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Posts Tagged ‘sequestration’

Nov. 19: GTSC Annual Member Meeting

Members of the Government Technology & Services Coalition for our third annual member meeting to learn about all the services of GTSC, provide your input on our letter to incoming DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and share your feedback for our 2014-2015 priorities!

Emile Monette, the Senior Advisor for cyber security policy for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), will join us to discuss the agency wide and interagency implementation of cyber security initiatives related to government facilities and acquisition. Linda Mathes, CEO of the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region, will talk about the American Red Cross Ready Rating program and its importance to GTSC’s Designation of Leadership Excellence. Jose Arrieta, DHS Ombudsman, will discuss the year ahead at DHS.

Given sequestration, budget cuts and possible future government shutdowns, GTSC is committed to exploring every business opportunity possible for your success. From the Small Business Collaboration Group to forming vigorous Action Groups and developing the Contracting Officers workshop, we’ve accomplished a lot over the past year and we’re excited to keep moving!

Please note: this is a GTSC Member only meeting. Thank you!

Agenda

I. Welcome and overview of GTSC’s 2012-2013: Discussion of Lion’s Den, Mentor and Workgroup activity.

Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO, GTSC
Jon Ostrowski, COO, GTSC
Workgroup Chairs
- Chair, International Initiative: RADM Donald P. Loren, CEO, Old Dominion Strategies
- Chair, Human Capital and Learning: Dr. Sheri Dougherty, President & CEO, DAI
- Co-Chair, DHS Engagement: Sara Kindsfater0-Yerkes, Managing Partner, The Big Brain Co.

II. A View of the Year Ahead

Jose Arrieta, Ombudsman, DHS

III. Meeting the Challenges

Emile Monette, Senior Advisor, Cyber Security Policy, GSA
Linda Mathes, CEO, American Red Cross in the National Capital Region
Bruce Davidson, Director, SAFETY Act Office, S&T, DHS

IV. Government Relations

Incoming Secretary Jeh Johnson
Hill Activity
- Michelle Mrdeza, Partner, Cornerstone Government Affairs & GTSC Founding Strategic Advisor
- Chani Wiggins, President & Founder, Winn Strategies & GTSC Strategic Advisor
Broadening our Base

V. Business Development

Overview of procurements and focus areas for business development
- Bill Carroll, Senior Partner, Strike Force Consulting
- Andrea McCarthy, Senior Director NTT Data
- Tony Sacco, Former Vice President, SAIC

VI. What do you see as our top priorities for 2014-2015?

CEO Highlight: Babs Doherty, Eagle Ray, Inc.

The Government Technology & Services Coalition talked with Babs Doherty, the CEO of GTSC company Eagle Ray, Inc., and got her advice for entering the Federal market and how to remain competitive.

GTSC: What is your first piece of advice for a company entering the Federal homeland and national security market right now?

Babs Doherty: Prepare for a long road. The acquisition cycle is over 2 years now due to sequestration and other budget cuts. A small company cannot keep a bench of qualified candidates on hand for 2 years so you will need to plan ahead and keep your candidates up to date on the progress of any new business you are going after. If you have an 8(a) status, then you may be able to move things along faster than 2 years but even those contracts are seeing delays longer than before. So have a plan on how to grow your business over the long haul and be patient and persistent. The work will come. Also do not hesitate to team with solid primes. Pay particular attention to any work share opportunities or areas that you are considered a subject matter expert to get the attention from the primes. Most important, execute on any current work you have flawlessly. You’ll need good, solid references to win additional work.

GTSC: What is one thing you “learned the hard way” and could help mentor another company?

Babs Doherty: When you are getting started in the business, you usually are a subcontractor before a prime. Many times the primes provide you with “target” rates in order to be on their team. Be careful to analyze EVERY rate carefully and do not bid on labor categories that are not your sweet spot, even though it is tempting. Once you have provided your rates to the prime, they can, and do, bid any mix of those labor categories to win the work. If you are not prepared to deliver a qualified person at that labor category price, you will be in trouble. Check every labor category in a realistic way to ensure you can deliver a qualified candidate before you provide that rate to the prime. Be prepared to negotiate but also be prepared to walk away if the prime cannot give you the rates under which you can deliver successfully

GTSC: The environment is very competitive. How are you staying ahead of the curve/or afloat?

Babs Doherty: I am paying attention to my competition and the bidding trends. The bidding trends are changing as the budget environment dictates tighter and tighter profit rates and escalation. The government is desiring a true partnership from industry and wants to see that reflected in your bid (lower escalation, lower profit margins, creative bidding) to save money. We are always looking at ways to deliver our services better than our competition and analyze other projects to see what works and what doesn’t. We also want to show a strong bench or the ability to obtain highly qualified staff in a creative way. Everyone says they have a data base of candidates. It’s important to show other ways beyond a data base to maintain a qualified staff. Lastly, be quick to respond to requests from your customers. They will find other means to get what they want if it takes too long to get to an agreement or get the requirement fulfilled.

Babs Doherty CEO Eagle Ray, Inc.

Eagle Ray, Inc. is a Lion’s Den member of the Government Technology & Services Coalition. Eagle Ray, Inc. takes a pragmatic, common-sense approach to organizational transformation, tailoring our proven, systematized processes to meet your unique requirements. Our transformational approach is based first and foremost on common sense. Learn more about Eagle Ray, Inc. here.

DHS CPO Letter Regarding Contract Funding

It was announced Thursday, September 26, 2013 that USM Rafael Borras will act as the Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary (S2). Chris Cummiskey (current DUSM) will act as the interim USM. The following industry partner letter was also issued on Thursday, September 26, 2013 by the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer at the Department of Homeland Security. Read the FedBizOpps annoucement here.

Dear Industry Partner,

This is to advise the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contractor community of the DHS plans regarding contract actions that may be necessary in the event contract funding is affected by a lapse in appropriations.
As you are aware, the budget for fiscal year 2014 has not been enacted and may result in a lapse in the funds designated to purchase certain supplies and services as well as reduction in the Government’s capacity to administer DHS contracts. As a consequence of the lapse, certain planned procurements may be cancelled and certain existing contracts may be stopped, reduced in scope, terminated or partially terminated.

Should DHS determine that any of these actions is necessary, the Contracting Officer for each of the affected contracts will provide prompt appropriate notice to the contractor in accordance with the terms and conditions of the affected contract. Notices will contain the direction necessary to comply.

If a contract will not be affected by the lapse in appropriations, DHS does not plan to provide any separate notifications or communications of that fact. Unless a contractor is provided a formal notification to the contrary, all DHS contractors must continue to comply with all terms, conditions, requirements and deliveries specified in their contract(s).
Thank you for your continued partnership with DHS, and for your cooperation as we work together to manage a potential lapse in appropriations.

Sincerely,
Nick Nayak
Chief Procurement Officer

GTSC Releases Survey on Cuts to Mission-Critical Areas

Washington, D.C. – June 27, 2013 – The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), the leading organization for small and mid-sized companies in homeland and national security, today released its survey on the impacts of government spending cuts on the homeland and national security missions. GTSC surveyed 224 respondents about actual and planned impacts to the contracting community engaged in mission-critical activities and found:

Nearly seventy-five percent of respondents are preparing for sequestration
Companies are preparing by reducing their marketing budgets (29.8%), laying off staff (26.7%), reducing public relations budgets (22.7%), cutting services (19.6%), leaving the Federal market (18.7%) and bringing services in-house (15.6%)
“Other” preparations include reducing salary and benefits, raising prices, decreasing recruiting and moving into commercial markets
Almost thirty percent of respondents – for the most part emerging and small companies – think they may not or definitely will not survive sequestration
Fifty-four percent of respondents believe sequestration will materially impact the ability of their federal clients to conduct their stated missions
Respondents believe the long-term effects include: weakening of national security and preparedness, uncertainty about the federal market, loss of skills and experience in vital missions, and increased efficiency
Respondents believe the short-term effects include: uncertainty, distraction from the mission, loss of jobs and decreased morale

“This survey shows that the risk of sequestration and budget cuts is two-fold: you have a number of companies that may not survive and you have numerous mission critical agencies that are at risk as well,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO of GTSC. “Now more than ever we need the government and industry working together to assure mission success to find convergence points where we can make strategic cuts and still protect the nation.”

GTSC plans to survey members of the community annually to track and understand the changes to our homeland and national security mission and impacts to the contractor community. The survey was conducted in the late spring. The full report can be found here: Impacts of Reduction in Government Spending on Homeland & National Security.

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GTSC is a nonprofit, non-partisan association of companies that create, develop and implement solutions for the federal homeland and national security sector. Our mission is two-fold: first, to provide exceptional advocacy, capacity building, partnership opportunities and marketing in the Federal security space for small and mid-sized companies. Second, to support and assist our government partners achieve their critical missions with the highest integrity; best and most innovative technologies; and results-based, quality products and services to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from any terrorist attack or natural disaster.

March 27: Lunch & Learn Budget Briefing with Michelle Mrdeza

Join the GTSC and Michelle Mrdeza to learn about the Federal budget and appropriations process. It is often a mystery to businesses yet it is one of the more critical pieces to getting Federal business—without a Federal appropriation, agencies will not have programs to fund! President Obama is getting ready to submit his fiscal year 2014 budget to the Congress. The President “proposes” and Congress “disposes” and always remember:

“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law…”

— U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 9, Clause 7

Come learn about how Congress looks at budget requests for DHS; who makes decisions about funding levels and why; what trade offs are being made with tight fiscal constraints; and ultimately where we can expect Congress to focus these tight resources in fiscal year 2014 and beyond.

About Michelle Mrdeza

As a founding partner of the Government Technology and Services Coalition, Michelle Mrdeza brings more than twenty-three years of experience in public service to its members, working primarily in the Executive and Legislative branches .At Cornerstone, Michelle leads the firm’s homeland security practice group. In that capacity, Michelle represents a broad and diverse set of clients, helping them identify funding opportunities within the Department of Homeland Security, introducing them to decision makers and putting clients in an advantageous position to successfully bid on multi-year contracts.of government. In 2007, Ms. Mrdeza retired as the majority staff director of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security. She directed this subcommittee since its inception in February of 2003, gaining a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities within both the Department of Homeland Security and the homeland security space. Michelle is President and CEO of MXM Consulting LLC and a Senior Advisor to one of the top public relations and lobbying firms in Washington, D.C., Cornerstone Government Affairs. As President and CEO of MXM Consulting, Michelle serves as a subject matter expert on homeland security and appropriations issues for Georgetown University, the Brookings Institution, the Homeland Security Institute, the MITRE Corporation and the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council. She also serves as a senior advisor to several small start-up companies, helping them navigate the dynamic and diverse homeland security environment.

At the GTSC, Michelle helps members understand how actions by the legislative branch can fundamentally impact opportunities in the security space. In particular, she helps members understand and navigate the annual appropriations process—and how that process affects their bottom line.

Michelle received a Master’s of Public Administration from George Washington University, a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Virginia, and was a senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. She was named to the Phi Alpha Alpha Honor Society and was the recipient of the 1998 George Washington University Department of Public Administration Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2006, Michelle received the US Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award.