Agency watchdog wants more power to target contractors

Labor Department office tosses Bush-era rules and wants more power to investigate companies about pay discrimination.

Fed contractors' history could be open to public in April

The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System database contains details on the federal contractors' reliability and history of work with the government.

Austerity best served with a healthy dose of collaboration

Columnist Stan Soloway says the best way to weather the coming years of government austerity is for agencies and contractors to collaborate on the best and most cost-effective solutions.

DOD needs better census of contractors

The Defense Department relies heavily on contractors, but can't get an accurate count on the contractors it employs, a GAO report says. Workforce management decisions suffer.

Will DOD's 2012 budget request answer industry's questions?

Contractors are anxious about the Feb. 14 Defense Department budget submission. What are they hoping to see in Gates' 2012 funding request?

Contractors put more focus on being focused

Editor Nick Wakeman sees increasing signs that government contractors are shedding noncore businesses to focus on what they do best.

In today's market, the big boys should be wary

Long-time industry observer Jim Kane explains how changing market dynamics will give a competitive advantage to nimble and agile contractors over larger competitors.

SBA offers grants for business-development help

National organizations would provide training, guidance, counseling and mentoring to small companies to be successful in the federal marketplace.

New defense contracting rule called unclear, deficient

A revised rule on contractors' internal controls have differences in definitions, which can bring about unintended consequences, and problems with excessive payment penalties due to resources.

VA increases verification of veteran-owned businesses

VA takes on the potential for fraud by requiring companies provide documentation that they are veteran-owned small businesses before they can win set aside contracts.

DOD gives clearer picture on conflicts of interest

In a major revision, the new rule on organizational conflicts of interest tells contracting officers to minimize the risk of conflicts in a variety of ways, but in doing so, not limit the pool of potential advisors with broad restrictions.

Corporate culture: The missing link to success

The culture of a company and its customers is too often overlooked as contractors make bid and proposal decisions.

What was your hot topic of 2010?

Join editor Nick Wakeman for a chat on Twitter to discuss the top topics of 2010 and what will be the driving issues of 2011.

Fewer big wins kick off fiscal 2011 contract awards

Our countdown finds that fiscal 2011 opened with fewer large contract wins than the previous months. Who were the big winners in October and November?

Unisys gains NASA flight simulation contract

NASA awarded a $48.5 million contract to Unisys Corp. to provide support for flight simulation research at Langley Research Center.

Contract management becomes top priority for White House

OMB's procurement policy chief is shifting the emphasis from the contract award process to managing contracts after they have been awarded.

Yesterday's business development strategy sure to fail today

Today's government market demands new ways of working with customers and developing business development strategies. What worked yesterday will likely fail today, writes MBDi's Bill Scheessele.

New DISA RFPs put emphasis on competition, efficiency

DISA's strategy for 2011 includes eliminating redundant efforts and putting more emphasis on competition.

Tougher contractor ethics rule under consideration

The Administrative Conference of the United States is back in business as a federal advisory body, and one of its first agenda items is a draft proposal on federal contractor ethics.

Will contractors fall in love with the White House IT reform plan?

Industry members are praising the Obama administration's 25-step implementation plan for IT management reform. What's in the plan that they like so much?