GSA leader on where social media meets procurement

The General Services Administration can tap the wisdom of the crowds, but it still lacks needed policies to do it well, administrator Martha Johnson says.

5 steps to sharpening your marketing strategy

As we approach the end of fiscal 2010, targeting your marketing efforts to specific audiences and opportunities becomes even more important.

GSA solicits wisdom of the crowd for acquisition improvements

General Services Administration officials are testing collaboration and using social media to improve the federal acquisition process.

GSA now on the fast track, top exec says

Martha Johnson, new administrator of the General Services Administration, outlines her priorities.

A practical way to spice things up for new contracting employees

Give high-school grads some of the routine work, so the specialists can engage their minds with bigger challenges.

Contractors' hiring options would get squeezed by new Labor rule

A trade organization for federal contractors is opposing a Labor Department proposed rule that would require new service contractors to offer jobs to some workers from the predecessor contract.

Federal Acquisition Service gets new acting commissioner

Steve Kempf will become acting commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service after current commissioner Jim Williams retires April 3.

GSA's Williams disputes IG charge of missed contract discounts

Williams said GSA has no evidence of a widespread problem of vendors submitting incorrect invoices.

Fog of war no reason to skirt contracting rules, GAO says

GAO recognized the Army’s need to swiftly award a task order, but the service can't stretch the scope of a contract to get it done.

OMB falls short on USASpending.gov data, GAO says

OMB has not included subcontracting award data on USAspending.gov and has no specific plan for collecting such data.

TSA has cone of silence over infrastructure contract

TSA apparently is evaluating new bids, but Editor Nick Wakeman predicts there is likely one more round of protests to come before work actually begins on the $500 million Information Technology Infrastructure Program contract.

How industry can help the new federal CTO

Chopra's position creates an opportunity for more collaboration between the public and private sectors.

7 do's and 1 don't for avoiding conflicts of interest

Advice on how companies can avoid organizational conflicts of interest.

Open season: The hunt is on for contracting conflicts

These days, government oversight officials are searching for any possible conflicts, and companies are looking, too, just in case.

Procurement panel slams price reduction clause for services

The Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel offers 20 recommendations on how to improve GSA Schedules program.

Federal court gives HUBZone program priority

The Small Business Act makes it mandatory, not optional, to give HUBZone companies a preference over other small businesses, a judge rules.

Customs at odds with DHS IG over report on small-biz goals

Officials at Customs and Border Protection say a draft report by the inspector general contains 'misstatements of fact and inaccuracies that are misleading.'

Contractors jockey for position on spending priorities

Company positioning in the current market environment is critical to a successful growth strategy, says Jean Stack, the director of the aerospace, defense and government group at Houlihan Lokey.

Outsourcing can be cheaper for agencies, GAO analysis finds

Private security companies were often cheaper than the government, ranging from $3 million less on one task order to more than $785 million for a one-year contract.

GSA's Drabkin heads to Northrop Grumman

David Drabkin will be Northrop Grumman's director for acquisition policy.