Government Matters

Section 809 Report: Recommendations for acquisition workforce

Section 809 Panel Commissioner Lt. Gen. Ross Thompson (USA Ret.) discusses workforce recommendations for the Department of Defense, and why...

How DoD is using new authorities to cut costs, streamline operations

Frank Kendall, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and executive in residence at Renaissance Strategic Advisors,...

Section 809 Report: Streamlining IT acquisition regulations

Section 809 Panel Commissioner Bill LaPlante outlines the panel’s recommendations to change IT acquisitions, and why parts of the Clinger-Cohen...

Section 809 Panel calls for more dynamic marketplace

Section 809 Panel Commissioners David Drabkin and Charlie Williams discuss takeaways from their third report, and what they recommend for...

Government contracting companies feeling pressure during shutdown

John Shoraka, managing director of GovContractPros, outlines how acquisition officers are reacting to the partial shutdown, and what might happen...

Government Contracting’s Biggest Moments of the Year

Eric Crusius and Angela Styles break down the top news-making moments within government acquisition and contracting in 2018.

DHS looks to streamline procurement process through innovation lab

Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, discusses the agency’s Procurement Innovation Lab, and how they...

Building a more innovative, risk-taking acquisition workforce

Joe Jordan, CEO of Supplier.ai and former administrator of federal procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, discusses...

DoD considers adding new cybersecurity measurements for industry

Stan Soloway, president and CEO of Celero Strategies, discusses the Department of Defense possibly judging industry members on cybersecurity practices...

Building an IT-savvy federal acquisition staff

Avi Bender, director of the National Technical Information Service, discusses modernizing the federal acquisition workforce, and the skills hiring managers...

GAO Report: Risks of USCG Polar Icebreaker Program

Marie Mak, Director of Contracting & National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office, details potential issues with the Coast...

4th quarter spending rush by the numbers

Daniel Snyder, deputy director of Government Contracts Research at Bloomberg Government, gives a data-based look at how the next five...

Government agencies & contractors prepare for fiscal year end

On the contracting side of things, industry is also bracing for the Q4 spending rush. Government Matters assembled a panel...

Back office changes a key challenge to Space Force effort

Frank Kendall, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics and executive in residence at Renaissance Strategic Advisors,...

Impact of FY19 NDAA negotiations on government contractors

Eric Crusius, partner at Holland & Knight, discusses some provisions in the 2019 NDAA that could affect how defense contractors...

Section 809 Panel releases Volume 2 report to Congress

David Drabkin, chair of the Section 809 Panel, discusses the second part of the panel’s report on defense acquisition and...

The Pentagon Beat – June 27, 2018

Politico Defense Reporter Jacqueline Klimas and Military.com reporter Oriana Pawlyk discuss top stories from the Department of Defense. Topics on...

The use of Other Transaction Authority

Frank Kendall, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics and senior adviser at the CSIS International Security...

Engility CEO offers overview of federal marketplace

Lynn Dugle, President and CEO of Engility, discusses how the 2018 appropriations rush has affected the way her company does...

The role of “bureaucracy hackers” in government

Jonathan Mostowski, acquisition strategist & bureaucracy hacker at the U.S. Digital Service, discusses his role navigating the procurement process, and...

Alliant 2 unrestricted contract takes effect July 1

Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Business Partners, discusses the implementation of the Alliant 2 GSA contract and the types...

U.S. Coast Guard looks to add new heavy icebreakers to fleet

Rear Admiral Michael Haycock, assistant commandant for acquisition at the U.S. Coast Guard, discusses the need for new heavy icebreakers...

Bridging the gap between acquisition and R&D in the defense community

Reggie Brothers, former Under Secretary for Science & Technology at the Department of Homeland Security and Peraton Chief Technology Officer,...

Sixth FITARA scorecard released

Richard Spires, former Chief Information Officer at the Department of Homeland Security and CEO of Learning Tree International, discusses the...

The changing skill set for acquisition professionals

Bill Weinberg, former director of the Office at Acquisition Management at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and managing director of Federal...

Top priorities & projects at the U.S. Digital Service

Matthew Cutts, acting administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, details the new acquisition certification, discusses how they keep projects on...

Navy Secretary prioritizes ‘people, capabilities & processes’

In this special two-part interview, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer discusses meeting readiness goals, office reorganization and the path to...

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency undergoing acquisition overhaul

Nick Nayak, former chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security and president of Green Light Acquisition, talks about...

Groups look at different ways to cut DoD acquisition regulations

Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, discusses the suggested approaches to reforming acquisition at the Pentagon, and the...

Modernizing the acquisition process at the U.S. Air Force

Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, Military Deputy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, discusses...

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson lays out top priorities

In this special two-part interview, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson details the USAF commitment to space, overhauling acquisition to develop new...

Pentagon acquisition office appoints software czar

Frank Kendall, senior adviser at the CSIS International Security Program and Former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics,...

Agile acquisition strategies at the U.S. Navy

James Guerts, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, outlines the themes of the Navy’s new acquisition...

GSA & OMB finalize implementation plan for e-Commerce portal

Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner at the GSA Office of Strategy Management and Jeff Koses, senior procurement executive at the GSA...

Army priorities in capability and modernization

Daniel Goure, senior vice president at the Lexington Institute, discusses the Army’s latest acquisition initiative, and how they could best...

DepSecDef Shanahan: “I’m most excited about modernization”

Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Government Matters’ Francis Rose this week...

IT Modernization Report emphasizes shared services

Angela Styles, a partner at Bracewell LLP, discusses the White House’s new IT modernization plan and how it could impact...

GSA announces Alliant 2 awards

Nick Nayak, former chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security (and president of Green Light Acquisition), discusses the...

Acquisition’s role in the Army modernization effort

Heidi Shyu — chairman of the board at Roboteam and former assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and...

Pentagon announces major change to acquisition structure

Frank Kendall, former Under Secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, discusses the Pentagon’s announcement of its plan to...

Defining what ‘Buy American, Hire American’ means for agencies

Katherine Hammack, former assistant secretary of the Army (for installations, energy, and environment), discusses the impact of ‘Buy American, Hire...

Top government procurement positions still vacant

Sam Skolnik, senior reporter for Bloomberg BNA, discusses growing concern among industry leaders over vacant procurement positions in the Trump...

Addressing defense acquisition reform in the NDAA

The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes a new set of acquisition reforms pushed...

U.S. Coast Guard acquisition priorities for 2017

Rear Admiral Joseph Vojvodich, chief acquisition officer of the U.S. Coast Guard, discusses the relationship between industry and the Coast...

Acquisition priorities for the Air Force

The Air Force is working on a number of high-profile acquisitions right now. The F-35, KC-46 Tanker, T-X Trainer, and...

Will category management, shared services find favor in the Trump Administration?

Nick Nayak, president of Green Light Acquisition and former chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, discussed the...

Acquisition reform & the National Defense Authorization Act

Jonathan Etherton, president of Etherton and Associates, discusses the impact of the NDAA on the Pentagon’s acquisition process.

Acquisition & Better Communication

Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, discusses the potential of acquisition reform.

Once-in-a-decade opportunity lining up for contractors

Gina Gallagher, president of AOC Key Solutions, discusses the once-in-a-decade opportunity lining up for contractors.

Trump administration & procurement policy

Angela Styles, chair of Crowell and Moring and a partner in their government contracts group, discusses the top acquisition positions up...

GAO: VA procurement policies are outdated

Michele Mackin, director of acquisition and sourcing management at the Government Accountability Office, discussed her study of the maze of...