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VA rolls out new website to streamline contracting, innovation

Story excerpt provided by Federal News Network The Department of Veterans Affairs has a new digital one-stop shop for contractors looking to work with the VA. Michael Parrish, chief acquisition officer and principal executive director at VA, said the new Pathfinder site will help vendors that haven’t worked with VA before get certified through SAM.gov. … Continue reading VA rolls out new website to streamline contracting, innovation

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The ballet known as post award debriefings gets a new tu-tu

Story excerpt provided by Federal News Network After a lot of cogitation, the Defense Department last month finalized revised rules for contract award debriefings, informational sessions where losing contractors can, in theory, find out why they lost. In this interview on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Jenner and Block attorney Carla Weiss discusses the significant … Continue reading The ballet known as post award debriefings gets a new tu-tu

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Small Businesses Critical to DOD Mission, Official Says

Story excerpt provided by DOD NEWS Small businesses are agile and innovative, and every day they provide value in their contributions as prime and sub-tier suppliers to the defense mission, the director of the Defense Department's Office of Small Business Programs said. And there's no question that the warfighter is benefiting from their capabilities on … Continue reading Small Businesses Critical to DOD Mission, Official Says

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Report: Army Doing Poor Job Communicating its Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Needs

Story excerpt provided by National Defense The Army could leverage the burgeoning U.S. truck market for its tactical-wheeled vehicle needs if it could do a better job of communicating with manufacturers, a Government Accountability Office report released July 15 said. “The Army does not always communicate information about future plans in a coordinated manner or … Continue reading Report: Army Doing Poor Job Communicating its Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Needs

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Hasten CMMC Compliance Through Zero-Trust

Story excerpt provided by National Defense It’s hard to have a conversation about cybersecurity these days without hearing about “zero trust,” a cybersecurity design philosophy that, although conceptualized over a decade ago, has reemerged as contemporary wisdom among security practitioners in both government and industry. Zero trust has risen to prominence in the post-COVID world … Continue reading Hasten CMMC Compliance Through Zero-Trust

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ITAR Compliance Crucial for Lower-Tier Suppliers

Story excerpt provided by National Defense Companies that supply products and services that are used in the defense sector increasingly are being asked by their customers whether they are “ITAR compliant” and if they can document this. Many mid-sized, second- and third-tier contractors and suppliers do not know how to respond to these requests, which … Continue reading ITAR Compliance Crucial for Lower-Tier Suppliers

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Using the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in Grants.gov

Story excerpt provided by Grants.gov Applicant users who have registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) are now seeing their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) within Grants.gov. The UEI is a 12-character unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who must register to do business with the federal … Continue reading Using the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in Grants.gov

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FAA Updates Its Rules to Embrace HUBZone Program

Story excerpt provided by SmallGovCon.com. Until now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not participate in the SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Contracting Program. But as of January 2021, it looks like that may be changing! Historically, the FAA did not incorporate any HUBZone goals into its Acquisition Management System (AMS) Contract Clauses. In … Continue reading FAA Updates Its Rules to Embrace HUBZone Program

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SAM Transition Update

Article by Ohio PTAC SAM and beta.SAM are merging. On April 26, 2021, beta.SAM.gov will get a “new look and feel.” On May 24, 2021, all of the current capabilities of SAM.gov will be moved to beta.SAM.gov before retiring the website for good. Once SAM.gov and beta.SAM.gov have been successfully merged, the new website will … Continue reading SAM Transition Update

COFC Confirms Rule of Two Analysis Applies Before Agency Decides to Utilize a Multiple-Award Vehicle

Story excerpt provided by jdsupra.com. On November 30, 2020, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) issued a decision that supported the Small Business Administration’s position regarding the Rule of Two analysis requirements for government acquisitions.[1] The central question surrounding the case was whether the U.S. Army could cancel a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part … Continue reading COFC Confirms Rule of Two Analysis Applies Before Agency Decides to Utilize a Multiple-Award Vehicle