KOSYSTEMS Inc. Blog

Pricing and Cost Analysis in Federal Contracting

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There are many key points to consider when going after an RFP. One important one is pricing and cost. Understanding the RFP and analyzing the solicitation will better help you determine the value and estimate pricing of a proposal. You have to calculate indirect costs, forward pricing, budgeting for provisional items, as well as complying with the FAR. 

A price analysis will help you to develop a negotiating position that allows the contracting officer and the offeror an opportunity to reach a fair and reasonable price. If your organization is committed to submitting a proposal on an RFP, remember to have data to support your price analysis and identify terms and conditions that compare with Federal cost estimates. 

Handling costs and price proposals are tricky in the Federal arena. But if you're aware of some of the best practices to follow, and are knowledgeable of the terminology, then you'll have a better chance to prepare your proposal. These are just some of the many tips to help your organization obtain a better position in the Federal Procurement environment. Good luck!

Fed CIO on maximizing Information Technology ROI

Steven VanRoekel

Steven VanRoekel (Photo: FedScoop)

Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel discussed the government’s efforts to maximize its return on investment when it comes to information technology in a blog post on WhiteHouse.gov.

The post further explains the budget President Obama submitted to Congress on Monday with regards to IT, and the administration’s thinking when it comes to the allocation of IT dollars and his office’s priorities for 2012.

From the post:

From the President’s first days in office, this Administration has been committed to leveraging information technology (IT) to deliver the American people a more efficient and effective 21st Century government. We know that IT has the power to fundamentally transform the way government does business and the way we deliver services for to the American people.  In these tight budgetary times, we also know that we need to make IT investments in a fiscally responsible way. The technology spending proposed in the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 — and during every year of this Administration — reflects that recognition.

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via fedscoop.com

Applications' software development teams to be deployed with Marines -- Defense Systems

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via defensesystems.com

The Marine Corps is developing a new process to create and support applications and network services for its deployed forces. The capability is designed to allow war fighters to request and access software tools wherever they are, from bandwidth-rich headquarters facilities in the United States to forward-operating bases on the thin edges of the network.

Open Innovator's Toolkit | The White House

Open Innovator's Toolkit

President Obama emphasizes a “bottom-up” philosophy that taps citizen expertise to make government smarter and more responsive to private sector demands. This philosophy of “open innovation” has already delivered tangible results in public and regulated sectors of the economy – areas like health IT, learning technologies, and smart grid – that are poised to deliver productivity growth and grow the jobs of the future. We have surfaced new or improved policy tools deployed by our government to achieve them. We’ve posted the Open Innovator’s Toolkit as a roster of 20 leading practices that an “open innovator” should consider when confronting any policy challenge – at any level of government. Our aspiration is to build upon this list, adding new tools and case studies to form an evidence base that will help to scale “open innovation” across the public sector.

Acting as “Impatient Convener”

Initiating Prizes, Challenges and Competitions

via whitehouse.gov

Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra announces the Open Innovator's Toolkit on his last day in office - a listing of best practices and case studies for innovators and policy makers.

U.S. government, military to get secure Android phones

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via cnn.com

Mobile apps for the warfighter from DARPA and the NSA? Looks to be already in the process as the use of mobile extends to the war-front. Storing classified documents and sensitive data on a modified Android phone along with applications to support our soldiers sounds like the next evolution. Great use of the accelerated approval process to get the tech out into our soldier's hands.