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ACQUISITION ALERT

Department of Veterans Affairs Reorganization 

Did you know the Department of Veterans Affairs has completed their reorganization structure under the MyVA Transformation?
 
The three branches of the Department of Veterans Affairs have recently been realigned to try to achieve common service areas. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and National Cemetery Administration (NCA) each have five districts that overlap exactly.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) reorganized from 21 to 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) to try to mirror VBA and NCA districts.

 
VISN 12 expanded under the reorganization and now includes the VA Illiana Health Care System located in Danville, IL. Illiana Health Care System joins the rest of VISN 12 facilities of Oscar G Johnson Medical Center, Iron Mountain, MI; Tomah VA Medical Center, Tomah, WI; William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI; Clement J Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI; Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Edward Hines Jr VA Hospital, Hines, IL; and Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center, North Chicago, IL.
 
 
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
10/04/16
A Winning Approach to Contract Award: Preparations, Lead Generation, Follow-up  & Closing the Deal 
La Crosse

10/11/16
Acquisition Hour: Introductions to Certifications Available to Minority Owned
Webinar
  Learn More
10/06/16
 A Winning Approach to Contract Award: Preparation, Lead Generation, Follow-up & Closing the Deal
Keshena
  Learn More

10/12/16
Acquisition Hour: Export Controls - Export Administration Regulations
Webinar
Learn More
SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity Announcements

Current funding opportunities for Phase 1 and Phase 2 SBIR/STTR grants are available through the Department of Energy Office of Science.

The DOD SBIR 16.3 and STTR 16.C Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topics are now OPEN for proposal submission as well.  This BAA will officially CLOSE on October 26 at 6:00 AM E.T. Learn more at  
https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/.

NDIA Great Lakes Annual Meeting

The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Great Lakes Chapter will be hosting their next meeting in Oshkosh, WI on
October 18.  Keynote speaker will be Mr. Wilson Jones, CEO, Oshkosh Corporation.  On October 19 th, the group will be able to participate in a tour of Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., Appleton, WI.  Great opportunity for Defense contractors and subcontractors.   
 

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
 
 

HUBZone and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 Amendments

This direct final rule contains several amendments to the regulations governing the HUBZone Program. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is making changes to its regulations to implement section 866 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (2016 NDAA). Section 866 of the 2016 NDAA made the following changes to the HUBZone program: authorized Native Hawaiian Organizations to own HUBZone small business concerns; expanded the definition of "base closure area" under the HUBZone program; and authorized the inclusion of "qualified disaster areas" under the HUBZone program. This direct final rule would implement these changes in SBA's regulations.

For additional information visit https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=SBA-2016-0007-0001.

 
GSA Launch of Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) Pilot Continues with Mass Modifications for Schedule 75

On June 23rd, 2016 the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) published a final General Services Acquisition (GSAR) rule to capture transactional data on procurements across all of its Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) contracts or Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts, and Governmentwide Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts, including Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs). The Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) Rule requires vendors to electronically report the price the federal government paid for an item or service purchased through GSA acquisition vehicles.

As part of the strategic implementation of the rule across all GSA contracts, the agency will introduce the transactional data reporting requirement with a pilot of select products and services in the MAS program. This pilot will be introduced in a phased approach beginning in August 2016.


GSA's IT Schedule 70 to Open SINs for Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services
WASHINGTON, D.C - The General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) announces that in support of the President's
Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), GSA's IT Schedule 70 has established four (4) new Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) Special Item Numbers (SINs). IT Schedule 70 is the largest, most widely-used acquisition vehicle in the federal government. Schedule 70 is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) multiple award schedule, providing direct access to products, services and solutions from more than 4,700 certified industry partners.

"In support of the Administration's CNAP activities, these new SINs will provide government agencies with quicker and more reliable access to key, pre-vetted support services that will expand agencies' capacity to test their high-priority IT systems, rapidly address potential vulnerabilities, and stop adversaries before they impact our networks," said GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth. "The SINs will feature high-quality cybersecurity vendors offering federal agencies the following services: Penetration Testing, Incident Response, Cyber Hunt, and Risk and Vulnerability Assessment."

Continue reading: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/148486 
 
Federal Contractor Small Business Subcontracting Plans

Be aware that DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration, which provide for a Government-wide policy on small business subcontracting.  The rule is effective November 1 2016.  Look for updates and training on these changes.
 
The current reporting period will end September 30.  A reminder that U sers and Interfacing Systems must reset their passwords in https://www.esrs.gov as required every 90 days or the account will be disabled. 
 
If you need assistance with your plan or reporting, please contact Kim Garber at kimg@wispro.org or 608-444-0047.
 
 
Save the Date!

Dates announced for:
  • End of Year Contractor Update with NCMA (Milwaukee WI) - January 17, 2017
  • SAME Small Business Expo (Northbrook IL) - March 29-30, 2017