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Upcoming 2014 Fall Training Conference Agenda!

FAR and Beyond Blog

In last week’s article I detailed our upcoming 35th Anniversary Black Tie Gala and Excellence in Partnership Awards (nominations close October 3rd!).  This week I want to go into a bit more detail about the tentative agenda for our 2014 Fall Training Conference, 35 Years of Commonsense in Government Procurement: Looking Back and Moving Forward, taking place at the JW Marriott in DC on November 6th.

Morning Session

Registration, breakfast,  and networking will begin at 7:00am and I will open the conference at 8:00am with an outline of the day’s events, thank you to our sponsors, and updates on current CGP initiatives.  Shortly after, we will hear from our keynote speaker, The Honorable Thomas M. Davis – former Virginia Congressman and Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee – who now serves as the Director of Federal Government Affairs for Deloitte where he continues his commitment to effective, common-sense solutions to government.  Mr. Davis will continue our conference theme and be discussing Looking Back and Moving Forward – Post Elections.

The mid morning sessions will include Jeff Koses, Senior Procurement Executive at GSA, discussing GSA Schedules – Retooling for the Future, as well as Brad Medairy, Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton, discussing Cybersecurity – A Game Changer. The morning will wrap up with our Town Hall session that will give attendees the opportunity to ask questions directly to our panel which will include Anne Rung, OFPP Administrator; Steve Schooner, Professor and Co-Director of the Government Procurement Law Program, George Washington University; Christine Harada, Associate Administrator for Government-wide Policy at the General Services Administration; and representatives from DPAP (Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy), which is responsible for all Contracting and Procurement policy matters including e-Business in the Department of Defense (DoD).  The panel will be discussing a variety of topics such as Innovative, Streamlined, Cost Effective Acquisition – Where Are We, What Needs To Change And How Do We Get There?

Lunch Session

Lunch will begin at approximately 12:30, where we will be joined by our lunchtime speaker, Mike Causey.  Mike writes a daily column for Federal New Radio, Mike Causey’s Federal Report, and can be heard daily on the radio as well.  Mike’s presentation will be on The Changing Federal Workforce – what it means for government, industry and America.  As always, we fully expect his remarks to be  thought provoking, insightful, and entertaining!

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

We will be having our ever popular breakout sessions in the afternoon, offering four different topic areas you can choose between at 2:00 and 3:15.  Our 2:00 session will allow you the opportunity to attend one of the following:

1.)    Electronic Platforms and Social Media – From EMALL to GSA Advantage! to the Common Acquisition Platform – an explanation of how current systems connect and where the government is headed with electronic platforms and the use of social media in the acquisition process.

2.)    Global Supply Update – Update on strategic sourcing initiatives ,transitioning from GSA warehouse to Direct Delivery, and more!  This breakout will be lead by Shaloy Castle-Higgins, Director, Greater Southwest Acquisition Center; Janet Haynes, Acting, Schedules Acquisition Director, Center for Facilities Maintenance and Hardware (CFMH); Peter Han, Director, National Administrative Services and Office Supplies Acquisition Center; and Brian Knapp, Director, GSA, Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center (IWAC).

3.)    Customer Users of Government-wide Vehicles – How do major customers use government-wide vehicles?  What are the opportunities and challenges of various vehicles?

4.)    OASIS and beyond – Changes in the Acquisition of Professional Services – Topics will include Consolidated Schedules and the future of GSA Schedules, pricing tools, update on OASIS, and use of OASIS as a model for future acquisitions – what works and what doesn’t?  Jim Ghiloni, Acting Director of Acquisition Operations, will be leading this breakout, among others.

Our 3:15 session will allow you the opportunity to attend one of the following:

1.)    DOD Acquisition Update – Impact of the DOD waiver for Schedules Pricing, changes to commercial acquisition, and significant acquisitions of the military services.

2.)    Update on Government-wide IT Acquisitions – A highlight of major acquisition programs supporting the acquisition of government wide IT programs, including CIO-SP3, Alliant, NASA SEWP and more.  Don’t miss this opportunity for information and best practices that helps enhance your performance in the IT market.  This breakout will be led by Casey Kelly & Team, Integrated Technology Service, GSA; Joanne Woytek, Program Manager, NASA SEWP; Robert Coen, Acting Director, NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC); and Kay Ely, Director, IT Schedules Acquisition Center.

3.)    Strategic Sourcing –  What’s ahead in furniture, managed print services, OPM Training and Management Assistance (TMA), and  IT FSSI.

4.)    Coming Soon in the Federal Market – Business Analysis.  This breakout will be led by Ray Bjorklund, President, Birchgrove  Consulting, and Cameron Leuthy, Bloomberg Government.

We will wrap up the day back in the main ballroom for a quick report out from the afternoon breakout sessions and be done around 5:00.

We will have more announcements in the near future regarding newly confirmed speakers, but it is certainly shaping up to be a must attend event and we hope to see you there!  Plan on attending?  Please visit our website or click here to register– we look forward to your participation!  Lastly, thank you again to AvKARE for being our Title Sponsor at this year’s Fall Conference!  For a list of sponsorship opportunities, please click here.

Thanks,

Roger Waldron

President

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