One thing that’s different with the NOAA data partnership program is not just its focus on making data available for access and exploitation via the cloud but the changing market environment in which it will be operating.
All in Procurement
Challenges Facing Small and Medium-size Government Contractors
My friend Bob Davis, interviewed by Mark Amtower recently on Federal News Radio, talked about the challenges facing small and medium-size government contractors.
Federal Computer Week recently published my op-ed piece Why best practices won’t fix Federal IT. I’d be very interested in hearing from GovLoop members what they think of it.
In the November 25, 2010 online edition of SupplyManagement.com I was quoted by journalist Nick Martindale in his article titled Work and Play: Social networking tools are helping buyers to research suppliers and markets, raise their profiles and keep in touch with vendors.
Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) gave a presentation on November 2010 titled Acquisition Reform Challenges Facing Government. Referring to GAO’s strategic plan, Dodaro’s presentation addressed large-scale acquisitions as “targets of opportunity,” repeating the often-heard criticism that “… much of the government’s major investments have faced persistent cost and schedule growth.” His analysis is a very intelligent review of the challenges involved in reducing acquisition costs. Here I suggest an approach he doesn’t discuss but which is based on concepts he presents.
According to Defpro.news, a recent analysis by the United States Government Accountability Office has found that many reports of recent contract awards by Defense Department contract officers to the DoD’s Office of Public Affairs are incomplete. Quoting from the report,
According to the FederalTimes.com report 5 teams to tackle Gates call to improve efficiency, five Pentagon teams will focus on identification of Pentagon cost savings based on affordability, incentives, contract terms, metrics, and service contracts
Managing Collaboration Throughout the Acquisition Process: A Project Management Perspective
I’ve been researching how to measure the impact of improved collaboration on Federal procurement processes, starting with development of a “concept map” that organizes the major issues.
I’ve updated the model of “acquisition collaboration” I first presented in Justifying Collaboration in Complex Programs such as Federal Acquisitions based on some additional research and interviews.
Justifying Collaboration in Complex Programs such as Federal Acquisitions
I’m having an interesting discussion with colleagues about how to justify investments in collaboration-supporting technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, and private social networks) when the business processes they support are numerous and spread across multiple participants who may not always share common goals.
Are Federal Acquisition Practices Accelerating the Move of Government Computing to the Cloud?
Jason Miller’s report Kundra says government’s approach to consolidation has been ill-suited includes this statement by Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer:
That’s one of the reasons I’m concerned about how President Obama’s proposed changes to Federal procurement rules might tip the scales even more in favor of the issuance of fixed price contracts in situations where insufficient detail on requirements and available budget aren’t readily available to potential bidders.
How Will U.S. Government Procurement Processes Handle the Stimulus Spending Surge?
The Obama Administration has made it official: spending Federal stimulus money will be scrutinized and reported on very carefully and in great detail.
Vivek Kundra, Washington DC’s own CIO, has been appointed Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO).
The report Six Practical Steps to Improve Contracting by Dr. Allan V. Burman, Adjunct Professor, George Mason University, is based on a series of discussions co-sponsored by The IBM Center for the Business of Government and George Mason University concerning government procurement practices.
Challenges Facing Recovery.gov and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
There’s a strong possibility that how the public sees and experiences the programs reported through Recovery.gov will have just as much potential for driving economic improvement as the programs themselves.
I’ve been looking for ways to describe the different types of collaboration processes that technology can support.