Two pieces of advice I often provide to government contractors are:-
1.When responding to a solicitation, give the government precisely what it asks for – right down to the letter. This includes providing the information...more
Crisis averted – at least for the time being.
The government shutdowns in January and February 2018 were big news, but ultimately resulted in very little actual downtime for the Federal government. But does that mean its...more
The Contract Disputes Act (CDA) provides a remedy for contractors seeking to recover additional time or costs on a government contract (as part of a Claim or Request for Equitable Adjustment). But when the basis for recovery...more
Understanding claims under the Contract Disputes Act is an essential skill for government contractors. Claims (and related requests for equitable adjustment) are by far the most common remedy for contractors seeking to...more
It seems that when we discuss GAO bid protests, we most often refer to the post-award variety. Your company lost a contract award due to a procurement error by the agency (like the failure to adhere to the RFP requirements...more
As I have covered here before, every small business owner needs to be aware of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) ostensible subcontractor rule.
In a nutshell, ostensible contractor affiliation occurs when a small...more
Every government contractor that begins performance on a new engagement has the same basic goal – superior performance that bolsters the company’s bottom line and garners excellent past performance ratings from the...more
The most common basis to establish timeliness for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest is found in Section 21.2 of the GAO’s regulations. Under the regulation, the protester must file the protest “not later...more
For federal contractors, it is not an exaggeration to say that performance evaluations are the lifeblood of the business. A less-than-satisfactory evaluation in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)...more
Today, we take a look at the culmination of a long fight over the size status of a joint venture competing for a Federal contract. After losing battles at the Small Business Administration (SBA) Area Office and Office of...more
In a recent post, I discussed new legislation that could signal an uptick in Best Value procurements for complex service-based contracts. In the view of many (including me), more Best Value RFPs is a win/win for both...more
For government contractors frustrated by Federal agencies’ use of Lowest-Price Technically-Acceptable solicitations on complex services contracts – help may be on the way.
As I’ve discussed before, LPTA procurements can...more
Government contractors usually find themselves appearing before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on a bid protest for one of two reasons: (1) you believe that the government erroneously did not award a contract to...more
Contractors seeking to recover additional time and/or costs on government contracts typically choose to proceed with either a Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) or a Claim. These remedies fall under the general umbrella...more
The baseline rule for SBA size protests is that a business’s size (for a receipts-based size standard) is determined by looking at the average annual receipts for the last three completed fiscal years. But what if a...more
We often discuss the need for government contractors to Read and React when responding to a proposal: (1) Read the RFP and understand all of the requirements and limitations and (2) React to the RFP’s evaluation scheme by...more
Government contractors know the odds on GAO bid protests – are they are not all that good. Even with a noticeable uptick, the statistics reveal that less than 1/4 (about 23%) of all bid protests were sustained in FY 16. ...more
This is not a unique story – but there is still a lesson for Federal contractors to learn.
A recent GAO decision considered an electronic proposal submitted by email just prior to the 4:00 p.m. deadline. Although the...more
Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of opening the 2017 Associated General Contractors of America Federal Contractor Conference in Washington, DC with a presentation focused on the emerging issue of Cybersecurity in...more
The contractual duty of “good faith and fair dealing” is well established in private contracts. Depending on your jurisdiction, there is very likely either a formal or an informal rule that parties to a contract must deal...more
A response to an RFP is the government contractor’s chance to put its best foot forward and stand out from the crowd. Particularly when it comes to best value procurements, this is your chance to tell the contracting officer...more