Alternative Contracting Methods

The Times They are a Changin’ -Bob Dylan   Today is a new day.  Gone are the days where the U.S. Government dominates the dollars spent to create significant technological innovation.  In 2017, Amazon and Google alone combined to spend over $38.2 billion for research and development, which is an increase of $9 billion...

In October 1994, President Clinton signed the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA or Act) into law. Its stated purpose is to streamline federal procurement. In achieving its purpose, the Act, generally, sought to improve acquisition in three broad areas: (1) reduce unique purchasing requirements, (2) simplify acquisition procedures; (3) obtain goods and...

OTA’s are becoming the vehicle of choice for Government agencies to quickly contract for innovative technology.  Though popular, there is still a bit of mystery that surrounds them.  For example, OTA’s are not defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation or in the statute.   Rather, 10 U.S.C. 2371 describes what they are not:  a procurement...

Schedules, also known as Federal Supply Schedules or Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), are long-term governmentwide contracts that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has with commercial companies, to provide access to millions of commercial products and services at fair and reasonable prices to the government. Schedules make buying easy and efficient with the use...