Thousands of contracting professionals have relied on the Federal Contracting Answer Book as their trusted guide to the highly regulated world of government procurement. In each edition the book has offered timely and accurate answers to the questions that arise daily in this complex field. Now in its third edition, this answer book is even more comprehensive. Written by experts who have extensive experience working in and teaching government contracting, the book includes all the latest changes and requirements. The question-and-answer format enables quick look-up and a concise presentation of the information. In this edition, new questions and answers have been added on avoiding proposal errors, debriefings, procurement vocabulary, regulatory changes, and best practices. In addition to these updates and revisions, the third edition includes new chapters on earned value management, GSA schedules, and contractor qualifications.
Federal contracting . . . easy? With the fourth edition of Federal Contracting Made Easy, it is! Whether or not you consider federal contracting easy, it is certainly easier with this guide. Used successfully by thousands of contractors and feds, this book offers practical, hands-on, no-nonsense advice. Now in its fourth edition, Federal Contracting Made Easy lays out the entire federal contracting process in a readable and easy-to-understand style. This book covers how government procurement works, what you can do to cut though the red tape to speed your way to winning a contract, who the key players are, and tips for overcoming obstacles. New in this edition: • Discussion of government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) • Updates on women-owned small business • New status of service-disabled veteran-owned small business • Expanded list of relevant websites and resources • Introduction to the new System for Award Management (SAM) Whether you are about to enter the competitive world of federal contracting or have been bidding for contracts for years and are now looking for updated information and ideas, this is the book you need. The federal government awards billions of dollars in contracts for goods and services every year. This book will help you win a piece of that business.
Winning Government Contracts shows you the way. It begins at the beginning, assuming no prior knowledge of the government marketplace and its sometimes complicated terminology. Written in a clear, easy-to-understand language by experienced sales and marketing professionals, this book takes you through the registration and bidding process step by step.
Each year the Federal Government contracts for $500 billion worth of supplies and services from 650,000 contractors. To acquire all those supplies and services, the Federal Government and its contractors must comply with thousands of pages of regulations. Those regulations can be daunting for anyone: large businesses seeking to expand by entering the Federal market; employees new to Federal contracting; the Federal Government itself. Small businesses without dedicated staffs of contract experts find comprehending and complying with the Federal acquisition regulation particularly vexing. However, the rewards are great for those small businesses that master the "Federal procurement maze" - the Federal Government has set annual goals for awarding $100 billion in contracts to small businesses, $25 billion to women-owned businesses, $25 billion to minority-owned businesses, $15 billion to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and $15 billion to small businesses in areas of high unemployment. For more than 30 years, GETTING STARTED IN FEDERAL CONTRACTING has been the standard reference for government contract information, guidance, and advice. Now, with this revised and expanded sixth edition, contracting professionals have the help, knowledge, and information they need to maneuver through the Federal procurement maze skillfully and successfully: An explanation of the key officials and what they do How to locate contracting opportunities Special "set-aside" programs for different types of small businesses Small business subcontracting goals for large businesses "Micro-purchase" procedures for purchases under $3,500 ($5,000 for the Department of Defense) Simplified procedures for purchases under $150,000 Invitations for Bids (IFB) and Requests for Proposals (RFP) Reverse auctions Different types of fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contracts Indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts Federal Supply Schedules Selling commercial supplies and services Selling foreign products Unique procedures for architect-engineering and construction contracts Labor laws Protests against contract awards Contract administration Filing claims Integrity and ethics rules Records retention requirements In addition, GETTING STARTED IN FEDERAL CONTRACTING includes a ample solicitation, forms, examples, key websites, abbreviations, glossary, and a detailed index.
The dramatic growth of government over the course of the twentieth century since the New Deal prompts concern among libertarians and conservatives and also among those who worry about government’s costs, efficiency, and quality of service. These concerns, combined with rising confidence in private markets, motivate the widespread shift of federal and state government work to private organizations. This shift typically alters only who performs the work, not who pays or is ultimately responsible for it. “Government by contract” now includes military intelligence, environmental monitoring, prison management, and interrogation of terrorism suspects. Outsourcing government work raises questions of accountability. What role should costs, quality, and democratic oversight play in contracting out government work? What tools do citizens and consumers need to evaluate the effectiveness of government contracts? How can the work be structured for optimal performance as well as compliance with public values? Government by Contract explains the phenomenon and scope of government outsourcing and sets an agenda for future research attentive to workforce capacities as well as legal, economic, and political concerns.
A Guide to Federal Contracting: Principles and Practices demystifies the federal buying process, providing in one volume a succinct yet thorough treatment of federal contracting requirements or regulations. Bringing together concepts of business, law, politics, public and social policy, pricing, and contract placement and administration, Dan Lindner draws on 40 years of federal government experience to cover the vast spread of this important process that impacts our daily government operations. This completely updated second edition incorporates the nearly 16 regulatory changes that have occurred since the first edition was published and adds new subsections on Product Planning and Placement, Major Systems Acquisition, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Other Transaction Agreements, Corporate Budget, and Work Breakdown Structure.