Government Contracting Blog

The public sector isn’t necessarily known for being an easy market to access or navigate, especially if you’re a small business or lack experience in federal procurement. What many businesses miss, however, are the programs that can help them get their foot in the door and start selling to the government. They aren’t always well advertised, and may be buried among the acronyms and legal jargon companies sift through when they start their googling journey into government acquisition. One of these programs run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), called the 8(a) Business Development Program, exists specifically for economically disadvantaged small businesses.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have been long known as “America’s Seed Fund”, funding billions of dollars annually for small businesses and startups with cutting edge technology.

GSA Schedule contracts are not set in stone once they’re awarded. Throughout the life of your contract, your business will naturally undergo changes. If you have new items to add to your Schedule, items to remove, or a change in your point of contact, these changes must be made through a formal modification (mod) submission.

Keeping up with your GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) is important now more than ever. GSA is looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency, and contractors who are not maintaining contract compliance or meeting their minimum sales requirement are at risk of contract cancellation. While this has always been a risk, GSA is really enforcing the rules for contractors who are not succeeding in the MAS Program.

The General Services Administration (GSA) has moved its catalog management system from the legacy Schedule Input Platform (SIP) to the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP). For vendors that are transitioning from SIP to the FCP, this blog will cover frequently asked questions for accessing and using the FCP. This blog will also cover initial catalog set up through the FCP for newly awarded vendors.

Earlier this year, GSA released cybersecurity requirements that mimic the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). The “IT Security Procedural Guide”, or more formally known as CIO-IT Security 21-112, establishes a new framework of security requirements and privacy controls for contractors who deal with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in nonfederal systems. Since this requirement was rolled out quickly and quietly without a formal announcement, some contractors may not be aware of the change. You may be wondering if this applies to your company or affects your contract. We’ll cover everything you need to know below.