For government contractors, staying ahead of the curve is critical for success. Knowing about a new law, policy, or program can provide you with a competitive advantage. There are three current trends in federal procurement that are significantly affecting the …

The Army, Navy and Air Force are are reported to have agreed to follow reinterpreted guidelines in implementing a law that is believed to have hindered sole-source contracts above $22 million to Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) in the 8(a) Business …

Entities logging in to SAM.gov will now have to create a Login.gov user account. Current SAM.gov usernames and passwords will no longer work. When creating the Login.gov account, it is recommended that users use the email address that had been associated with …

Differing site conditions, commonly referred to as unforeseen site conditions, is a term used in construction contracts to describe a previously unknown condition that, once discovered, will affect a project’s schedule and costs. For this reason, it is important for …

The Alaska Small Business Development Center and UAA’s Center for Economic Development are partnering to host Vitalize Alaska, Alaska’s premier business conference. This engaging, one-day event will be held on June 27, 2018, at Anchorage’s Hotel Captain Cook, and will feature …

Please note the following changes: Effective Immediately: Entities that ONLY apply for federal assistance (grants, loans, etc.) no longer need to have an approved notarized letter on file before their registration is activated. They must still mail the original signed …

According to a press release, SBA announced that the federal government met its small business federal contracting goal for the fifth consecutive year, awarding 23.88 percent in federal contract dollars to small businesses totaling $105.7 billion, an increase of $5 billion.  …

The Defense Innovation Board (DIB) unveiled an initial version of its “Ten Commandments of Software” at a public meeting last month in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The Department of Defense (DOD) must be able to develop and deploy software as fast or faster than …

An agency may modify a contract without running afoul of the Competition in Contracting Act, so long as the the modification is deemed “in scope.” An “out of scope” modification, on the other hand, is improper–and may be protested at …

Don’t overlook the procurement opportunities that various State agencies post in the Online Public Notices.  It does have an advanced search tool you can access by clicking here. And, don’t overlook the many bidder preferences that are available to Alaska …

GSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is actively investigating alleged, third party fraudulent activity in the System for Award Management (SAM).  At this time, only a limited number of entities registered in SAM are suspected of being impacted by …

Effective May 15, all contractors will be required to create their bid using the free Bids software provided by the department on its BidExpress site.  Web training for contractors provided by the BidExpress team is scheduled for April 24 and April. …

Cybersecurity: System Security Plan Template The Computer Security Resource Center portion of the NIST website has published a Security Safety Plan (SSP) template for controlled unclassified information (CUI). It can be found by clicking “CUI SSP template” on the right …

On March 7, 2018, the House Small Business Committee heard from a panel of small business stakeholders about regulatory reform and President Trump’s Executive Order 13771, which requires the elimination of at least two prior regulations for every new regulation …

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) is the new Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, taking over the role from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). Shaheen was instrumental in achieving a number of small business contracting reforms while …

Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says cybersecurity should be a top priority for contractors, noting it’s “one of those things that should be uncompromising.”  Shanahan added, “We want the bar to be so high that it becomes a condition of …

The answer is: the FAR Council issued one final rule for the entire year.  It was the decision to reverse a previous FAR rule to implement the fair pay and safe workplace executive order. Besides that, dozens of other proposed …

Bid Express Electronic Bidding is coming to Alaska DOT&PF for all large procurement construction contracts advertised after May 14, 2018. February 1st Update includes: ■ Alaska DOT&PF AASHTOWare Vendor List ■ Announcement of Bid Express Web Training Dates & Times …

Did you self-certify as a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) when you registered your vendor profile in SAM.GOV, and are you indeed an SDB according to the federal government’s definition in 13 CFR 124.1002?

Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement: DFARS 252.204-7012, as revised on Dec. 30, 2015, is the cybersecurity rule issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) titled, “Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting.” The DFARS clause requires all DoD contractors and …