1) Federal Buyers are Focusing on Sustainability and Green Options
This has been big for a while in the world of Government Contracting, so it is not news. However, it is news that this is not a dying phenomenon. Sustainability mandates on federal acquisitions are alive and well, and the effects are being seen across all federal agencies. Many Government Contractors are taking a proactive approach, and offering green solutions on Proposals where the RFQ didn’t even mention them.
Here are two articles expanding on this topic:
Agencies making switch to green products
Agencies look to award more renewable-energy ESPCs
2) Smaller Contracts will be Experienced in the 2013 Federal Market
Everyone who is studying the patterns of Government Contracting is offering up the results of their research: and the conclusion is that there will be about a 38% drop in the size of contracts in 2013. This is easily explained by sequestration. As the Obama Administration and Congress try to negotiate an agreement, our government buyers are bracing themselves to stretch their diminishing budgets further.
Additionally, the Pentagon and Government Contractors are preparing for a very different world in 2013. Any solution that the Obama Administration and Congress agree to will have to scale back defense spending. It is such a majority of where government funds go, that there is no way around this.
Here are two articles expanding on this topic:
Smaller contracts on tap for 2013
Sequestration or not, firms, DoD will take a hit
3) The GSA will make some Major Changes in 2013
Things are going to change, but that is all we know right now. There have been some developments on the directions that Tangherlini (the GSA Acting Administrator), and other top GSA executives would like to take the agency, but no commitments have been made. Here are some of the rumors that the GSA’s new Demand Based Model may enact:
- Freezing of up to 5 GSA Schedules, to address the back-log of offers
- Consolidation of Schedules into 8 “Groups” or “Families”
- Cancellation of 8,000 contracts that are not producing
- Cutting back the Industrial Funding fee from 0.75% to 0.5% of GSA sales
- A greater emphasis on strategic sourcing contracts, rather than the IDIQ model
- All GSA conferences and events have been indefinitely cancelled, until further notice
I am sure there are some important changes I missed so, please feel free to comment below. An added dimension, is that some of these GSA pursuits are getting blow-back from Congress, making it even more mysterious what will develop for Government Contracting in 2013.
Here are two articles expanding on this topic:
GSA to pare back supply schedules, grow strategic sourcing
GSA to cut fees on agencies’ use of its contracts
House panel chairman pushes GSA over supply schedules proposal
