SmallGovCon Week in Review: April 6-10, 2026

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! April has started out in full swing, and it’s already shaping up to be a busy and eventful month. Along with plants being active for spring, this week has been active in the federal government contracting world, with some new developments and policy updates to track. As always, we’ve gathered a selection of relevant articles and insights below to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve.

Key updates including a proposed federal budget, increased IT spending review, and new AI risk management updates. We hope you find these resources helpful as you wrap up the week. Thank you for taking the time to stay connected, and we wish you a relaxing, enjoyable, and well-deserved weekend!

President’s Executive Order Requires Terms Addressing DEI in Contracts

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Gregory Weber

Recently, President Trump issued an executive order focused on federal contractors and DEI (meaning “Diversity Equity and Inclusion”) initiatives. Through this executive order, the President has quickly placed new requirements on federal contractors and agencies to include specific terms within their contracts and subcontracts. These terms add up to a somewhat lengthy contract clause, with the basic requirement that parties agree to not utilize DEI practices and agree to comply with any investigations of such practices by an agency. The executive order also provides some stark consequences for any failure to comply with its aims. Let’s dive in.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 30-April 3, 2026

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday—and welcome to April! Recently, SmallGovCon contributor Nicole Pottroff traveled to Las Vegas to attend and present at the RES 2026 conference, hosted by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. While there, she took part in a panel titled “Navigating the New Regulatory Landscape for Native-Owned Federal Contractors.” The event brought together professionals from across the industry, offering valuable opportunities for networking, business development, and Native procurement matchmaking. It proved to be a great event. Hope you were able to see or say hi to Nicole at the conference!

This week in federal government contracting news included important stories about DEI in federal contracting, more info on IT purchasing, and AI’s potential reform to procurement.

Webinar Announcement: Teaming Agreements & Joint Ventures, April 14, 2026 hosted by UT San Antonio APEX Accelerators

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Shane McCall

For large and small contractors alike, teaming agreements and joint venture agreements can be essential to winning and successfully performing federal government contracts. In this presentation, government contracts attorneys, Shane McCall and Annie Birney from Koprince McCall Pottroff, will explain how to develop, negotiate and administer agreements that are both compliant and effective. The presentations will cover both the key rules (such as flow-downs and ostensible subcontractor affiliation) and best practices for agreements that go beyond the bare minimum legal requirements.

Hope you can join us! Registration link here.

Back to Basics: Requests for Equitable Adjustment

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Annie Birney

As any contractor knows, there is no amount of preparation that can ensure a project goes exactly as planned. And unfortunately, when the unexpected happens, contractors may face increased costs, schedule delays, and other obstacles outside of their control. A request for equitable adjustment (or REA) affords contractors the opportunity to seek compensation or additional time for unforeseen conditions. This post will explore REAs and when to consider using such an approach.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 23-27, 2026

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! I just got back from a short trip to the Caribbean to enjoy some relaxation with the fam. We saw some incredible fish, rays, and even a sea turtle, while also making some time for reading on the beach. It’s good to recharge the batteries every once in a while and come back raring to go.

But federal contracting news never stops. This week in federal government contracting news including a report that the federal government is looking to hire more employees (but maybe cut down on the number of contractors), SBA moving it’s Washington district office, and how AI is fitting into federal contractor work.

“In Scope” vs. “Out of Scope” Modifications: How GAO Explains The Difference

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Shane McCall

One of the perennially popular topics on SmallGovCon has been the question of what constitutes a modification to a contract that renders that modification “Out of Scope.” This post will explore a leading GAO decision that came out back in 2017, along with some recent updates on this same question.

An agency may modify a contract without having to deal with restrictions in the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), so long as the the modification is deemed “in scope.” An “out of scope” modification, on the other hand, is improper–and may be protested at GAO.

In a leading bid protest decision, GAO denied a protest challenging an agency’s modification of a contract where the modification was within scope and of a nature that competitors could have reasonably anticipated at the time of award. In its decision, GAO explained the difference between an in scope and out of scope modification, including the factors GAO will use to determine whether the modification is permissible.