TechWonk Blog Subsection
TechWonk Blog
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States sometimes amend their processes for procuring information technology (IT) products and services in ways that translate into a better value for taxpayers and improved services for constituents. Other times, states regress with procurement rules that are out of step with today鈥檚 best practices. The state of Oregon is at this crossroads as it contemplates adopting a new standard template for contractual [...]
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One year ago 91pro视频 launched a new division called the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) with the belief that adopting innovative technology across the U.S. public sector will help drive solutions for many of our most critical challenges. 聽Starting with little more than a great idea, we were a startup in the world of policy without any members and zero name recognition.聽 Like a startup we had the [...]
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In July when President Obama issued the 鈥淔air Pay and Safe Workplaces鈥� executive order (E.O. 13673), he made it a point to note that the 鈥渧ast majority鈥� of federal contractors play by the rules and would likely not be impacted by it, and instead said he wanted to crack down on a small number of companies who do repeatedly break the law. It left many in the contracting community scratching their heads [...]
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More state technology departments are considering formalizing a process for evaluating the performance of information technology (IT) vendors. The overarching goal is certainly laudable 鈥� providing the state procurement community with a comprehensive tool to reduce risk in the contract award process. And while it may identify vendors who exceed performance expectations, it also may wrongly disadvantage [...]
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When the House and Senate return for an expected 鈥榣ame duck session鈥� after the election, one of the proposals they plan to focus on will be the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). To speed up the proverbial legislative sausage making, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are pre-conferencing their separate proposals now because it is unlikely the Senate could complete passage [...]
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In the wake of scandals involving disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and a culture of 鈥減ay to play鈥� deals in which political contributions were exchanged for government contracts, state lawmakers and Governor Pat Quinn in 2009 enacted several pieces of reform legislation intended to stop similar fraud and abuse.聽 聽However, problems quickly became apparent with some of the more extreme [...]
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When the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) proposed a new Standard Information Technology (IT) Contract Template in August, the agency also invited industry partners to offer their views for streamlining and improving the state鈥檚 procurement process.聽 Maryland鈥檚 effort is encouraging, as the information technology sector not only offers widespread system flexibility and cost savings, [...]
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As a number of states have wrapped up their legislative sessions and completed their budget processes, this is an opportune time to review the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) state level advocacy efforts so far this year on behalf of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. 聽Here is a mid-year summary of ITAPS鈥� legislative activity and what remains in play [...]
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As the appropriations process moves toward the Senate, the federal contractor community has cause for concern with a series of amendments in Fiscal Year 2015 House appropriations bills that could mean mass debarment of federal contractors who have been involved in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This morning, the IT Alliance for Public [...]
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Earlier this week, the President signed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (S.1681 鈥� P.L. 113-126). The bill authorizes appropriations for intelligence and intelligence-related activities across 16 federal agencies in the intelligence community (IC).聽 The IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) has been monitoring provisions of interest for contractors as it moved through the legislative [...]
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