The END of Federal Proposals

So what is the point in my article on “The END of Federal Proposals?” Is it just a way to get your attention, or are Federal Proposals really coming to an end? It sure feels like Federal Proposals as we have known them in the past are ending. This Federal Fiscal Year, we have seen many expected proposals move to the right on our calendars, as we appear to be running out of calendar with 5 months left in the year.  And those of us who closely watch Federal procurements fear there will be a tidal wave of end-of-year procurements that are poorly conceived with LPTA as the driving evaluation factor.

More Federal procurements will be moved to GWAC contracts as over-stressed acquisition staffs cope with continuation of the Sequestration and the demand from their clients that they commit the funds they do have before the end of 2013.

A Fundamental Change in the Federal Procurement Paradigm

So the “END of Federal Proposals” will not come in our near future.  However, the stampede to the GWAC and LPTA is a fundamental and far reaching change in the federal procurement paradigm.  The time and skill to develop effective proposals, or should I say “winning proposals”, in the current LPTA environment is a major challenge for contractors. As OMB CIO, Steven Van Roekel recently said at an AFCEA breakfast, there is “more pressure on driving down costs, while driving value up”. The mandate to do more with less money will strain both the contractor workforce to execute and the Federal Workforce to perform their changing role in our society. As Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently said at a National Defense University briefing, he was “misquoted”. BUT he still has the role of converting “guns to butter” or “swords into plowshares”. The new reality is that the “END” of Federal Proposals is far off into the future. But we must, like our Federal clients, have the insight and ingenuity to soldier on ahead while doing more with less.