Federal agencies have embraced the President's Management Agenda to the point that "it's almost gone from the President's Management Agenda to the Agencies' Management Agenda," said Clay Johnson III, deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget.
Federal agencies have embraced the President's Management Agenda to the point that "it's almost gone from the President's Management Agenda to the Agencies' Management Agenda," said Clay Johnson III, deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget.
While some of the President's Management Agenda initiatives, such as e-government, move forward impressively, others are struggling. The President's Competitive Sourcing initiative is awash in a sea of fear, mythology and parochial political assaults that ignore the reality of the process and the proven benefits of competition. And strategic human capital planning -- which involves some real civil service reform and is inextricably linked to the rest of the agenda -- is stuck in first gear.
Defense contractors often escape the harsh and probing glare of the media spotlight because government procurement is considered too dull to stir the public's interest. Not this summer.
The Common Criteria for security software evaluation are not a panacea for assuring government IT systems, government and industry officials told a House panel Sept. 17.
A new unit in the Homeland Security Department's National Cyber Security Division will improve response time to cybersecurity threats, according to officials who announced the formation of the U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team.
A top White House official predicts that Congress ultimately will back the administration's new policy for public-private competitions of federal jobs, despite signs of growing opposition among lawmakers.
The Mission Planning System Program Office, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts is developing a long-term system engineering and integration contract for mission planning that supports the military and special operations forces.
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, is seeking proposals for engineering and technical support of tactical and nontactical computers, displays and peripherals to support Combat Systems Direction Activity. The award will be a five-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee provisions.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to establish university-based photonics research centers to exploit emerging technologies for intelligent microsystems for sensing, communication, processing and storage of information. DARPA seeks proposals for establishing and operating centers that address specific aspects of the broad technical challenges. There are likely to be multiple awards for four-year efforts, made during the first half of 2004. Collaborative efforts and teaming is encouraged. For more information, see FedBizOpps.gov, solicitation no. RA03-37. Responses are due Oct. 24.
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s planned purchase of Titan Corp. for $2.4 billion, the company's second major deal in less than two months, has turned up the heat in an already hot mergers and acquisition market.
<b>Washington Technology presents its Top 25 8(a) companies and Fast 50 rankings</b><br>In 1998, Preferred Systems Solutions Inc., President Robert Hisel Jr. sold all his commercial work to another firm and used the proceeds to focus on the government market. Colleagues questioned his wisdom. Today, he says, "They are asking me, 'How the hell do you get into this government stuff?' "
This issue of Washington Technology focuses on the small-business segment of government IT procurement, so it is useful to see how fairly federal agency customers are treating small business. Unfortunately, the report is not encouraging.
Forensics, consulting, information technology services, engineering. The small businesses showing the fastest growth in the government sector also showcase a variety of services and niches that contractors can thrive in.
