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Airbus Parent: Air-Force Tanker Retreat Is Final. EADS' CEO said there's no turning back now that partner Northrop has decided not to bid on the $35 billion U.S. Air Force contract (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

Goldman Sachs Slashes Nexus One Sales Forecast to Around 1 Million.

An analyst at Goldman Sachs has thrown a wrench into the works of Google's smartphone by downgrading the sales forecast of the Nexus One. Initial expectations were high: analysts had said as many as 3.5 million units would be sold in the first year. But with just 80,000 sold in the first month, according to mobile analytic group Flurry, figures have now been revised down to around a million.

Compare and contrast this with other handsets. The first iPhone took 74 days to hit a million in sales; version 2, in 2008, took just three days (by this time, however, it was available pretty much worldwide). The iPhone 3GS version hit 1.6 million within a week.

Moving away from Apple, which--let's face it--currently has the smartphone market all sewn up, how are other Android phones faring? Well the Droid, Motorola's last-ditch attempt to keep its head above water, flogged 525,000 through Verizon in the same month that the Nexus One was released.

And maybe this is what the first bona-fide Google phone needs: a network. It's interesting to note that, on the Nexus One website, the T-Mobile version ($179) is sold out, while the contract-free version ($529) is yours for the taking. There's no doubt that Google fluffed the launch back in January. There was a little bit of fluttery hype, but no announcements, no big fanfare, it was just unveiled, like any other product, around the time of CES, the tail-end of a bunch of Android OS upgrades. And then there was the customer service--or lack of it.

Goldman Sachs indulged in a bit of stern finger-wagging in its forecast note. "We assume that Google rolls out a second Nexus handset, markets it more agressively, and makes it available offline, and therefore forecast that Google sells two million handsets per year in 2011 and future years." If that's not a Must Try Harder report card, I don't know what is.

One gets the feeling that even Larry and Sergei are over the gPhone. Last week John Herlihy, Google's top guy in Europe, said that data mining was where the sexy jobs were at in Mountain View, although he took the view that smartphones were an essential tool for Google. Just not their own-brand ones, it seems.

[Via Electronista]

(03/09/10 09:01 AM)

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

The geeks shall inherit the sports. Statistical analysis has reshaped how teams in every sport evaluate talent and call plays. But as once-vanguard stats such as baseball's on-base percentage go mainstream (thanks, Moneyball), the box scores of the future will be debated -- and analyzed -- at this Cambridge, Massachusetts, meeting. So what goes in it? One top contender is the UZR (ultimate zone rating), a defensive metric developed by Mitchel Lichtman to gauge how well a fielder saves runs at his position; third baseman Adrian Beltre, signed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the Red Sox, has the second-highest UZR since 2002. No word on Lichtman's USGR (ultimate sports-geek rating), but we're guessing it's very, very high. -- DL

sat, march 06 CRUNCH MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Have an event to share? Email calendar[at]fastcompany[dot]comVisit the FC Now Blog or Calendar App for more events.

(03/08/10 09:00 AM)

Cheapest Business Electricity suppliers . All over the world, many business owns hope to find the best truth worth, cheap business electricity provider contract. The world depends on electricity for multipurpose which can be operated if only... (03/07/10 09:01 AM)

Commodity Futures Trading ?" Why It's Not For Average Investors. If you do not mind losing $5,000 in ten mins, you can enjoy trading commodity futures contracts. There's an old axiom among commodity traders [*CO]'It's straightforward to make a tidy sum in commoditi... (03/05/10 09:01 AM)

Best Friends Forever, By Contract. According to HeraldTribine.com, It all started when Michelle and Shawn Mathews daughter, Krystal, wanted a special gift for her BFF. If you didn’t already know BFF is short for Best Friends Forever, a term that many kids Krystal’s age like to use to describe their closest friends. The gift she wanted for her [...] (03/02/10 09:00 PM)

Local Ad Spend to Climb 2.2% through 2014; Shift to Digital Continues: BIA/Kelsey. BIA/Kelsey is predicting an annual growth rate of 2.2% from 2009 for the U.S. local advertising market, reaching $144.9 billion in 2014. Following a significant contraction in 2009, local media... (02/26/10 09:00 PM)

New Bizop Classified Ads This Week. New listing this week on the Business Opportunities Weblog Classifieds. Reo Agents- Get Reo Listings Fast & Become An Reo Listing Agent For The Banks Property Preservation Vendor Jobs & Work-foreclosure Cleaning Contracts Bpo Companies-list Of Broker Price Opinion Companies-bpo Bank List Start A Referral Club- Grow Your Business! Your Home Business Income Solution The Affiliate Code High School Dropout Banks $94k [...] (02/24/10 09:00 AM)

Stimulus / Recovery Act Grants and Contracts. I've added a new page to my main site on Stimulus/Recovery Act Funding for grants and contracts. It's in a Question and Answer format with links to all sorts of useful info. Here are some of the questions that I've tried to answer:

What are recovery or stimulus grants and contracts?
Who gets the money?
Where can I find information on each Federal Agency's Recovery Act plans?
Where can I find information on State Recovery Plans and State Recovery grant and contract opportunities?
Where can I find Federal grant and contract opportunities related to the Recovery Act?
Where can I find additional resources and information on the Recovery Act?

Do you know of other excellent resources that I should add to this page? Let me know.

(01/08/10 09:00 PM)

Proposal Planning Issues.

I met with my recompete #3 client yesterday to discuss how we are going to proceed with this bid. Recompete #3 is a fairly large and specialized government contract (in the hundreds of millions) that my client has held for many years. I've worked on every one of the proposals for this particular contract so I'm pretty familiar with it. In our first planning meeting yesterday we discussed a few issues that we are going to have to deal with fairly quickly.

How much material can we recycle? The RFP for this bid is very similar to the RFP that we responded to five years ago. There are some differences, but on the whole they are very much alike. This was not the case with past RFPs for this same project, which differed extensively each time. So some of the questions we are asking ourselves are: How much of the previous proposal can we recycle? Can we re-use entire sections or just paragraphs here and there? Should we focus on paraphrasing as opposed to just lifting pieces verbatim?

My client will be required to subcontract a substantial amount of work to small businesses. The small businesses that have been working on the current contract have become large and are no longer eligible to participate. So the following questions now arise: How can the project be divided up into discrete chunks that could be handled by various small business subcontractors? How many small businesses should be part of the bid? What will these small businesses be responsible for?

Finally, of course, there are the issues relating to proposal preparation. Who will be responsible for preparing each section of the technical proposal? How best to communicate and coordinate with those who will be working on the business proposal? Who will coordinate with the selected small business subcontractors and what specific role will they play in preparing the proposal?

Just a few of the typical questions that need to be addressed during the proposal planning stage.

(04/22/08 09:01 AM)

Government Grants Notification Service.

When I wrote earlier about the FedBizOpps notification service for contracts, I should have mentioned that the Grants.gov website has a similar service for government grants. To sign up, go to the Grants.gov site and click on Grant Email Alerts on the right side of the page. You can then sign up to receive one or more of the following types of emails:

Updates to the website.
All grant notices.
Grant notices that you select based on specific criteria.
Grant notices by funding opportunity number.

These notifications are great timesavers because you don't have to keep going to the Grants.gov or FedBizOpps website to find or track the bid opportunities you are interested in. Instead, they come right to your mailbox.

(03/31/08 09:00 AM)

FedBizOpps Notification Service.

If you do business with the federal government or if you want to get into government contracting, you probably know about FedBizOpps or the Federal Business Opportunities website. FedBizOpps is where most, but not all, government agencies post procurement notices for goods and services valued at over $25,000.

At the website, you can look up procurement notices by specific agencies or you can search for them by key words or other criteria. If you find a procurement notice that interests you, you can sign up to receive e-mail notification when, for instance, a full solicitation is released or when an amendment is issued for that particular product or service. When I'm working on a proposal for a client, I always look it up on FedBizOpps and sign up for it so that I'm notified when an amendment comes out.

You can also sign up to be notified of all solicitations or synopses issued by a particular agency. For example, since I am interested in USAID contracts, I get an e-mail nearly every day that lists all new USAID synopses and solicitations that have been posted by that agency.

To sign up for the FedBizOppos notification service, go to the website and click on Vendor Notification Services on the right-hand side, under "Related Links." You'll then be taken to a page where you can select from the following options:

One of the problems with this notification service is that there is no option to receive notifications by key words. So, if I am interested only in USAID contracts that relate to HIV/AIDS, I can't tell FedBizOpps to just send me notices that have something to do with that topic. Instead, I receive all notices about USAID contracts, whether or not they pertain to HIV/AIDS.

One way to get around this problem is to sign up with a private bid notification service. That will be the topic of my next post.

(03/27/08 09:00 AM)

Site Update and New Feature.

This weekend I spent some time adding some great new resources to my site. Check out my What's New Page to see what I've added.

I've also instituted a new feature for these and subsequent new resources. Recently, I discovered Clipmarks, a tool you can use to clip and stash snippets from Web pages. I've been trying to come up with a way to incorporate Clipmarks on my site and decided to begin using it to highlight the new additions. A possible other use might be to incoporate it in this blog, maybe for a "Site of the Week" or "Site of the Day" feature. I'm still thinking about this, so stay tuned.

Now what you will see when you go to a page on my site where I've added a new resource is something like what is shown at the bottom of this post -- a clip from the Foundation Center website.

To see the clips for the new resources, go to any of these pages:

Business Plans
Grant Writing
Small Business
Grant Subjects
Grant Samples
Legal, Financial & Contracts

What do you think?

clipped from foundationcenter.org

"The subject of this short course is proposal writing. But the proposal does not stand alone. It must be part of a process of planning and of research on, outreach to, and cultivation of potential foundation and corporate donors."

(03/24/08 09:01 AM)

How Long Does it Take....

for a relatively small government contract to be awarded? The answer is: it can take a verrry long time.

One of my clients sent me an e-mail yesterday. The client is a law firm that does some very specialized work for the government. I've assisted them with their proposals on a number of occasions. The last time I worked with them was last March and April, on a proposal that was due in April 2007. Hadn't heard a word from them since, which is not unusual. Clients don't always inform me about the outcomes of their bids.

Anyway, out of the blue comes the e-mail. It says that my client has finally been contacted by the government agency and that they were notified that all of the proposals submitted by bidders contained some kind of fatal error. So the government will now be giving all all bidders an opportunity to submit corrected or revised proposals.

I don't know what this fatal error is, but if all of the bidders made this same error, it would seem to me that the government screwed something up. And to allow a year to go by before leting everyone know -- well, that is pretty outrageous.

I've just finished with recompete #2. So I agreed to help my law firm client with their revised proposal. Somehow I'll have to fit it in between working on recompete #3. And oh joy, the manual has now landed back on my desk again for more changes, additions, etc. This will supposedly be the final, final version. We'll see.

Just when I thought I could take a little break.

(03/21/08 09:00 AM)

Submitting Questions.

For the proposal I'm working on now, we are in the process of compiling a list of questions that will be submitted to the government.

Most government RFPs and RFAs will allow bidders to submit questions related to the content of the specific RFP and RFA. But there is usually a cut-off date for submitting questions and after that date, any questions you submit may not be answered.

The compilation and submission of questions is an important step in the proposal process. You can submit questions on just about anything in the RFP or RFA -- the content of the technical proposal, the content of the cost proposal, the instructions, contract clauses, etc. The way it usually works is that the Proposal Manager asks everyone involved in preparing the proposal to carefully review the RFP/RFA and identify statements or requirements that they don't understand, or that are contradictory, or that may require additional explanation from the government. When all the questions are compiled, the Proposal Manager reviews them and decides which questions should be submitted.

To make it easier for the government to answer your questions, it's a good idea to cite the page number and/or item number in the RFP or RFA that your question relates to. Therefore, the format of each of your questions might be as follows:

In the instructions on page 45, item L.8, the RFP states that bidders should submit 3 copies of their proposal. However, page 1 of the cover letter indicates that 4 copies of the proposal should be submitted. Please advise how many copies we should submit.

More on this topic tomorrow.

(03/04/08 09:01 AM)

More on Re-Competed Contracts.

You might think that incumbents who will be bidding on a re-competed contract have advance knowledge of the ways in which the new RFP will be different from the old RFP. After all, they are currently performing the contract and hopefully have good relationships with government technical and contracting officers who might just give them a little advance information about the new RFP. But this is not always the case.

It's definitely not the case in the three re-competed bids that I am working on. For the food services contract I mentioned the other day, the government has split the current contract into two separate contracts to be bid: one contract for each of the two government facilities where the food services will be provided. Currently, my client is providing these services to the two facilities under one contract. The government has also substantially changed their menu requirements. So what does that mean for my client and me? More work on the proposal than we anticipated. In addition to addressing the changes in technical requirements, we have to prepare and submit two separate proposals.

The RFP for the second re-compete that I'm working on also has some substantial changes from the previous RFP, none of which were known in advance by my client. Fortunately, they have already begun preparations to deal with these new requirements. My third client is also anticipating major changes in the RFP when it is released (we not sure when this will be). But they don't know what those changes will be or how much more work it will take to address them.

Changes from one RFP to the next can occur because the government believes that improvements can be made in the way that work is currently being performed, or because they are not getting the outcomes and results they had anticipated. Other times, they make changes to an RFP because they have less (or more) money to spend. And sometimes, my clients and I think that they make the changes just to make life more difficult for us.

So non-incombents take heart. You're not always the only ones who aren't in the know about what's coming down the pike.

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

Sole Source Contracts.

Everyone likes a sole-source contract when their company gets one, but we don't like them too much when they are given to other companies. When other companies get them, it's unfair; when our company gets one, it's a good thing.

So what's a sole source contract, you ask? Well, according to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, sole-source contracting can occur "when the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source." That means, basically, that an agency can contract with a company without any competition. There are a few in's and out's to this -- you can read about them here.

I bring this up because I just got finished doing a quick sole source proposal for one of my clients. In this case, the federal agency decided that it needed to have a particular task done, and that the task could only be performed by two people that used to work there. My client had marketed to this agency, and it was "decided" that their company could hire these two people as consultants to perform the work. So the agency issued an RFP to my client, which no other company received. My client then had to respond to this RFP so that the agency would have the proper paperwork to award them the contract.

Fair? Not really. But of course it happens all the time. Most of the time we only hear about it when there is some type of investigation into possible improper practices and the media gets hold of it. But in reality, lots of companies receive sole source contracts. In many cases, it's just a matter of marketing and knowing the right people in an agency. In other cases, there is really only one responsible source out there, or there is a particularly urgent need for a product or service (another way that agencies can justify a sole source contract).

That's the lesson (or rant) for today.

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

Round and Round.

My computer-adverse client called yesterday to say she would be coming by my office to work with me on the proposal and that she would be bringing "a big round diskette" that had some material on it that we could use. I got a little panicky because I had no idea what a big round diskette was. Could she have been referring to the old 5" floppy disks that don't exist any more? Finally I realized that she was probably bringing a CD with files on it. And that's what it was.

When she got here, we worked on the proposal for a bit, and then she dropped a bombshell, telling me that she did not need to submit a cost proposal. She said that she had gotten this information at the bidder's conference. I told her that this did not make sense, and she pointed to a section in the RFP that said that bidders would not need to submit a financial statements or details on their burdened rate until just prior to contract execution. Plus, she thought that the evaluation criteria related to cost was confusing. I tried to explain, but she was convinced that the Contracting Officer had said no cost proposal.

So she decided to call the Contracting Officer. Except she dialed the wrong number and got hold of the Technical Officer (COTR) instead. The COTR could not find the page in the RFP that my client was referring to and insisted that there was no such page. They went round and round on this:

COTR - what page is that?

Client - it is page 54.

COTR - there is no page 54.

Client - yes, on page 54 it gives the evaluation criteria for cost

COTR - the evaluation criteria ends on page 53

Client - no, there is another page

COTR - I have the RFP right in front of me and the page after page 53 is this one (reads the first sentence).

Client - no, that it not it.

COTR - I will have to check with the procurement office because it is not in my copy. Oh, wait a minute, here it is. The pages in my copy are out of order. At any rate, you need to talk to the Contracting Officer about this because I don't know the answer to your question.

So my client gets hold of the Contracting Officer and asks the question about submitting the cost proposal. He said yes, we have to submit a cost proposal, but not price. As for an explanation of the evaluation criteria related to cost, he cannot tell my client what it means. She has to interpret it for herself the best she can. They go round and round on this for a while, but my client finally hangs up and says to me:

"I better get started on my cost proposal."

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

A Slew of Re-competes.

Does three equal a slew? I don't know, but very soon I will be working on three proposals, all of which are re-competes for my clients. For those of you who don't know, this means that each client currently holds the grant or contract that is being put out for bid -- they are re-competing for it. For two of these re-competes, the clients have been performing the work for the past five years. On the other re-compete, the client has worked on the contract for three years.

Re-competes are usually very important to bidders because they don't want to lose the work. In some cases, they can't financially afford to lose the grant or contract because it is the only one they have, or because it brings in the bulk of their money. So keeping the grant or contract often requires a good amount of work on the proposal -- sometimes more work than if they were bidding on it from scratch.

Fortunately for me, I have worked with each of these three clients before. In fact, I worked on each of the previous proposals for all three of these bids. So I am familiar with both the clients and the type of work that they will be bidding on for the re-competes. This definitely helps with respect to the learning curve.

But for today, I am going to try to finalize the index for the manual (sigh).

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

First Reading of RFP.

Last night I got around to looking at the RFP for one of the re-competed contracts. Many people, when they first get their hands on an RFP or RFA, begin reading from the first page. They start with the cover sheet/cover letter, go on to the pricing forms in Section B, the scope-of-work in Section C, the Representations and Certifications, the incomprehensible list of government contract clauses, and so forth. By the time they get to the end, they often have no idea of what they have just read.

This isn't the way that I do it. Whenever I get an RFP or RFP, I immediately go to the back of the document. I don't even care what the subject matter of the RFP is. The first thing that I read is the Instructions to Offerors (bidders), which is often in Section L. This tells me a lot about the work that will need to be done -- how many pages the proposal will be, the type and extent of information that will be required in the technical and cost volumes, how that information should be organized, the deadline for submitting questions, whether the proposal will need to be submitted electronically or via mail or courier service, etc. Even after reading this stuff, I still don't know what the RFP/RFA is about. But at this point, I don't care.

After reading the Instructions, I immediately go to the Evaluation Criteria which often follows the Instructions. This tells me how the proposal will be evaluated by the government -- the number of points will be given to each section of the proposal, what the most important elements of the proposal will be, and any further elaborations on the Instructions that I just read.

Next, I go to Section H, which is sometimes called "Special Requirements" or something similar. Section H is often overlooked. But it shouldn't be, because this is where the government often hides important stuff. Things like insurance requirements, special security requirements, and the like.

Finally, finally, finally, I am ready to read the Scope-of-Work in Section C and to look at the pricing forms in Section B. All the stuff in the other sections can wait until later...

Try this technique in the next RFP or RFA that you receive and see if it doesn't give you a better sense of what's going on and what you'll have to do to prepare.

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

Keeping Up (Not).

I'm behind with everything, and this blog seems to get pushed down on my priority list. I don't want it to, but even so, I just can't seem to find the time to get the blogging done. Still, people keep reading it and signing up for my subscription notification form. So now I feel guilty for not writing anything here for a while.

I have been bogged down with work and more work. First, I finished the little sole source proposal that I wrote about earlier. My client submitted it to the federal agency, which liked the proposal but didn't like the cost. So my client is having to revise his numbers and re-submit. One of my colleagues, a CPA who specializes in government costing, is working with him on this. My client is certain to get the contract, but not before the feds make him jump through a few more hoops.

Second, I've been working on a USAID proposal. Somehow, I got assigned to prepare the largest section of that proposal and it took longer than I anticipated (no surprise there). As soon as I finished it, USAID issued a one-week extension. My client is happy to have this extension, but I'm not because it means that I might have to do more work. I'm waiting to hear from them maybe today. In the meantime...

I've moved on to starting yet another assignment that I put off because I had to finished the USAID stuff. This is what I am behind on now. It is a very large proposal for NIH -- a services project, not a research project. The technical section consists of 5 separate volumes: Personnel, Technical Approach, Management Plan, Past Performance and Work Samples. I'm almost done with the Management Plan and it is about 50 pages in length. My client is working on the Personnel Section, and I am going to have to move on to the Technical Approach section probably beginning tomorrow. NIH wants lots and lots of details about everything, and there are no page limits to any of the volumes.

So, I just continue to plod along here in my little world of proposals. Sometimes I wonder how I ever thought that this would be a good career. A lot of people think it is, but frankly I'm not sure. It's a good career if you want to be under a lot of stress all the time and if you like having one deadline after another -- deadlines that rarely slip. Ugh, I can't really even think about it right now because I have to get back to my writing. I have a conference call with my NIH client later this morning.

Later...

(03/01/08 09:01 AM)

Round and Round.

COTR - what page is that?

Client - it is page 54.

COTR - there is no page 54.

Client - yes, on page 54 it gives the evaluation criteria for cost

COTR - the evaluation criteria ends on page 53

Client - no, there is another page

COTR - I have the RFP right in front of me and the page after page 53 is this one (reads the first sentence).

Client - no, that it not it.

COTR - I will have to check with the procurement office because it is not in my copy. Oh, wait a minute, here it is. The pages in my copy are out of order. At any rate, you need to talk to the Contracting Officer about this because I don't know the answer to your question.

"I better get started on my cost proposal."

(02/27/08 09:01 AM)

More on Re-Competed Contracts.

So non-incombents take heart. You're not always the only ones who aren't in the know about what's coming down the pike.

(02/25/08 09:01 AM)

Sole Source Contracts.

That's the lesson (or rant) for today.

(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

Free Help With Government Contracting.

Are you an entrepreneur? If you are, you can get FREE assistance to help you learn about government contracting and how to sell your products and services to this huge market. My guest blogger, Kurtis Clark, gives you the scoop.

Most small businesses don’t realize the tremendous opportunities there are to contract with Federal, State, and local government entities. Although selling to the government can be more challenging than selling to the general public or even to other businesses the sheer size of this market justifies at least looking into the potential. Last year, all levels of government combined purchased a staggering amount of goods and services. Experts estimate that figure to be over $1 trillion. Where can you find assistance to help you break into the complex world of selling to the government? Several excellent sources of free assistance are available.

The Small Business Development Center program (SBDC) is a nationwide network of independent centers funded in part by the U.S. SBA. They have counselors who can help business owners complete application and registration forms and deal with the bureaucratic process. Counselors usually know local agency procedures, which agencies are preparing for large construction projects, and may even know many of the persons responsible for local government purchasing. All SBDC’s offer free consulting services and low-cost training classes. Most SBDC offices host annual or bi-annual government contracting seminars often in conjunction with government procurement experts free of charge. Check with your local SBDC for upcoming seminars in your area. For a listing of local SBDC offices visit the SBA website.

One of these experts and another excellent source of assistance are Procurement Technical Assistance Centers or PTAC’s. They are located throughout the country, with many of the larger states having multiple offices. These Centers are funded by the Department of Defense but most offer assistance on state, local and federal procurement opportunities. Several excellent websites for Federal procurement information are Business.Gov and FedBizOpps. Also check our Deborah’s small business page for excellent information on programs for disadvantaged-, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned business procurement opportunities.

Kurtis Clark is the Director of the Alliance Small Business Development Center, one of 5 SBDC’s in the U/C Merced Regional SBDC network. The network serves a 15-county area in Central California and last year assisted over 3,000 business entrepreneurs.

(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

A Slew of Re-competes.
Does three equal a slew? I don't know, but very soon I will be working on three proposals, all of which are re-competes for my clients. For those of you who don't know, this means that each client currently holds the grant or contract that is being put out for bid -- they are re-competing for it. For two of these re-competes, the clients have been performing the work for the past five years. On the other re-compete, the client has worked on the contract for three years.

Re-competes are usually very important to bidders because they don't want to lose the work. In some cases, they can't financially afford to lose the grant or contract because it is the only one they have, or because it brings in the bulk of their money. So keeping the grant or contract often requires a good amount of work on the proposal -- sometimes more work than if they were bidding on it from scratch.

Fortunately for me, I have worked with each of these three clients before. In fact, I worked on each of the previous proposals for all three of these bids. So I am familiar with both the clients and the type of work that they will be bidding on for the re-competes. This definitely helps with respect to the learning curve.

But for today, I am going to try to finalize the index for the manual (sigh).
(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

Small Diadvantaged and Women-Owned Businesses.
If you are interested in government contracts and you're a small disadvantaged business, you might want to look into certification. At the federal level, you can apply for certification through the Small Business Administration (SBA) website. For certification at the state level, you will need to contact your state government to find out which department provides certification services. There are also companies that will (for a fee), help you prepare and submit your certification application.

Even though the federal government has what they call "size standards" for small businesses, most of us pretty much know what a small business is. Small disadvantaged businesses -- often called minority businesses -- are a different story, and many people and companies are not really aware of what constitutes a minority business. The same goes for a women-owned business.

As defined by the SBA, a small disadvantaged or minority business is one that is "owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of the United States." This means that at least 51% of the company must be owned by person(s) who are considered to be disadvantaged. Socially disadvantaged or minority groups include Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Pacific Americans and other groups specifically designated by the SBA. In addition to being a member of one of these groups and owning 51% or more of the business, you must demonstrate that you are also economically disadvantaged; that is, your net worth cannot exceed $250,000 (excluding equity in the business and in your home).

The federal government does not consider women to be a minority group (hey, don't yell at me - I don't make the rules). If you're a women-owned business and want to bid on a federal contract or be a subcontractor on one, you can self-certify your business. To be eligible as a woman-owned business for this purpose, your business must be 51% owned by one or more women. It is possible to obtain formal certification as a woman-owned business at the state level -- again you need to contact the appropriate office in your state to get information on this.

Clear as mud? Probably not. Head over to the SBA's website for more information:

Small Disadvantaged Business Programs and Frequently Asked Questions .

Office of Women's Business Ownership and Frequently Asked Questions.

(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

First Reading of RFP.
Last night I got around to looking at the RFP for one of the re-competed contracts. Many people, when they first get their hands on an RFP or RFA, begin reading from the first page. They start with the cover sheet/cover letter, go on to the pricing forms in Section B, the scope-of-work in Section C, the Representations and Certifications, the incomprehensible list of government contract clauses, and so forth. By the time they get to the end, they often have no idea of what they have just read.

This isn't the way that I do it. Whenever I get an RFP or RFP, I immediately go to the back of the document. I don't even care what the subject matter of the RFP is. The first thing that I read is the Instructions to Offerors (bidders), which is often in Section L. This tells me a lot about the work that will need to be done -- how many pages the proposal will be, the type and extent of information that will be required in the technical and cost volumes, how that information should be organized, the deadline for submitting questions, whether the proposal will need to be submitted electronically or via mail or courier service, etc. Even after reading this stuff, I still don't know what the RFP/RFA is about. But at this point, I don't care.

After reading the Instructions, I immediately go to the Evaluation Criteria which often follows the Instructions. This tells me how the proposal will be evaluated by the government -- the number of points will be given to each section of the proposal, what the most important elements of the proposal will be, and any further elaborations on the Instructions that I just read.

Next, I go to Section H, which is sometimes called "Special Requirements" or something similar. Section H is often overlooked. But it shouldn't be, because this is where the government often hides important stuff. Things like insurance requirements, special security requirements, and the like.

Finally, finally, finally, I am ready to read the Scope-of-Work in Section C and to look at the pricing forms in Section B. All the stuff in the other sections can wait until later...

Try this technique in the next RFP or RFA that you receive and see if it doesn't give you a better sense of what's going on and what you'll have to do to prepare.

(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

Keeping Up (Not).
I'm behind with everything, and this blog seems to get pushed down on my priority list. I don't want it to, but even so, I just can't seem to find the time to get the blogging done. Still, people keep reading it and signing up for my subscription notification form. So now I feel guilty for not writing anything here for a while.

I have been bogged down with work and more work. First, I finished the little sole source proposal that I wrote about earlier. My client submitted it to the federal agency, which liked the proposal but didn't like the cost. So my client is having to revise his numbers and re-submit. One of my colleagues, a CPA who specializes in government costing, is working with him on this. My client is certain to get the contract, but not before the feds make him jump through a few more hoops.

Second, I've been working on a USAID proposal. Somehow, I got assigned to prepare the largest section of that proposal and it took longer than I anticipated (no surprise there). As soon as I finished it, USAID issued a one-week extension. My client is happy to have this extension, but I'm not because it means that I might have to do more work. I'm waiting to hear from them maybe today. In the meantime...

I've moved on to starting yet another assignment that I put off because I had to finished the USAID stuff. This is what I am behind on now. It is a very large proposal for NIH -- a services project, not a research project. The technical section consists of 5 separate volumes: Personnel, Technical Approach, Management Plan, Past Performance and Work Samples. I'm almost done with the Management Plan and it is about 50 pages in length. My client is working on the Personnel Section, and I am going to have to move on to the Technical Approach section probably beginning tomorrow. NIH wants lots and lots of details about everything, and there are no page limits to any of the volumes.

So, I just continue to plod along here in my little world of proposals. Sometimes I wonder how I ever thought that this would be a good career. A lot of people think it is, but frankly I'm not sure. It's a good career if you want to be under a lot of stress all the time and if you like having one deadline after another -- deadlines that rarely slip. Ugh, I can't really even think about it right now because I have to get back to my writing. I have a conference call with my NIH client later this morning.

Later...
(02/21/08 09:01 PM)

It's a Web 2.0 World. For Business 2.0's global issue (August), I put together a map of Web 2.0 startups around the world. Here's an interactive gallery of all 31 startups, a Google map, and a gallery of last year's inductees. Last year's map included Last.fm, Metacafe, Netvibes, and OpenBC (now Xing). This year's map includes Joost, Rebtel, Stardoll, OhMyNews, Spreadshirt, Trendio, and many more. This year, putting together the map was more an exercise of culling down the candidates than of finding good ones. The point was to be selective. Some of the Websites that were new to me and bear checking out include the Netherlands' Bliin (geoblogging—think Twitter + Google Maps), Australia's Tangler (a Web 2.0 discussion board that encourages people to swarm into a topic with alerts), Spain's Tractis (enforceable online contracts), Germany's Weblin (overlays avatars on regular Web pages that can interact with other Weblin members), and France's Trivop (travel site with web video of hotels), and England's YoYo Games (user-generated video games). Here's a complete list of all 31 sites: Joost (UK)Trivop (France)Babelgum (Italy)Myubo (Slovakia)mTouche (Malaysia)Rebtel (Sweden)Widsets (Finland)Bezurk (Singapore)Tractis (Spain)Maxthon (China)Sky-Click (Switzerland)Stardoll (Sweden)Burrp (india)OhmyNews (South Korea)Keotag (New Caledonia)YoYo Games (UK)Spreadshirt (Germany)Trendio (Sweden)eSnips (Israel)Afrigator (South Africa)Bliin (Netherlands)Weblin (Germany)Pixrat (India)Cambrian House (Canada)Kichdee (India)Mobagetown (Japan)Babytree (India)Vivapets (Portugal)Tangler (Australia)eDushi (China)Aprex (Brazil)... (07/28/07 09:00 AM)

Sole Source Contracts.
Everyone likes a sole-source contract when their company gets one, but we don't like them too much when they are given to other companies. When other companies get them, it's unfair; when our company gets one, it's a good thing.

So what's a sole source contract, you ask? Well, according to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, sole-source contracting can occur "when the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source." That means, basically, that an agency can contract with a company without any competition. There are a few in's and out's to this -- you can read about them here.

I bring this up because I just got finished doing a quick sole source proposal for one of my clients. In this case, the federal agency decided that it needed to have a particular task done, and that the task could only be performed by two people that used to work there. My client had marketed to this agency, and it was "decided" that their company could hire these two people as consultants to perform the work. So the agency issued an RFP to my client, which no other company received. My client then had to respond to this RFP so that the agency would have the proper paperwork to award them the contract.

Fair? Not really. But of course it happens all the time. Most of the time we only hear about it when there is some type of investigation into possible improper practices and the media gets hold of it. But in reality, lots of companies receive sole source contracts. In many cases, it's just a matter of marketing and knowing the right people in an agency. In other cases, there is really only one responsible source out there, or there is a particularly urgent need for a product or service (another way that agencies can justify a sole source contract).

That's the lesson (or rant) for today.
(12/12/06 08:42 AM)

Free Help With Government Contracting.
Are you an entrepreneur? If you are, you can get FREE assistance to help you learn about government contracting and how to sell your products and services to this huge market. My guest blogger, Kurtis Clark, gives you the scoop.

Most small businesses don’t realize the tremendous opportunities there are to contract with Federal, State, and local government entities. Although selling to the government can be more challenging than selling to the general public or even to other businesses the sheer size of this market justifies at least looking into the potential. Last year, all levels of government combined purchased a staggering amount of goods and services. Experts estimate that figure to be over $1 trillion. Where can you find assistance to help you break into the complex world of selling to the government? Several excellent sources of free assistance are available.

The Small Business Development Center program (SBDC) is a nationwide network of independent centers funded in part by the U.S. SBA. They have counselors who can help business owners complete application and registration forms and deal with the bureaucratic process. Counselors usually know local agency procedures, which agencies are preparing for large construction projects, and may even know many of the persons responsible for local government purchasing. All SBDC’s offer free consulting services and low-cost training classes. Most SBDC offices host annual or bi-annual government contracting seminars often in conjunction with government procurement experts free of charge. Check with your local SBDC for upcoming seminars in your area. For a listing of local SBDC offices visit the SBA website.

One of these experts and another excellent source of assistance are Procurement Technical Assistance Centers or PTAC’s. They are located throughout the country, with many of the larger states having multiple offices. These Centers are funded by the Department of Defense but most offer assistance on state, local and federal procurement opportunities. Several excellent websites for Federal procurement information are Business.Gov and FedBizOpps. Also check our Deborah’s small business page for excellent information on programs for disadvantaged-, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned business procurement opportunities.

Kurtis Clark is the Director of the Alliance Small Business Development Center, one of 5 SBDC’s in the U/C Merced Regional SBDC network. The network serves a 15-county area in Central California and last year assisted over 3,000 business entrepreneurs.

(12/12/06 08:42 AM)

What Color is Your Proposal?.
Yesterday I got this sort of panicky-sounding e-mail:

Subject: Technical proposal.
What does a score of yellow in this area mean?

DOD (and sometimes other agencies) sometimes use a color-coded system to evaluate proposals. I interpreted the above e-mail to mean that the writer had received a "yellow" score on her technical proposal and didn't know what it meant.She may have forgotten to look in her RFP, where the meaning of the colors are usually explained.

The color-coded system is usually something like this:

Blue - Excellent
Proposal demonstrates excellent understanding of requirements and approach that significantly exceeds performance or capability
standards. Has exceptional strengths that will significantly benefit the Government

Purple - Good
Proposal demonstrates good understanding of requirements and approach that exceeds performance or capability standards. Has one or more strengths that will benefit the Government.

Green - Satisfactory
Proposal demonstrates acceptable understanding of requirements and approach that meets performance or capability standards. Acceptable solution.

Yellow - Marginal
Proposal demonstrates shallow understanding of requirements and approach that only marginally meets performance or capability standards necessary for minimal but acceptable contract performance.

Red - Unacceptable
Fails to meet performance or capability standards. Requirements can only be met with major changes to the proposal.

When the government uses a color-coded system to evaluate proposals, the colors indicate the degree to which the proposal has met the standard for each factor that is being evaluated.
(12/12/06 08:42 AM)

RFP Delays.
The government RFP you've been waiting for has been announced in FedBizOpps. The announcement isn't the actual RFP -- rather, it's what's called a "synopsis." Basically, the synopsis contains the RFP number and title, a short description of the project and, most importantly, the expected RFP release date and due date. It's an advance notice that the RFP is coming, which hopefully gives you a little time to do some pre-planning and scheduling for your upcoming proposal.

But the anticipated release date comes and goes with no sign of the RFP. Days or even weeks may pass and still no RFP. What's going on? You call the Contracting Officer whose name and number appeared in the synopisis and ask him or her when the solicitation will be released. Sometimes they'll give you a new release date; often they'll tell you that they are "still working on it." So now all your pre-planning and scheduling has gone to hell in a handbasket.

This happens more often than you might think. Right now, two of my clients are waiting for RFPs that are critically important to their businesses. The synopsis for one of these RFPs appeared in May; the other RFP was scheduled to be released on June 30. Neither of them have arrived. Not only does this create havoc with my clients' schedules, it presents problems for me (and other consultants' schedules as well). We are all sitting around in limbo because the government doesn't have its act together.

Most experienced contractors have gone through this waiting game any number of times. The real question is: why? The answer is ???
(12/12/06 08:42 AM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (29th August 2006). Bartech Workforce Management Selected by Delphi Corp. to Manage North American Contract Staffing Services (The Auto Channel) DETROIT, Aug. 28, 2006 -- Bartech Workforce Management (BWM), a division of The Bartech Group, today announced a Master Vendor Provider (MVP) contract with Troy, Mich.-based Delphi Corp. The agreement names Bartech as the ... (08/29/06 09:03 AM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (28th August 2006). Abu Dhabi Ports Company announces the awarding of program management contract for Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (Mena Report) The Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) announced today the appointment of International Bechtel Company Limited (IBCLTD) to act as Program Managers for the development of Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone (KPIZ). The ... (08/28/06 09:03 PM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (27th August 2006). NuÃ±ez's wife got AQMD contract (Los Angeles Daily News) SACRAMENTO - The South Coast Air Quality Management District awarded a $125,000 consulting contract to the wife of Assembly Speaker Fabian NuÃ±ez at the same time the district was seeking legislation to cut train engine emissions. Contract Given To Assembly Speaker's Wife (CBS ... (08/27/06 09:03 AM)

Why You Need a Buy-Sell Agreement. Most business partnerships start with the best intentions, but not every partnership ends that way. That's why buy-sell agreements are so important. A buy-sell agreement is a contract between business ...
(08/27/06 09:03 AM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (26th August 2006). BearingPoint wins HHS contract worth up to $13.7M (bizjournals.com via Yahoo! Finance) Management and technology consulting firm BearingPoint will provide various services to a Department of Health and Human Services office in a contract that could reach $13.7 million if all options are exercised. Protest of Baker's FEMA Housing Inspection Services ... (08/26/06 09:03 AM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (25th August 2006). Hansen wins big software contract (The Sacramento Bee) Buoyed by a resurgence in state and local government spending on technology projects, Hansen Information Technologies announced Thursday that it has won its largest deal ever -- a $21.1 million contract to provide a software management system to San Antonio's water utility. Raytheon Awarded ... (08/25/06 09:03 AM)

Forming Relationships with Independent Contractors. You can reap some rewards by contracting with independent contractors and consultants. Consider the following advantages: You get special expertise You use them as needed You save on tax contributions ...
(08/25/06 09:02 AM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (24th August 2006). Vallas gets new contract (Philadelphia Daily News) Three School Reform Commission members said yesterday that progress was being made in numerous areas, that Philadelphia schoolchildren are learning, and so Paul Vallas should be retained as chief executive of city schools to continue the job. Esco Shares Fall After Contract Delay (AP via ... (08/24/06 09:01 AM)

Wednesdays Contract Management News and Comment (23rd August 2006). HHS Awards BearingPoint $13.7 Million Contract For Program Management Services (SYS-CON Media) BearingPoint, Inc. , one of the world's largest management and technology consulting firms, today announced it has been awarded a contract, valued at up to $13.7 million over four years, to provide program management services to the Office of ... (08/23/06 09:01 AM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (22nd August 2006). Inaugural Call for Papers: The W. Gregor Macfarlan Excellence in Contract Management Research and Writing Program (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) The National Contract Management Association is pleased to invite the submission of high-quality papers in the inaugural solicitation for the W. Gregor Macfarlan Excellence in Contract Management Research and ... (08/22/06 09:01 AM)

Sales Contracts. Many small businesses sell a product and therefore need a good Sales Contract. The Sales Contract lays out the price, terms, and conditions for the sale of goods, equipment, or other products. The act ...
(08/22/06 09:00 AM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (21st August 2006). South Yorkshire NHS signs 50 million printing & document management contract (PublicTechnology.net) The South Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority (SYSHA) has signed a contract worth approximately Â£50 million with Xerox Global Services for a five-year printing and document management service project. Tap Solutions reports Australian contract (Finextra) TAP Solutions (TAP) continues its expansion in ... (08/21/06 09:00 AM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (20th August 2006). City won't reopen trash contract (Times Herald) Port Huron officials said the city's contract with Waste Management won't be able to be reopened or re-bid. Waste Management officials must agree to any changes made to its 5-year, $8.1 million residential trash collection contract, Port Huron officials said. New Bidders Want Garbage Contract: ... (08/20/06 09:01 AM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (19th August 2006). KBR-JGC venture ink contract with Shell subsidiary (Houston Business Journal) The joint venture of KBR and JGC of Japan have inked a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services to Qatar Shell GTL Ltd. for the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids project in Ras Laffan, Qatar. Under-pressure iSOFT wins timely Spanish contract (Computer ... (08/19/06 09:00 AM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (18th August 2006). HealthQuest Wins CenBen USA Medical Management Contract (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) HealthQuest, the commercial healthcare management services division of the Keystone Peer Review Organization, Inc. , announced today that it was awarded a medical management contract by CenBen USA, the fifth-largest third-party administrator in the nation. Raytheon Gets $16 Million ... (08/18/06 09:00 AM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (17th August 2006). URS Gets FEMA Contract (AP via Yahoo! Finance) URS Corp., an engineering design company, said Wednesday it received a $75 million, five-year contract to provide technical support for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Technical Assistance Program. DynCorp Group Gets FEMA Contract (AP via Yahoo! Finance) DynCorp International Inc., a ... (08/17/06 09:00 AM)

Wednesdays Contract Management News and Comment (16th August 2006). United States Department of Commerce Executes Contract for Technical Management of the Internet with ICANN (ICANN) The United States Department of Commerce has executed a new contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to continue to perform the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) function. CH2M Hill lands FEMA ... (08/16/06 09:00 PM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (15th August 2006). PBS&J gets FEMA contract (BizJournals) The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a contract that could be worth up to $250 million to PBS&J and an alliance of subcontractors. Enova Awarded Contract to Integrate Service Vans with Hybrid Power Drive Systems for Major Fleet Operator (The Auto Channel) TORRANCE, ... (08/15/06 09:03 AM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (14th August 2006). Orchestra brass passes on recording contract (The Plain Dealer) The management of the Cleveland Orchestra has passed on the opportunity to take part in a new agreement that will allow North American symphony, opera and ballet orchestras to release audio recordings of live performances. Trailer contract process draws fire (New Orleans Times-Picayune) As ... (08/14/06 09:02 AM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (13th August 2006). Chronicle pressmen protest contract offer (San Francisco Chronicle) Scores of members and supporters of the San Francisco Web Pressmen and Prepress Workers Union 4N rallied outside The Chronicle on Friday to protest the labor contract offered by the paper's management. The union represents 237 members who have been without a... Contract ... (08/13/06 09:03 AM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (12th August 2006). Bechtel National wins 2-year FEMA contract (Baltimore Business Journal) Bechtel National has received a contract from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide temporary housing and recovery support when future disasters strike. Bechtel unit wins FEMA contract worth up to $250 million (San Francisco Business Times) The Federal Emergency Management Agency gave a ... (08/12/06 09:02 AM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (11th August 2006). Orange City to put garbage contract out on bid (Daytona Beach News-Journal) ORANGE CITY -- The city's residential garbage collection contract will be put out to bid after the City Council this week rejected a proposal from Waste Management to renew its exclusive contract. NewsWatch: Bechtel wins FEMA contract (Gazette.Net) Bechtel National Inc. ... (08/11/06 09:03 AM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (10th August 2006). Cluster Resources Wins Largest Cluster and Grid Management Contract in History â?? Provides Moab Site License to the U.S. (PR Web) Cluster Resources, Inc., a leading provider of cluster, grid and utility computing software, announced today that the Department of Energyâ??s National Nuclear Security Administrationâ??s Advanced Simulation and Computing Program ... (08/10/06 09:02 AM)

Wednesdays Contract Management News and Comment (9th August 2006). Cluster Resources Wins Largest Cluster and Grid Management Contract in History -- Provides Moab Site License to the (SYS-CON Media) Cluster Resources, Inc., a leading provider ofcluster, grid and utility computing software, announced today that theDepartment of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration's AdvancedSimulation and Computing Program has selected Cluster Resources' ... (08/09/06 09:02 AM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (8th August 2006). Dubai shifts contract for its fields (International Herald Tribune) Petrofac, a British oil-services company, said Monday that it would assume management of offshore oil and natural gas fields in Dubai after the emirate ended an accord with companies including ConocoPhillips and Total. Riviera iffy on renewing trash hauler's contract (The Palm Beach ... (08/08/06 09:02 AM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (7th August 2006). (AFX UK Focus) 2006-08-07 07:34 GMT: Petrofac gets Dubai oil & gas facilities management contract (Interactive Investor) LONDON (AFX) - Petrofac Ltd said it has won the contract to provide turnkey facilities management services for Dubai's offshore oil and gas assets. Enova Awarded Major Contract for Sport Utility Trucks (Business Wire via ... (08/07/06 09:02 AM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (6th August 2006). Rotoblock Signs $5 Million Development Contract With Brazilian Automaker; OBVIO ! of Rio de Janeiro Signs Development (The Auto Channel) RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil--Aug. 1, 2006--Automotive technology firm Rotoblock Corporation (OTCBB:ROTB) has signed a development and license agreement with Brazilian automotive company OBVIO ! for the development and incorporation of ... (08/06/06 09:02 AM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (5th August 2006). Selectica Announces Availability of Contract Management in the Mid-market Report by AberdeenGroup (SYS-CON Media) $1 billion) gain valuable insight into effective and efficient contract management methodology for both the buy and sell-side agreements. Selectica Announces Availability of Contract Management in the Mid-market Report by AberdeenGroup (FinanzNachrichten) SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ... (08/05/06 09:02 AM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (4th August 2006). (AFX UK Focus) 2006-08-04 07:40 GMT: Focus Solutions wins contract with HSBC worth 850,000 stg (Interactive Investor) LONDON (AFX) - Focus Solutions Group PLC, a provider of customer management solutions to the retail financial services market, said it has signed its first contract with HSBC bank. Strong Q2 Is The Right Medicine ... (08/04/06 09:02 AM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (3rd August 2006). EncounterCare Solutions, Inc. Announces Contract: CyberMedx Medical Systems Sells WaveLynx Alarm Management System to (RedNova) Ronald W. Mills, Sr., CEO of EncounterCare Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ECSL), announced today that CyberMedx Medical Systems, an Encounter Care Solutions subsidiary, has received a purchase order from Shands Hospital for a 24-bed wireless ventilator ... (08/03/06 09:02 AM)

Wednesdays Contract Management News and Comment (2nd August 2006). Modis International Awarded Configuration Management Contract by the UK Ministry of Defense (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) ModisÂ® International, the United Kingdom-based information technology services business unit of MPS Group, Inc. , today announced that it has been selected by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense to provide Site Configuration ... (08/02/06 09:02 PM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (1st August 2006). Energy Department Awards $2.5B Contract (AP via Yahoo! Finance) The Department of Energy on Monday announced that it has awarded a $2.5 billion contract for the management and operation of Argonne National Laboratory to UChicago Argonne LLC, an independent entity owned by the University of Chicago. 1.15 billion contract awarded to ... (08/01/06 09:04 AM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (31st July 2006). Carillion signs Â£880m MoD contract (ShareCast) LONDON (SHARECAST) - Construction group Carillion has signed an Â£880m joint contract to redevelop and manage Ministry of Defence headquarters. Englewood nurses ratify 3-year contract (NorthJersey.com) The 660 striking union nurses of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center ratified a three-year contract Saturday that will bring an end ... (07/31/06 09:02 AM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (30th July 2006). (07/30/06 09:02 AM)

Tuesdays Contract Management News and Comment (25th July 2006). Alegent Health Leverages Selectica's Contract Performance Management to Gain Visibility and Control of Contract (SYS-CON Media) Selectica , a leading provider of configuration, sales execution and contract management applications, today announced the addition of Alegent Health to the growing roster of customers using its on-demand Contract Performance Management solution. Alegent ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (28th July 2006). VERSAR Iraq Program Management Services Contract Increased By $2 Million (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) VERSAR, Inc. announced today that the US Army Corps of Engineers increased Versar's contract ceiling by over $2 million for its base contract year to provide continued management services in Iraq supporting existing work and ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Sundays Contract Management News and Comment (23rd July 2006). Pelham joins county garbage contract (The Shelby County Reporter) The City of Pelham received approval from the Shelby County Commission on July 10 to join into the countyâ??s contract with Waste Management. Blue Jays deal Hillenbrand, his contract and Chulk to Giants for reliever Accardo (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (22nd July 2006). P-I employees approve two-year contract (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) A new two-year contract between the union that represents employees at the Seattle P-I and the paper's publisher was ratified Friday. American wants to negotiate a new contract 4:52 PM (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Airline executives informed leaders of the Allied ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (20th July 2006). Baker Energy Wins Logistics Asset Management Contract (Rigzone) Baker Energy, a unit of Michael Baker Corp., said that it has received a multi- phase contract, estimated at $1.2 million, from Grupo Delta for customization and implementation of a logistics asset management system for its customer Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). Phase One of ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (24th July 2006). Turtle Bay contract is ratified (Pacific Business News) The new labor agreement at Turtle Bay Resort gives retirees back their medical benefits, while validating existing outsourcing of work by management. Pelham joins county garbage contract (The Shelby County Reporter) The City of Pelham received approval from the Shelby County Commission on July 10 ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Saturdays Contract Management News and Comment (29th July 2006). Hyundai Motor Union Votes on New Contract (AP via Yahoo! Finance) Hyundai Motor Co. workers have voted to accept a wage package negotiated by management and union leaders, the company said Saturday, officially ending a month of unrest at South Korea's largest automaker. PUBC Announces New Client Contract With Escape International ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Fridays Contract Management News and Comment (21st July 2006). Other News in Brief: United Group Closes on Equis Corp. Purchase; Colliers Arnold Wins 1.4 MSF Management Contract; (Commercial Property News) Other News in Brief: United Group Closes on Equis Corp. Purchase; Colliers Arnold Wins 1.4 MSF Management Contract; Orion, Starwood Capital Purchase Seniors Housing Portfolio; California's Department of Housing ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Thursdays Contract Management News and Comment (27th July 2006). Bombardier Wins a 69 Million Euro Contract for 17 Trams and a Traffic Management System for the City of Palermo, Italy (Market Wire via Yahoo! Finance) Bombardier Transportation, as part of a consortium led by SIS, announced today that it has won an order from the public transport authority of ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

Wednesdays Contract Management News and Comment (26th July 2006). GSA's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center Exercises Option Year One of Contract with Avineon for HUD's (SYS-CON Media) Avineon, Inc., a successful provider of IT, geospatial, engineering and program management services, announced today that GSA's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) has exercised the first option year of ... (07/29/06 02:28 PM)

YAD: OpenFos.com. YAD? Oh that's my acronym for "Yet Another Directory". I don't comment on everyone I see, unless there is something to talk about.

Today's YAD is OpenFos.com (named Focus On Sourcing), which I found in my monthly review of referring websites. It was hard to miss, as it was ranked right after Google! A closer look at my stats showed four different directory listings for our company with similar traffic numbers each.

I suspect the high referrals from their site is due to the screen-shot they show on the listing pages. One listing record is interesting because it identifies US Government 'Contract Listings" that we have recently won.

Googling openfos, I started finding sites like Office Supply Leads which offers a (paid) subscription to searches of government bids for certain commodities. Apparently, that is where this company is focused for revenue.

As far as a directory, OpenFos has a long way to go. For the category of three-gas incubators, they list a number of unrelated 'suppliers' like "Affordable Treasures".

Once again my acronym proves true: Yadda, yadda, yadda. (Well, assuming all those hits are junk, anyway.) (07/29/06 02:28 PM)