SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 25-29, 2026

Posted on May 29, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! We hope you had a great week and are finishing the month of May strong. I was recently in Chicago for a family trip. Based on how much people were enjoying the weekend in Chicago, it’s clear that Memorial Day is the kickoff to summer. Summer plans are in full swing, but the news for federal contractors is also busy.

This week in federal government contracting news, there were updates on AI reporting, cybersecurity compliance, and an update to the classified information review process.

GAO Recommends Practicing Mindfulness When Solicitation Terms Cover Multiple Evaluation Factors

Posted on May 28, 2026 by Gregory Weber

Even if we don’t want to admit it, we all simply click “accept” on all those different terms and conditions for software, despite not actually reading the actual terms. GAO in a recent decision reminded agencies and contractors to not let that habit happen when you read the terms of a procurement. In that recent GAO decision, there was a long history of protests, which resulted in an amendment to the solicitation. At first glance, the amendment and proposal revision restrictions tied to it may have made sense, but upon protest, GAO found the limitations on proposal revisions were improper, due to the amendment impacting more than the one factor which was open for revisions.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 18-22, 2026

Posted on May 22, 2026 by Nicole Pottroff

This Memorial Day, we take time to reflect on the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of those who gave their lives serving our country. Their selfless dedication to protecting our freedoms and defending our nation will always be remembered with the utmost gratitude and respect. We further wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all veterans and military families who have carried the burdens of service with strength and honor. It is because of those sacrifices we are able to enjoy the liberties and opportunities we too often take for granted. Today, we honor their legacy, remember the fallen, and express our deepest appreciation to those who have served and continue to serve our nation with pride.

Back to Basics: The Government’s SBIR Program

Posted on May 21, 2026 by Nicole Pottroff

There are many federal contracting opportunities specifically designed to support and benefit small businesses. Most people are already familiar with small business set-aside competitions and direct awards, SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program, and SBA’s socioeconomic small business contracting programs (i.e., the SDVOSB/VOSB, WOSB/EDWOSB, HUBZone, and 8(a) Programs). But there is still another–albeit less well-known–government contracting program that offers significant benefits to small businesses, particularly those in field of research-and-development (R&D). Indeed, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program provides federal funding to small business for their R&D endeavors, helping them grow promising technological innovations into full-fledged revenue cornerstones for small businesses and major contributors to government efficiency and progress.

Back to Basics: Novation Agreements (and Name Changes)

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Shane McCall

Our latest installment of our Back to Basics series explores novation agreements and their related cousin name change agreements. A novation agreement is needed when a contractor is transferring (or assigning) federal government contracts to another company. The government has discretion in approving such a transfer, and this post will explore how that process works.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 11-15, 2026

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday. It’s end of school time in many parts of the country, as students move on a grade or graduate from college. College graduation is a big deal in a college town like ours. Congratulations to all the graduates. And speaking of changes, the federal government contracting world certainly hasn’t slowed down this week. Stories included the large proposed defense budget along with efforts at saving taxpayer money in the defense budget and elsewhere in the federal government.

Back to Basics: Price Realism vs. Price Reasonableness

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Gregory Weber

As part of federal contracting, the total price of each award is disclosed. This is of course a great way to promote trust and transparency in federal contracting and in the handling of taxpayer dollars. But it also leads to other contractors scrutinizing an awardee’s price and thinking one of two things: (1) “That price is too low to do this work”; or (2) “that price is too high for this work.” Naturally contractors will consider protesting on one of those pricing intuitions, but often mix up how to properly frame or phrase that pricing concern. Thus, they find themselves at the crossroad of “price realism” vs. “price reasonableness.” This installment of our Back to Basics series will help you learn which is which and why that matters.