SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 21-25, 2016

As a Duke alum living in Kansas, March Madness is particularly exciting for me.  Last night, my defending champion Blue Devils got bounced from the tourney, but KU’s journey continues to the Elite Eight.  The win was especially sweet for me because it came against Maryland–a team whose fans (back when the Terps were in the ACC) kept insisting that Duke was their arch-rival.  I lost count of how many times I had to remind a Maryland fan that Duke already has an arch-rival.

While I await Saturday’s basketball excitement, it’s time for our weekly roundup of what’s new in the world of government contracts.  In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Navy has been rocked by a bribery scheme, the DoD enlists a supercomputer to untangle its procurement system, some insightful commentary on recent changes to the WOSB program, and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 14-18, 2016

With much of the country on spring break this week, it has allowed us to slow down a little bit to enjoy the weather and more importantly spend some time working on our March Madness picks. (That Little Rock win was amazing, but blew up my brackets).

So while I no longer have to worry about a perfect bracket, I do have to make sure that the weekend doesn’t arrive without a dose of SmallGovCon Week In Review. This installment looks at alleged procurement fraud in upstate New York, a deeper look at why it took the SBA so long to reach its WOSB contracting goals, a new online database that was launched to help small business gain federal contracts, and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: February 29-March 4, 2016

Now that the calendar says March, I’m getting ready for March Madness.  The basketball excitement is building here in Lawrence, home of the #1 ranked Jayhawks.  Tomorrow, I’ll be at Allen Fieldhouse for the last home game of the season, and a farewell to senior standout Perry Ellis.

But don’t worry, I won’t let my excitement over March Madness deter me from bringing you our SmallGovCon Week In Review. This week’s collection of government contracts stories brings great news for WOSBs and EDWOSBs, an update on the abrupt cancellation of a major DHS contract, an effort to permit SDVOSBs to obtain disadvantaged status with the Department of Transportation, and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: February 22-26, 2016

It was a busy week for me in Washington, DC.  The highlight was attending oral arguments in Kingdomware Technologies v. United States on Monday.  Although I was supposed to head back to Lawrence Wednesday night, a bout of severe weather led to the cancellation of my flight–and two extra unscheduled nights in DC.

Now that I’m finally back here in Lawrence, it’s time for our weekly dose of government contracting news.  In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, SAM problems lead to a pre-award protest, an uphill battle for women-owned businesses seeking federal contracts, the “worst website in government” is getting an upgrade and much more.

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WOSB Sole Source Authority Added To FAR

WOSB sole source authority is now part of the FAR.

Effective December 31, 2015, the FAR Council has adopted an interim rule incorporating the WOSB sole source authority adopted in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act and recently made part of the SBA’s regulations.

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Inspector General: SBA Should Implement WOSB Certification Program

The SBA should implement a women-owned small business certification program, according to the SBA’s own Inspector General.

In a recent report on management challenges facing the SBA, the SBA Office of Inspector General urged the SBA to adopt a WOSB certification program–and stated that failing to do so may allow ineligible firms to receive WOSB set-aside contracts.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 12-16, 2015

Another week is almost over, and that means it’s time to bring you the SmallGovCon Week In Review.  This week we look at GSA’s IT consolidation efforts, a bid-rigging scheme that resulted in a seven-year prison sentence, allegations of SDVOSB fraud, and much more.

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