DeniseH

I began in the contracting profession in 1985. A lot of OJT was provided as "training". Not all bad, there were some awesome CO's back then. Then the civilian agency I was working for put together their own contract courses. Many were taught or facilitated by Government contract attorneys who were able to give an incredible background to the FAR and how it impacted what we were doing. We were all smarter back then! We wrote papers, held evening long discussions, etc. for those who chose to participate after class. We are, after all, writing working legal documents. I would like to see that type and style of instruction/teaching come back. I can't see colleges offering anything like that. And these "canned" courses are barely worth the time it takes to complete one. Plus, as it's been pointed out, when an individual changes agencies, offices, etc., will the training they've had serve in the new environment? It would if it was legal-based training. I find having to learn what the military does in contracting has very little correlation to what civilian agencies do. All the CON courses are built around military contract scenarios. Doesn't apply to what and how I contract in civilian agencies. The concepts are similar, but not close enough to really get or have the best training possible. Of course it would help if they quit changing the FAR every 2 weeks. (joking!!)

Thanks, Joel. I do plan to talk with the Ctr, but I was hoping to get some kind of preliminary info about the concept before opening the conversation. Like I said, I've not run into this before. Thank you for your reply!

I've been in contracting quite a few years. (disclaimer). I have a cost breakdown from an 8(a) contractor with additional lines I've not encountered before and am not familiar with. Hoping you all can help. This is a FFP negotiated construction proposal with an 8(a) firm. Ctr has a column on the worksheet that says, "Distributed Bid" and another column with "Distributed Direct". These two are along with the usual quantity, unit price, total price, G&A, and Profit columns that you normally see. I do not know what "Distributed Bid" or "Distributed Direct" mean. Why would they be included? Thanks! I appreciate any and all responses!!

Awesome ! Thank you. I should be able to find what I need. Appreciate the input!

Greetings! This is my first post. Here's my situation and I'd like some feedback. I have a supply purchase for over $1M. It's full and open competition. It is a commercial item. I'd like to use the combined synopsis route. However, in researching the Buy American Act and applicability, this purchase is subject to the WTO. And in that section, Part 25.408, it says the CO must comply with advertising and response times. That's where the 5.203(h) comes in. I had not noticed this before. In this part, 5.203, there is a sentence that says: However, if the acquisition falls within a general category identified in an annual forecast, the availability of which is published, the contracting officer may reduce this time period to as few as 10 days. My question is: Do agencies still do an annual forecast that is published somewhere? Back in the days of CBD, we all had to publish an Advanced Acquisition Plan. I haven't seen or heard of one in the past 6-8 years. Looking forward to feedback. Thanks!