<FONT SIZE=2>Concerns continue to mount over the impact of procurement reforms on small business. On the heels of an Oct. 2 Small Business Administration report that recorded the highest bundling rates in a decade, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy released the administration's unbundling strategy. The plan focuses more on preventing bundling -- through reviews and a higher level of accountability -- than on unbundling existing contracts. The plan seeks to hold agencies accountable for eliminating unnecessary contract bundling and mitigating the effects of necessary bundling. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The Federal Aviation Administration is not expected to outsource air traffic control jobs to the private sector, despite a move by the agency to reclassify the jobs as commercial positions.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The General Accounting Office was working off an inaccurate benchmark when it reported on OMB's 24 e-government initiatives, said Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government. "We used a commercial e-strategy best practice approach. It's all documented in both the president's [fiscal 2003] budget and e-government strategy, including the use of a rigorous multi-attribute scoring algorithm to pick initiatives that met the strategic criteria," he said in a statement.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The Small Business Administration integrated its small business database, PRO-Net, with the Defense Department's Central Contractor Registration system. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	Government contractors can now receive interest payments if their federal agency clients do not reconcile invoices within 30 days for interim payments on cost-reimbursement contracts, according to a new Office of Management and Budget rule published Dec. 30 in the <I>Federal Register. </I>The regulation implements Section 1010 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2001. OMB still must publish a regulation on how to compute interest. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Two laws passed late last year are giving new hope to small companies and new entrants into the federal marketplace that say they have innovative e-government and homeland security-related technologies but have lacked a reliable pipeline to agency decision-makers.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Over the past few years, there has been a big push toward arbitration and away from resolving disputes through traditional litigation processes. The common claim of alternative dispute resolution enthusiasts is that arbitration is faster and cheaper than litigation. But is arbitration indeed a more streamlined, economic method of resolving disputes than litigation?</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service has a requirement for 1680 MHz (ART) Type IIA radiosondes, balloon-borne instrument platforms with radio transmitting capabilities. Only radiosonde models on the applicable NWS Qualified Products List may be offered for this solicitation; information regarding the list may be obtained by contacting Richard Petersen at (301) 713-2093, ext. 102.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The government intends to solicit for professional operations management support services as required by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Specific services sought include implementation of an existing corporate level strategic plan.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>	The Social Security Administration is going to conduct a public-private A-76 study for information technology and telecommunications systems help-desk services. There is no solicitation yet, but the agency is seeking information from interested sources to assist in planning its acquisition strategy. Details can be found at FedBizOpps.gov, Solicitation No. Reference-Number-SSA-A76-HELPDESK. Questions should be directed via e-mail to Randall Pickwell, contract specialist, at randall.pickwell@ssa.gov.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2> Throw out the crystal ball. High-tech executives will have to rely on instinct, experience and up-to-the-minute intelligence to navigate the government IT market in 2003.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Uncertainty and opportunity. The yin and yang for 2003.</FONT><FONT SIZE=2>The opportunities are huge in the $ 53.3 billion federal information technology market. Whether it is the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, more outsourcing or the increasing emphasis on e-government, IT will play a central role.</FONT>
The General Services Administration is combining some operations of the Federal Technology Service with the Federal Supply Service, including moving IT contracts from FTS to FSS.<br>
The Office of Management and Budget did not collect complete business case information before selecting its 24 e-government initiatives, a new report concludes.<br>
<FONT SIZE=2>Ellen Minderman, a vice president of operations for FGM Inc., said the software and systems engineering firm would prefer to be the prime contractor on its government work. But she knows that FGM, with only 200 employees, is too small to be the prime on many jobs. And so the company spends considerable time trying to nail down subcontracting roles with the bigger government players.</FONT>
