Service contractors now required to identify themselves

Federal officials want the difference between government employees and private-sector employees to be obvious.

New contracting threshold could harm small businesses

Regulatory councils increased the minimum amount at which a company must draw up a subcontracting plan, but small businesses may lose out on contracts.

6 signs it's time to re-engineer your BD shop

Bill Scheessele, of MBDi, offers guidance on when and how to re-engineer a business development organization.

GAO bows to CIA decision to waive conflicts of interest

GAO’s ruling is evidence that it won’t second-guess agency officials' decisions to waive organizational conflicts of interest.

FAR Council considers justifying sole-source awards

Congress demands a good reason for awarding a contract worth $20 million or more without hosting a competition for the work.

Regulators nudge up simplified acquisition dollar thresholds

Regulatory changes offer modest benefits for both small businesses and large companies.

$40B RFP lays groundwork for health IT market

The health IT market is on the cusp of a growth period thanks to the NIH Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 3 program. But don't expect an explosion of spending.

NIH confronted OMB about multibillion dollar contract — and won

NIH says it never doubted that it could convince the OMB that it should recertify its governmentwide contract.

3 steps to improving your proposals

A review of lessons learned is a valuable step in improving proposal development efficiency and raising your win probability on the next bid, says Bob Lohfeld of Lohfeld Consulting Group.

Despite more competition, single-bid contracts stay steady

Noncompetitive contracts declined from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2009, but contracts receiving only one bid remained steady, GAO says.

More are upbeat among the new generation of contracting professionals

Steve Kelman talks to a new crop of future contracting professionals.

Contractor database to go public by year's end

Regulations are progressing to open the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System to the general public.

No debrief required for schedule holders, judge rules

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims said schedules don't fall under the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

Why stop at 26 high-risk projects?

Editor Nick Wakeman explores the idea that these projects are just the beginning of a more systematic approach to ferreting out poorly performing IT projects.

Will more follow Northrop’s lead and buy vs. lease?

Northrop Grumman Corp. is moving its headquarters to a 14-story building in Falls Church, Va., which the company recently purchased. Will an accounting change persuade other federal contractors to do the same?

Are you on OMB's high-risk list?

When the White House released a list of 26 high-risk information technology projects on Aug. 23, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra was quick to point out that it wasn’t a hit list. But now some of the biggest names in government are under a microscope.

DHS manager slammed by IG for aiding relative

A Science and Technology Directorate manager violated ethics policies by plotting to deliver agency-funded software to a relative, according to an audit by the DHS inspector general.

Judge upholds HUBZone priority

A claims court judge has upheld HUBZone priority in statute, saying the law couldn't be clearer.

CACI accounts for Air Force financial system improvements

CACI International Inc. will continue to improve the Air Force’s ability to track specific financial programs for the 554th Electronic Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, under a five-year prime contract worth $19 million.

Join Washington Technology's social networking experiment

Washington Technology Editor Nick Wakeman launches a Twitter chat Monday at 1 p.m. on the hot trends in today's government market.