SmartContracting Daily Intel for Jan. 10, 2013

In today's news...

GovLoop: The Federal Workforce is Going to be SMALLER - So who gets cut? Acquisition Workforce? 

http://bit.ly/XnfRG9

Washington Post: Where are the White House’s new voices?

http://wapo.st/VV5ac1

Washington Post: Hilda Solis resigns as labor secretary; some others in Cabinet to stay on

http://wapo.st/XnfUSv

Federal Times: Analyst: Under sequestration, furloughs for ‘virtually all’ DoD civilians

http://bit.ly/UYQvPq

Federal News Radio: Congress revises DoD's sequestration starting point

http://bit.ly/VLKpQY

Government Executive: OMB identifies nearly 400 obsolete federal reports

http://bit.ly/RI4Q34

SmartContracting Daily Intel for Jan. 3, 2013

In today's news...

FCW: Spending deal leaves future unclear 

http://bit.ly/VFb8xz

Federal News Radio: Pentagon Solutions: Longstanding challenges plague federal acquisition personnel 

http://bit.ly/UmLugB

The Hill: Boehner tells GOP he’s through negotiating one-on-one with Obama

http://bit.ly/131w6Nk

Government Acquisition Professionals Perform “Balancing Act”

Government acquisition professionals are performing a “balancing act” as they attempt to address perennial concerns, according to the sixth biennial Acquisition Policy Survey of federal government personnel released by the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton on December 17.

The 2012 edition of the survey, “The Balancing Act: Acquisition in an Unabated Crisis,” identified three top challenges facing today’s acquisition workforce and explored a decade of survey results, finding common themes that point to a myriad of unresolved issues. Common, unresolved issues included budget stability, workforce resources and capabilities, training and development, and oversight and transparency.

SmartContracting Daily Intel for Dec. 18, 2012

In today's news...

Wall Street Journal: Afghanistan Seeks Taxes From Contractors to U.S.

http://on.wsj.com/UOADNw

Federal News Radio: Federal acquisition leaders distressed over workforce, budget cuts 

http://bit.ly/V52XNW

FCW: Civilian agencies outpace DOD for spending on ongoing IT maintenance

http://bit.ly/T5PhRX

Washington Post: Obama, Boehner move closer to ‘cliff’ deal

http://wapo.st/UyZaWc

FCW: Agencies adjust contracting approach for coming fiscal clampdown

http://bit.ly/R3pD0t

Washington Post: Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. senator, dies at 88

http://wapo.st/ZfXnwl

Defense News: 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense

http://bit.ly/Wm4e1Z

SmartContracting Daily Intel for Dec. 17, 2012

In today's news...

Washington Business Journal: Workforce issues stymie federal acquisition improvements

http://bit.ly/SFOYiV

NextGov: Contractors Find That Doing Business with Government is Increasingly Risky

http://bit.ly/SFP0ay

Washington Post/Capital Business: In the Washington region, the biggest businesses got a little smaller in 2012 

http://wapo.st/12vPMb3

Defense News: Defense Cuts No Longer Untouchable?

http://bit.ly/UMlLiD

Government Acquisition Professionals See a “Great Divide”

There is a “Great Divide” in government. It runs wide and deep and affects government efficiency and effectiveness.

 

No, I’m not talking about the divide between Democrats and Republicans. I’m talking about the divide in the acquisition community between the operational managers primarily responsible for awarding and managing government contracts and the oversight managers primarily responsible for checking that contract management is effective.

 

Yesterday, PSC and our friends at member-company Grant Thornton released the results of our fifth biennial Acquisition Policy Survey of federal government personnel. We found the following divisions among operational and oversight respondents regarding the effects conflict of interest rules, acquisition workforce development and other procurement reform initiatives on the federal government.