This week’s “FAR and Beyond” blog hits on a couple items for our membership. First, here is an update on our May calendar of events.
May 2014 Member Calendar
1. Jan Frye, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is meeting with the Coalition on May 7, 2014. The Coalition is extending this unique opportunity to have a small group conversation with the head of one of the largest acquisition and logistics programs in the federal government to the Healthcare and IT/ Services committees. Jan manages and oversees the development and implementation of policies and procedures for department-wide acquisition and logistics programs supporting all VA facilities. His responsibilities include management of VA’s National Acquisition Center in Hines, Illinois; the Technical Acquisition Center in Eatontown, NJ; the Centers for Acquisition Innovation in Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C.; the VA Acquisition Academy in Frederick, Maryland; and the Denver Acquisition and Logistics Center in Denver, Colorado. He also serves as the VA Senior Procurement Executive.
Join the discussion with Jan Frye to find out more about:
- Major VA acquisitions across a broad spectrum of items including IT and services
- VA acquisition priorities
- Budget outlook
The meeting will be held on May 7 at 10:00 a.m. at the law office of McKenna, Long and Aldridge, 1900 K Street NW, Washington, DC. Members please RSVP to rdicharry@thecgp.org if you would like to attend.
2. Cyber Security Forum on May 22, 2014. On the morning of May 22nd at the Tower Club in Tysons the Coalition will be hosting a Briefing on “The New Guidance on Cybersecurity Acquisition—What Contracting Professionals Must Learn Now!” This briefing will provide the latest information on how cybersecurity policy, functional, and operational requirements are flowing into the procurement system. More importantly, we are structuring the briefing to deliver relevant information that will provide insights on how the evolving cybersecurity framework will impact day-to day operations and contract performance requirements. For example, as part of the Alliant follow-on Interact dialogue GSA recently posted comments seeking feedback on potential approaches to addressing cybersecurity as part of the next Alliant contract vehicle. In essence, from our member’s perspective we will endeavor to answer the question: “How will the “new normal” in cybersecurity impact my organization and my contract vehicles?”
For this event we are very fortunate to have an array of subject matter experts from across the private and public sectors. Here is the current lineup:
Government Speakers:
Don Johnson, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology & Logistics (AT&L), DASD (C3Cyber), DoD
Jon Boyens, Senior Advisor for Information Security, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Emile Monette, Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity, GSA
Richard Blake, Business Management Specialist, Federal Acquisition Service Enterprise GWAC Center, GSA
Legal Experts:
Tom Barletta, Partner Steptoe & Johnson LLP
David Z. Bodenheimer, Partner Crowell & Moring LLP
Elizabeth Ferrell, Partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Please click here for more information and to register for this important event. We look forward to seeing at the Tower Club, May 22nd!
3. Tom Sharpe, Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) for a Myth-Busters dialogue on the future of FAS also in May 2014. Tom will be outlining his vision for FAS moving forward over the next 3-5 years. This dialogue will provide a wonderful opportunity to highlight opportunities and strategies for delivering best value for customer agencies and growing FAS’s programs. More details to follow on this event as we set the day, time and location.
Also in the news is GSA’s launch of an OS2 Dashboard that provides pricing data/information for the OS2 Blanket Purchase Agreements under FSSI. The Coalition welcomes GSA’s efforts to increase transparency regarding strategic sourcing pricing and savings. It is an important step in continuing the dialogue on the strategies, results, and impact of FSSI on GSA, customer agencies and contractors. Next week’s “Far and Beyond” will examine the pricing information contained on the Dashboard in an effort to further the dialogue regarding FSSI. The OS2 Dashboard can be found here.
Finally, OMB and GSA are seeking public feedback on the procurement system and contracting programs. This week OMB and the CAO Council launched a National Dialogue focusing on the procurement system. The link to the National Dialogue site can be found here. The Coalition has submitted our consensus recommendations for reforming the procurement system, in particular the GSA Schedules program, to ensure sound business opportunities for contractors that deliver best value outcomes for customer agencies and the American people. We encourage all our members to participate in the dialogue by supporting ideas submitted on the site and providing your thoughts and recommendations to improve procurement outcomes for all.
Roger Waldron
President