For companies selling innovative technology to the federal government, a Commercial Solutions Opening (“CSO”) can provide a path to government business that looks quite different from a conventional FAR-based solicitation. CSOs are designed to give agencies—particularly the Department of Defense (“DoD”)—greater flexibility to acquire innovative commercial products, services, and capabilities while reducing some of the
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease Terminations (GAO-26-108615, Aug. 2026), takes a hard look at the $110 billion in purported contract, grant, and lease “savings” that the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has publicized since
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued an important new decision addressing the rights of small businesses to compete through teaming arrangements for large, consolidated federal contracts. In Intelligence Consulting Enterprise Solutions, Inc., B-424433.3, et al. (Aug. 11, 2026), GAO sustained a protest challenging the Army’s prohibition on small business prime contractors forming
In Veros Real Estate Solutions, LLC, B-423965.2, et al., July 22, 2026, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs’ evaluation of the awardee’s past performance. For contractors, the decision is less about an isolated agency mistake than about how past-performance relevance is proved and challenged.
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision offers an important reminder that agencies cannot apply evaluation criteria that differ from the language of the solicitation. In Veterans Management Services, Inc., B-424182.2; B-424182.3 (June 22, 2026), GAO sustained a bid protest after finding that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) improperly limited its review of
The long-anticipated award decisions for the Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement VI, commonly known as NASA SEWP VI, represent one of the most significant procurement developments in the federal marketplace. With an estimated ceiling value approaching $60 billion and expected to serve as a major governmentwide acquisition contract for information technology products and services across
Federal contractors should be paying close attention to a growing issue in government procurement: the use of shadow AI and generative artificial intelligence by agency evaluators during proposal evaluations.
As federal agencies increasingly experiment with AI tools in procurement and acquisition processes, evaluators may be using generative AI platforms to summarize proposals, identify strengths and
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest decision highlights a recurring issue in federal procurements: Agencies often take corrective action, but reevaluation errors can still lead to a sustained protest. In N&S Property Services, LLC, GAO sustained a second protest after corrective action, finding that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable, poorly documented, and
The Army’s Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) procurement represents one of the most significant professional services contracting opportunities in recent years. MAPS, the $50 billion, 10-year IDIQ, is replacing both RS3 and ITES-3S, and is expected to shape Army services acquisitions for the next decade and serve as a critical gateway for
Government contracting can feel like learning a new language. Even sophisticated commercial vendors often struggle with the rules, acronyms, and procedural traps that come with selling to federal agencies.
Below are 25 of the most common questions contractors search online — along with short, practical answers designed for business owners, compliance teams, and government contracts