NextGov – Decades ago, the federal government and U.S. military led nationwide technology advancements. Today, technology research and development funding is led by private sector companies, with federal agencies and the Defense Department serving as customers. However, accessing, acquiring and employing new technologies spearheaded by startups and innovative technology firms has become increasingly problematic for a host of reasons and for the government broadly, resulting in what’s been termed the “valley of death.” Click here to read more.

A new rule, effective 5/26/2022, will allows small business contracting procedures such as set-asides to apply to overseas procurements. To read more, please click here.

For years, the federal acquisition community has been asking for a simpler way to get the information it needs to make smarter purchases while saving taxpayer dollars. With this in mind, a new tool is available: buy.gsa.gov.

This buyer experience tool was built using human-centered design to address pain points in the acquisition process. It features a governmentwide effort resulting from user research and usability testing sessions that included federal agencies, vendors, and GSA’s own acquisition professionals.

Key launch features include: 

• Easier Market Research
  • Simplify how you conduct market research, find contract vehicles and vendors, and meet mission requirements or Small Business Administration targets.
•  Documents, Templates, and Pricing Resources 
  • Get searchable templates and sample documents that help you plan your acquisition.
• Interactive Checklist
  • Build your acquisition package with our new easy to use interactive checklist with self-help modules.

Federal News Network – The Pentagon Defense Innovation unity is expanding its geographic footprint yet again. DIU opened a new office in Chicago on Thursday, May 21, its fifth location so far, hoping to connect commercial innovators in the Midwest with military requirements. Please click here to read more.

Defense One – The Pentagon has restructured its industrial policy office, a move that elevates oversight of the defense industry at a time of widespread supply chain troubles in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Changes include the creation of two new deputy assistant secretaries, one to focus on industrial base resilience and the other on industrial base development and international engagement. To read more, please click here.

Lexology – The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has issued its long-awaited report in response to last year’s Executive Order 14017, Securing America’s Supply Chains, which called for a comprehensive review of supply chains in critical sectors, including the defense industrial base (DIB). The DoD report, titled “Securing Defense-Critical Supply Chains” (“Report”), assesses supply chains in the DIB and sets out DoD’s plan to align its priorities and capabilities to strengthen the industrial base and to establish a network of domestic and allied supply chains to meet national security needs. Click here to read more.

The General Services Administration isn’t ruling out using biometrics in its Login.gov service, but the agency has concerns about equity and accessibility. Specifically, there are concerns about potential racial discrimination in the use of facial recognition technologies. Please click here to read more.

Federal News Network – The Defense Department is fully admitting that its assumptions for inflation in 2023 were “obviously incorrect,” as the military’s top general put it, but the question of just how inflation will affect the Pentagon’s buying power is more complicated. To read more, please click here.

Data used by the government often needs to be rated as safe to distribute, controlled but unclassified, or secret and classified. The Defense Department has launched a challenge prize program to develop an artificial intelligence approach to automate this task. Please click here to read more.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Army General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the panel that with the change to strategic competition with China and Russia that some of the capabilities resident in the Defense Department are no longer needed, or fewer of those capabilities are required. Click here to read more and view the testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.