the application (though not the concept)...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) In this encore presentation of an earlier episode, Kevin and Paul discuss the Government’s preference (or lack of preference) for specific small business categories during the acquisition process.  Learn how open communication can help Government acquisition teams award set-aside contract...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) It’s time to re-compete your contract. You’re the incumbent, so this is going to be easy, right?  In this holiday encore presentation of an earlier episode, Kevin and Paul discuss the advantages and challenges that come with incumbency on a Government contract.  Learn why many incumbents...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Get ready to tackle the confusing world of MAS (Multiple Award Schedule), GWAC (Governmentwide Acquisition Contract), and MAC (Multiple Award IDIQ Contract) acquisitions.  Kevin welcomes special guest Vicky Strycharske to discuss these increasing common contract arrangements.  Vicky is a...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin welcomes special guest Brian Burns to discuss "the technical vs. the business sale" as it relates to the federal government market.  Brian is the CEO of the B2B Network of Podcasts and the host of multiple podcasts including The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling Podca...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)We’ve debated the 80/20 rule many times on the podcast and discussed how the ratio between process and relationships required to win Government work is loosely related to the size and complexity of the acquisition. Today Kevin talks business development and the power of relationships with...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) So you decide to submit a response to a Government Request for Information (RFI).  What happens next? What if it was submitted after the due date? Kevin and Paul answer these questions and talk through the ways in which an RFI response can impact a Government acquisition. Learn how RFI re...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin welcomes special guest Vicky Strycharske to discuss GSA schedules.  Vicky is a regular guest, former contracting officer, and also a Skyway team member who specializes in GSA schedule issues. Learn how GSA schedules help both Government and Industry to more efficiently conduct busin...

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!) Kevin and Paul discuss FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting.  Learn why small businesses are generally required to perform the majority of the work themselves when awarded a contract under a small business set-aside.  (and when they’re not required to…) This clause, and others lik...

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