February 3, 2010
Voting for NCMA’s Board of Directors Opens February 16
The call for statements of interest for the position of board director is closed effective February 1, 2010. On February 16, a list of the candidates and their qualifications will be posted on the NCMA Web site. At that time, voting will open for the four open positions. All current members will be eligible to and are encouraged to vote. Voting will close at 5:00pm EST, on Sunday, February 28, 2010.
GSA Issues Final Rule on Acquisition of Commercial Items
The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to update the text addressing the acquisition of commercial items.
Report Questions Conflict of Interest in Defense Contracts
A Defense Department inspector general's report has stirred debate at the Pentagon over what constitutes a conflict of interest after the report determined that Pentagon test agencies gave $91 million in contracts for advice and assistance to corporations that helped develop the system.
DOD Has Enhanced Insight into Undefinitized Contract Action Use, but Management at Local Commands Needs Improvement
GAO Report to Congressional Committees: DOD has taken several actions since August 2008 to enhance departmental insight into and oversight of UCAs; however, data limitations hinder its full understanding of the extent to which they are used.
Better Program Results Through Improved Government-Industry Relations
NCMA encourages you to attend the 48th Annual Aerospace and Defense Contract Management Conference in San Diego, California. This two-day event features a powerful lineup of sessions led by industry and government experts, and draws attendees from all levels of the profession. Whether you are looking for ways to master existing challenges and risks, for insights into future issues, or to expand your mastery of best practices and solutions, this conference is your opportunity.
Featuring speakers from the leading edge of the aerospace contracting community, including:
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The Honorable Ashton B. Carter,
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Department of Defense (invited) |
Nominations Open for GSA’s Excellence in Acquisition Award
The U.S. General Services Administration invites individual nominations for the agency’s 2010 Ida Ustad Award for Excellence in Acquisition. The award is given annually in honor of Ida Ustad, a former GSA deputy associate administrator for acquisition policy.
Federal Spending Freeze May Sound Better Than it Actually Will Be
President Barack Obama's proposal for a three-year spending freeze may be more a matter of appearance than fiscal responsibility.
Status of DOD’s Implementation of Independent Management Reviews for
Services Acquisitions
GAO Report to Congressional Committees
Wartime Contracting Hearing will Probe Coordination of Reconstruction Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan
The Federal Commission on Wartime Contracting will conduct a hearing in Washington, DC,
on February 5 to examine “An Urgent Need: Coordinating Reconstruction and Stabilization in Contingency Operations.”
 Right now on CMJobs, there are:
222 Searchable Jobs
2,698 Searchable Résumés
6,225 Registered Employers
Need to hire a contract manager? Are you looking for a new job?
www.ContractManagementJobs.com
More Vendors Gaining Relief from Protests
Federal contractors have almost a 50 percent chance of winning some type of relief when they protest a solicitation to the Government Accountability Office.
Defense Contracting: Recent Law Has Impacted Contractor Use of Offshore Subsidiaries to Avoid Certain Payroll Taxes
GAO-10-327: Many of the Top 29 U.S. publicly traded defense contractors—those with $1 billion or more in DOD contracts in fiscal year 2008—have created offshore subsidiaries to facilitate global operations. Between fiscal years 2003 and 2008, they increased their use of these subsidiaries by 26 percent, maintaining at least 1,194 in 2008.
For more contracting news, see our News Links.
Message from our Corporate Sponsor
The NASA SEWP GWAC (Government-Wide Acquisition Contract) provides the latest in Information Technology (IT) products for all federal agencies and the Department of Defense. SEWP consists of 37 competed prime contract holders, including 20 small businesses and nine veteran-owned businesses, six of which are SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses) and several non-competed 8(a) set-aside contractors. These contracts offer a vast selection and wide range of advanced technology, peripherals, network equipment, storage devices and other IT products and product solutions. SEWP offers low prices, a low surcharge (0.5 percent), and the easiest and fastest ordering procedure using precompeted contracts. SEWP offers free training to users as well. For more information, visit www.sewp.nasa.gov
In this Month’s Contract Management Magazine:
View Entire Issue
Book of the Month
Message from our Education Partner
FREE Webinar: The Business Code of Ethics in Contract Management
Tuesday, March 16 | 11:30am—12:30pm PDT
Ethical issues emerge from conflicting interests between companies, time constraints, and both internal and external pressure. Join us as we explore the different government, corporate, and cultural perspectives that affect the legal and ethical decisions you make for your company.
Starting Spring, NCMA members receive 10% off any Management of Business Contracts course with code NCMA10.
Register here.
NCMA Educational Opportunities, Tools, and Resources
E-Courses
 NCMA is proud to announce its new suite of contract management e-courses. This is education at your fingertips! Contract management is an extraordinarily busy and ever-changing profession, and contract managers demand learning opportunities that are self-paced, relevant, and have 24/7 availability. NCMA is dedicated to the delivery of continuous learning opportunities supporting the contract management workforce.
Current course titles include:
- Competitive and Collaborative Negotiations
- Contract Modifications and Options
- Contracting for Services in a Commercial Environment
- Introduction to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
- Performance-Based Acquisition
- Planning
- Price Analysis
Read more!
Webinars
 NCMA’s webinars are live, 90-minute online events combining real-time presentation with phone conferencing. Speakers use prepared presentation slides that are availalbe for viewing and download by the participants during the live session. The typical format of the program is for the speaker(s) to make a 60-minute presentation, followed by 30-minute Q&A period (both live over the phone and responding to questions sent via chat room). Participants earn 1.5 CPEs.
| GAO Bid Protests for Contractor Personnel |
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 |
| Price Reasonableness |
Thursday, March 11, 2010 |
Read more!
Message from our Education Partner
The Federal contracting workforce turns to Management Concepts for the best in workplace training and development.
View our technical offerings for courses that help you meet Levels I, II, and III FAC-C and DAWIA mandatory training requirements and other continuous learning needs. Many of our courses have received equivalency determinations from the Defense Acquisition University and college credit recommendations from the American Council on Education. CORs and COTRs seeking training to meet FAC-COTR requirements will also find our courses relevant.
View our leadership and management analytics offerings designed to help contracting professionals develop the business competencies they need to become sound business advisors.
National Education Seminars
Contract Negotiations
| Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | Richlin Ballroom, Edgewood, Maryland |
More information…
Risk Management for Complex U.S. Government Contracts and Projects
| Thursday, February 11, 2010 | Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara, California |
More information…
See all National Education Seminars!
NCMA Publications |
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Available Now!
The NCMA Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years
By National Contract Management Association
Read more… |
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Risk Management for Complex U.S. Government Contracts and Projects
By Gregory A. Garrett, CPCM, Fellow
Read more… |
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The 100 Worst Mistakes in Government Contracting
By Richard D. Lieberman and Jason D. Morgan
Read more… |
For more publications, visit the NCMA Bookstore. |
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Awards and Recognition
Albert Berger Outstanding Chapter Leadership Award Nominations Due April 15
This award gives special recognition at the national level to those volunteers who demonstrate superior chapter leadership achievements in support of their chapters' goals and activities.
NCMA Education Award Nominations Due March 1
This award goes to person(s) who have made outstanding contributions in contracts procurement education.
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