Make Mine a Million $ Business® Award

Get a powerful package of money, mentoring, marketing and technology opportunities to set you on your way to owning a Million $ business.

Targetgov's own Gloria Berthold is among the mentors in this program and urges you to apply.

The Make Mine a Million $ Business program encourages applications from any business that is at least 50% woman-owned, at least two years old, and demonstrate high growth potential.

Make Mine a Million $ Business, founded by Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence with founding partner, OPEN from American Express®, is designed to help women entrepreneurs surpass the Million $ revenue mark.

Award Recipients Receive

• One year of mentoring from a “dream” team of coaches and business experts from Count Me In.
  
  
• Up to $50,000 in financing from OPEN from American Express® and Count Me In.
  
  
• Services and consulting from AIG® to help with work/life balance, small business insurance needs and financial planning.
  
  
• Smart Business Communication network from Cisco Systems valued at up to $20,000 for select awardees.
  For more info:  www.cisco.com/go/smb
  
  
• Discounts from FedEx select shipping and office and print services.
  
  
• Easy-to-use business and financial management software from Intuit as well as expert consultation, education, training and resources.
  
  
• A marketing consultation from QVC.
  

Click here to apply.

WIPP INVITATION to the September Powerful Policy and Politics Conference

POWERful Policy and Politics ~ September 17-19, 2007 ~ Renaissance Mayflower Hotel ~ Washington, DC ~

POWERful Policy and Politics is almost here. If you haven’t registered yet, or made your hotel registration, it is not too late. There are plenty of good reasons to attend but here are some of the top benefits:

1. You will meet incredible women from across the country – women just like you who are smart and successful – and want to make a difference!
   
2. You will learn a lot about the legislative issues that make a difference to small businesses from the best political strategists in Washington!
   
3. You will learn how to be an effective advocate and lobbyist for the issues that make a difference to you!
   
4. You will meet your elective representatives and staff on the Hill, in their offices!
   
5. You will meet the federal procurement representatives you need to know to gain entry into the federal contracting arena!
   
6. You will meet, sit with, talk to and get to know top corporate leaders!
   
7. You will hear THE top 2008 Election outlook from the best in the field!
   
8. You will learn strategies to build a multi-cultural organization and meet the top corporate, entrepreneur and agency leaders in the country – and learn how strong diverse leadership strengthens our economy!
   
9. You will meet 5 young entrepreneurs, competing for the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Award!
   
10. We’ll have special receptions and a Gala – not to be missed! Click here for the agenda and registration.

DoD to Change Vendor Payment System--Will it Speed Payments?

The Defense Department plans to stop using commercial electronic data interchange (EDI) systems to process payments and instead will require contactors to use the Department’s Web-based Wide Area Workflow - Receipt and Acceptance system. The department said it anticipates that the use of Wide Area Workflow will fully automate its payment process, significantly improve the timeliness of payments and reduce interest charges on late payments.

In 2004, Defense had $206 billion in contract payments subject to the Prompt Payment Act, according to a May 2006 Government Accountability Office report. Out of a pool of some $24 billion in payments the GAO studied, Defense was late in paying an average of 10 percent or $2.4 billion, of the payments to large vendors, while late payments to small vendors ran about 14.5 percent or over $3.4 billion, according to the report.

Defense wrote in an Aug. 14 Federal Register notice that neither the American National Standards Institute X12 EDI nor the Web Invoicing System cannot process all Defense contract payment requests and cannot be made available to all government offices and organizations.

According to the Federal Register notice, the change in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations requiring use of Wide Area Workflow will require about 1,000 small businesses to switch to the system – a relatively low number compared with the 20,000 small companies already using it. (Contracting officers can allow the use of other payment systems if they choose.)

Wide Area Work Flow is the only system that can process all payment types. According to a fact sheet from the Defense Business Transformation Agency, it uses a virtual folder that contains the three documents required to pay a contractor: the contract, the invoice and the receiving report. The Wide Are Workflow helps eliminate lots of paper documents, which also can be misplaced, and compresses the contract payment process from weeks to days or minutes, according to the fact sheet.

Defense said it will take comments on the proposed rule change until Oct. 15.

Since it takes only one hour to learn how to use Wide Area Workflow, according to the Federal Register notice, it seems the new change in rules can be a boon to small vendors, even though I have yet to encounter any computer program that can be mastered in an hour. (Original story by Bob Brewin)

Note: See WAWF training course available at http://wawftraining.com Source: Original story by Bob Brewin through the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers at http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Contracting_News/index.php?articleID=83

Response from the Hill to SBA Announcement

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, responded to SBA's announcement Aug. 16 by criticizing the Bush administration's failure to meet the small business contracting goals. "Year after year, the federal government has failed to reach their small business contracting goals and this year is no exception," Velazquez said. "Once again, the government has neglected to take advantage of the innovations and quality products offered by small firms, resulting in billions of dollars that instead went to large government contractors."

Velazquez also said the latest data show "the clear need" for the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act (H.R. 1873), approved by the House this year, which "will ensure that small businesses are able to compete for billions of dollars in contracts that will help them expand and proper within their communities."

WIPP Update Notice

Call for Public Participation in Examining Small Business Regulations

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report documents the need for more public participation and transparency in federal agencies’ review of their existing regulations. Reexamining Regulations: Opportunities Exist to Improve Effectiveness and Transparency of Retrospective Reviews also finds that agencies are not getting it done when it comes to measuring the impacts of regulations on small businesses – mandated by section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The report points to a lack of clear standards, insufficient public participation and comment, and inadequate communication of the results to stakeholders. A new program by the SBA Office of Advocacy, Regulatory Review and Reform (R3), promises to address these issues by offering agencies guidance and training on how to implement section 610 of the RFA; soliciting recommendations from the small business community on rules that should be reviewed; and, providing public updates on the status and results of agency retrospective reviews.

Download the GAO report, Reexamining Regulations or learn more about the SBA Office of Advocacy's R3 initiative.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

SBA Scores Small Business Procurement Efforts

Seven of 24 Federal Agencies Meet Small Business Contracting Goals

In an effort to increase the transparency and accountability in small business contracting, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today released its first-ever Small Business Procurement Scorecard. The Scorecard will help agencies measure their achievements and progress in making contracting opportunities available to small businesses, improve the accuracy of contracting data regarding small businesses, and provide the public the opportunity to assess agencies' performance in meeting these goals.

Seven federal agencies; the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and SBA itself, met their small business contracting goals.

"SBA's and the agencies' commitment to small business contracting results is unprecedented," said Clay Johnson, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget. "With clear, outcome-oriented goals, clear, realistically aggressive plans to achieve them, clearly defined accountability, and frequent tracking of performance, SBA and the agencies are saying they want to be held most publicly accountable for contracting with small business at desired levels."

SBA's Scorecard builds on a series of administration initiatives to improve small business access to federal contracts. At the request of the White House's Office of Federal Procurement Policy and SBA, federal agencies spent months reviewing 11 million contract actions from the last two years to cleanse the database of miscoded contracts. On June 30, federal regulations were changed. Contracts awarded to small companies acquired by large corporations will no longer count towards federal agency small business goals -- even if the acquisition took place before the rule change.

"These changes -- increased accuracy, transparency and accountability -- provide a real window of opportunity for America's small businesses," said SBA Administrator Steve Preston. "Almost $5 billion in misreported contracts have been cleaned out of the small business database. To meet their goals in 2007 and beyond, federal agencies know they will have to place more new contracts with small businesses. SBA is also increasing its staff and technical assistance to help our federal partners meet their contracting needs."

Small Business Goaling Report

After working with federal agencies to identify miscoding and anomalies in the contracting database, SBA released the annual Small Business Goaling Report for FY 2006, and revised the FY 2005 report. The Goaling Report shows that $77.7 billion in federal contracts were awarded to small businesses in FY 2006, up $2.7 billion from the previous year. The revisions reduce the share of contracts awarded to small businesses in 2005 $4.6 billion from the previously-reported 25.4 percent to 23.4 percent. For 2006 the figure is 22.8 percent, just short of the small business procurement goal established by law at 23 percent.

Administrator Preston cited the progress federal agencies have made towards meeting the five targeted sub-categories for small businesses procurement, as an example of what can be accomplished when agencies track progress towards small business goals.

"While only the target for small disadvantaged business has been met so far," Preston said, "SBA is encouraged by the real gains made in every category in 2006." Contracts to companies owned by service-disabled veterans increased by 50 percent, from $2 billion to $3 billion; contracts to women-owned businesses increased by a billion dollars; contracts to 8(a) companies rose by $700 million, contracts to HUBZone companies were up $1 billion. "We still have more to do to reach our targets," Preston said, "but these are accomplishments that our federal partners can be proud of."

About the Scorecard

SBA rates 24 agencies green, yellow or red, both on whether they reached their annual small business contracting goals and on their progress on efforts to make contracting opportunities available to small businesses. To achieve a green rating a federal agency has to meet its overall small business contracting goal, as well as the goals for at least three of four subcategories. For their current status, seven agencies were rated green, five yellow, and 12 were red. In the second category, under "progress," 12 agencies were rated green, eight were yellow, and four were red.

Each federal agency has a different small business contracting goal, determined annually in consultation with SBA. SBA ensures that the sum total of all of the goals exceeds the 23 percent target established by law. The Scorecard will be updated every six months and is publicly available on the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov.

"Small businesses play an important part in growing our nation's economy, and this Scorecard will help the agencies achieve contracting results that will keep our small businesses strong," said Administrator Paul Denett of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). "This new tool, along with better data in the goaling reports, will enable us to identify where we are strong and where we need to improve."

With more than 5.5 million contracting actions each year, miscodings and errors will not be completely eliminated from the contracting database. By publicizing the reports, and providing new tools to facilitate public review of the database, SBA and OFPP will enlist affected businesses and other stakeholders in the effort to continuously improve the accuracy and integrity of the procurement data.

The goaling reports released today by SBA are available at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/goals/index.html.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
Tiffani Clements of the U.S. Small Business Administration, +1-202-401-0035

Dept. of Energy’s Business Opportunity Sessions

The Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Business Opportunity Sessions Scheduled for Aug 28 and Sept 26

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Director of the Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Theresa Speake, announced an upcoming monthly Business Opportunity Sessions (BOS) to encourage small business contracting and further the Department’s mission.

The Business Opportunity Sessions begin with an overview on “How to Work with DOE,” followed by presentations from program experts seeking to develop small business participation through current or pending contract opportunities. The next Business Opportunity Sessions will be he held at DOE’s Forrestal Building, and are scheduled for Tuesday, August 28, and Wednesday, September 26, 2007. Space is limited, registration is required. To register, contact the DOE OSDBU office: Lee Avila, Lee.Avila@hq.doe.gov or call (202) 586-7377. To reserve your seat, please email your name, company, country of citizenship, a contact phone number and an email address. Also include a brief description of what services or products your company provides. Some of this information is required for our office files and some for the DOE security logs. Space is limited. Only two individuals per company, please.

The sessions provide a forum for federal acquisition officials to meet, in-person, with small businesses that may not be familiar with DOE’s contracting opportunities, and that DOE might not necessarily identify through traditional market research. BOS aims to further President Bush’s Small Business Agenda by increasing small business participation in the Department’s contracting opportunities.

“The Department of Energy strongly supports contracting with small businesses to help drive economic growth, and to advance our mission,” Director Speake said. “Small businesses have played and will continue to play a key role in DOE’s many successes. Encouraging DOE’s program officials to meet with small business representatives, in-person, allows the Department to continue to bring cutting-edge technology and improved business practices to our entire complex.”

Last month, Secretary Bodman issued a policy statement on DOE’s small business priorities, reiterating the Department’s commitment to pursue contracting opportunities with small businesses.

In Fiscal Year 2006, DOE awarded approximately $1.2 billion in prime contracts to small businesses. Additionally, through its Management and Operating contractors, $3.5 billion in subcontracts were awarded to small business. DOE strives to maximize its commitment to small businesses in 2007 and in subsequent years. Read more information on contracting with DOE.

Delay Implementation of 3% Contract Withholding

Committee Passes Legislation to Delay Implementation of 3% Contract Withholding Requirement For One Year

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 3056, Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007 which includes language to delay by one year a 3-percent withholding requirement on government payments to its contractors that is set to take effect in 2011. If enacted, the 3% withholding will not go into effect until the start of 2012. The bill now moves to the House floor for consideration. WIPP strongly supports permanent repeal of the withholding provision because of its adverse effect on small business contractors. The 3% withholding requirement applies not only to federal contractors, but also state and local contractors. WIPP will continue to press for repeal of Section 511 of the tax code.

To view the letter signed by WIPP and other business associations to the House Ways and Means Committee on H.R. 3056, please click here.

WIPP asks that you write to your Members of Congress to urge them to support legislation that will repeal the provision. Two bills introduced will fully repeal the 3% withholding requirement. In the House, HR 1023 has been introduced by Reps. Meek (D-FL) and Herger (R-CA). The Senate bill (S 777) was introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). Please click here to visit the WIPP Instant Impact site to take action.

Gloria Berthold awarded WIPP Member of the Year

Gloria Berthold will be awarded the 2007 Member of the Year Award by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national bi-partisan public policy organization representing more than 505,000 women in business and women business owners. She will be honored on Tuesday, September 18th, at the WIPP Awards Luncheon in Washington DC. for her dedication, devotion and achievements as a business owner and as a leader in the WIPP organization.

Barbara Kasoff, President and CEO of WIPP, a nationwide group encouraging the collective vision and voice of women to impact legislation affecting the business community, had this say to say about Ms. Berthold, "She is a role model for all our members, excelling in her advocacy work and generosity of spirit, and setting an example for all to emulate.” Kasoff thanked her for all her work and her guidance and support.

Currently Ms. Berthold is the Maryland Advocacy Director for WIPP. In this capacity, she has volunteered her time and expertise to inform business owners regarding pending legislation affecting their businesses; she has also met with legislators, offered testimony to affect changes and taught other business owners how to do the same. She is active in the Maryland Instant Impact Team and the WIPP Procurement Council. Ms. Berthold said, “I searched a long time to find an organization that offers bipartisan support for business owners. WIPP not only represents business owners from both parties, but it actively advocates and gets results from both parties. I love being part of an effective group!”

Gloria Berthold has been President of Marketing Outsource Associates, a full service business development and marketing firm since 1997, and its division, TargetGov, since 2004. TargetGov specializes in government contracting business development at federal, state, and local levels. In addition, Ms. Berthold is also a government contractor as well as a published author, speaker and instructor on the subject of government contracting and general business development. Her quotes have appeared in USA Today, Inc. Magazine, and Government Executive Magazine and she has been interviewed in podcasts for BusinessWeek.com and The Business Monthly. For more information visit: www.TaregtGov.com

Finding Business "Idols"

Just as the “American Idol” television series is stirring up the music business, a group of entrepreneurs is quietly adopting a similar format to change the face of the venture capital and angel investing industry, according to an analysis on venture financing by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. According to the paper, while “American Idol” has proved to be a major success in identifying and establishing entertainment stars, the reality show also has tapped industry experts to groom and coach the top talent in the competition, who have gone on to sell tens of millions of albums. A similar formula is emerging among a new wave of entrepreneurs and venture capital funders -- from identifying new entrepreneurs to providing the expert advice and support in launching and accelerating new business operations. The new “Idol-based” models vary in their details, but their contest-based method of selection and subsequent grooming are a common feature. This new approach to finding and nurturing innovative entrepreneurial enterprises seems to be catching on like wildfire, not only in the United States but in Europe and other parts of the world. In a report titled “Finding Business Idols: A New Model to Accelerate Start-Ups,” the Kauffman researchers outline several variations of this new form of early stage acceleration and venture investing. This so-called new “accelerator” model differs from previous early stage investors, such as incubators, which are oftentimes limited to real estate deals, with start-ups as tenants who pay for shared overhead. In contrast, the accelerator typically helps form companies as legal entities, interviews and hires the appropriate initial management team, and lends its own management expertise. In short, the accelerator becomes the “new company” throughout seed-stage development. And though venture capitalists and even some angel investor groups have backed away from seed-stage financing, others are now showing interest in the accelerator model of picking and grooming the next wave of potentially high-growth start-ups.

Download the report, Finding Business Idols: A New Model to Accelerate Start-Ups.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

Department of Energy Seeking Small Businesses

The Department of Energy has released a "Sources Sought" Announcement. – Timing is Critical, Small Businesses Must Reply This Week.

The US Department of Energy seeks qualified small businesses, small business-led teams and joint ventures that qualify as small businesses capable of preparing Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), environmental Assessments (EA), Environmental Reports (ER), and supporting environmental documentation.

For the last last 4.5 years, the DOE has issued 42 tasks valued at over $87M on the incumbent contracts and four out of the five businesses were large companies. Share this announcement with all the small businesses you know who can do this work. We need to show the DOE that small businesses are interested and are capable of meeting their needs.

Click here for the Sources Sought announcement from the Dept. Of Energy (DOE). The timing is tight, so download and respond today!

Competition - Top 50 Women-Owned Companies

The Search is on!

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), the WPO and Entrepreneur Magazine are holding a competition to find the top 50 fastest-growing women-owned/women-led companies in North America. Companies will be ranked according to revenue growth from 2002 to 2006.

To be eligible, companies must be…

• privately-owned
  
• women-owned/led
  
• must have started generating revenue by the first week of 2002
  
• must have reached revenues of $1 million by year-end 2006

To apply, download and fill out the form at the Targetgov website and fax to 212.688.4766 or email to fastgrowth@womenpresidentsorg.com by August 5, 2007. There is no charge to apply.

For more information please visit www.womenpresidentsorg.com/50Fastest.htm The Top 50 fastest-growing companies will be publicized in the November 2007 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.

Applicants need not be WPO members to apply.

Maryland TEDCO Tops National VC List!

Angels Climbing List of Top VC Firms

Every year Entrepreneur magazine identifies the top 100 venture capital firms. And while not every startup needs $1 million or more, an infusion of cash like that is enough to put some on the fast track to high growth. A total of 608 startup and early stage companies got their first round of venture capital last year, according to a special analysis prepared for Entrepreneur of the "MoneyTree Report" by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Financial. On average, each company got $4.8 million, for a combined total of $2.9 billion. Both figures are four-year highs. The listing ranks VC firms by the number of early-stage deals made in 2006. The top five firms were: Maryland Technology Development Corporation (22 deals in 2006); Draper Fisher Jurvetson (19); Tech Coast Angels (17); New Enterprise Associates (13); and Khosla Ventures (12) tied with Sequoia Capital (12). Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investor network in the US, came in at the top for late stage companies with seven deals in 2006.

View the full list of Entrepreneur's 2007 Top 100 Venture Capital Firms.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

The World’s Fastest Cities

Fast Company has just published its annual listing of the world’s "Fastest Cities," i.e, the places best suited to support innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. The list is very eclectic, broken into categories such as start-up hubs (Austin, Madison, Tucson and London), creative class meccas (Shanghai, New York, San Francisco and Buenos Aires), green leaders (Chicago, Portland, Vancouver and Stockholm) and high-tech hotspots (Hanoi, Chandigarh, and Boise).

The issue also includes unenviable lists of "slow cities" (Budapest, St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit and Havana) and "too fast cities" where future risks outweigh current upsides (Cairo; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Greenwich, CT; Las Vegas, and Shenzen).

The "Fast Cities 2007" list appears in the July 2007 issue of Fast Company and is available on-line at: http://www.fastcompany.com/cities/2007

This story is from the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship© 2007 The Public Forum Institute

Self-Employment Booms... Again!

The number of self-employed Americans has been rising rapidly for years, and new Census Bureau data indicates that the trend is continuing. Earlier this month, the Census Bureau released the latest numbers (2005) which show that more than 20 million Americans are now self-employed. A deeper look at these numbers yields some astounding figures.

Each day, 2,356 Americans decide to go into business for themselves. Their companies account for 78% of all US businesses, and they collectively obtain annual receipts of $951 billion. Georgia (up 7.6%) and Utah (up 7.2%) showed the highest annual increases. The national average increase was 4.4 percent. The fastest growing sector was Web search portals, where the number of self-employed jumped an astounding 41.2 percent in one year.

To access the latest US Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics, visit http://www.census.gov/epcd/nonemployer/index.html

This story is from the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship© 2007 The Public Forum Institute

Technology Trends and Small Business

As part of its “Future of Small Business” project, Intuit has recently a second report that examines key issues facing entrepreneurs. The latest study examines how small firms can prosper in the “connected world” where new technologies will change nearly everything about running a business. The study flags three key trends. First, mobile devices and new analytical tools and devices will free entrepreneurs from spending too much time on mundane managerial tasks. Second, as on-line networks grow in scale and scope, small businesses will be able to build global partnerships and will face limited technology hurdles when it comes to starting or growing their companies. Finally, marketing will move from a “push” to a “pull” mentality. Instead of pushing information out to potential customers, businesses will need to emphasize providing customers with the right information at the right time in the right context. As such, a firm’s on-line presence will become the critical factor in its subsequent success.

Access the Intuit Future of Small Business report on technology trends.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

A Little Summer Diversion: The Best Lemonade Stand in America

Inc. magazine is back with its 2nd annual “Best Lemonade Stand in America” contest. The contest is open to all kid-preneurs (between ages 5 and 12) who must submit an application before September 3, 2007. Inc.’s editors and readers will select the winner who will receive a $1000 savings bond. The Inc. website contains all the rules and details -- as well as interviews with last year’s winners and tips for making a cool lemonade stand of your own.

To learn more about the Inc. Best Lemonade Stand in America contest

Trends in Government Contracting

1. From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2005, government purchasing increased nearly 75% from $219 billion to more than $380 billion.
2. Services now comprise a greater percentage of the government’s acquisition budget
3. The federal acquisition workforce has declined by nearly 50 percent since personnel reductions in the mid-1990s.
4. Purchases through indefinite delivery contracts have gotten much larger, often exceeding five million dollars. Purchases under the Multiple Award Schedules also have more than doubled in value over the last decade.

See the “REPORT OF THE ACQUISITION ADVISORY PANEL” below for more details.

The Federal government is the single largest buyer in the world. Each year Federal agencies spend nearly $400 billion a year for a range of goods and services to meet their mission needs. Some acquisitions are highly specialized – advanced fighter jets, precision munitions, nuclear submarines – for which there is no non-governmental or commercial demand. Other goods and services are readily available and purchased from the commercial marketplace. From laptop computers and off-the-shelf software to information technology (“IT”) consulting services, software development, and engineering services. Federal agencies rely upon common commercial goods and se rvices to conduct their business. In addition, commercial products may be modified to meet government needs. In all of these circumstances government acquisition process intersects with the private sector and the Federal government can benefit from knowing how commercial buyers approach the acquisition process.


Trends In Acquisition
Since the FASA and FARA reforms were enacted a decade or more ago, a number of events have affected government contracting. For example, the events of September 11, 2001, and subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Katrina aftermath, have influenced what the government buys and how much it spends. From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2005, government purchasing increased nearly 75% from $219 billion to more than $380 billion.

Over the last decade, a number of trends have affected government contracting. Services now comprise a greater percentage of the government’s acquisition budget. Between 1990 and 1995 the government began spending more on services than goods.10 Currently, procurement spending on services accounts for more than 60% of total procurement dollars.11 In FY 2005, DOD obligated more than $141 billion on service contracts, a 72% increase since FY 1999.12

While procurement spending has increased, products and services often are purchased through relatively large orders under contracts with broad scopes of work. Contracting agencies often rely on indefinite delivery contracts, such as interagency contracts, under which orders are issued for products or services. Orders under the types of contracts discussed above often can be larger in amount than individual contracts. Orders under such contract vehicles can be significant in terms of size, and may exceed $5 million. Purchases under the Multiple Award Schedules also have more than doubled in value over the last decade.

There also are fewer acquisition professionals in the government to award and administer contracts as the government’s contracting workforce has reduced in size over the last decade. The federal acquisition workforce has declined by nearly 50 percent since personnel reductions in the mid-1990s.14 Despite recent efforts to hire acquisition personnel, there is an acute shortage of federal procurement professionals with between five and 15 years of experience. This shortage will become more pronounced in the near term because roughly half of the current workforce is eligible to retire in the next four years.

Over the last decade or so, consolidation has occurred in certain parts of industry that contract with the government, including but not limited to aerospace and defense. As a result, certain contractors are now performing work that previously was performed by other companies. In sum, a variety of trends and factors have influenced government contracting and continue to do so. Effective and efficient access to the commercial market place, and will continue to play, a major role in helping to enable agencies to purchase the products and services they need.

Source:
http://www.acquisition.gov/comp/aap/documents/DraftFinalReport.pdf

One Billion PCs

A new set of projections from Forrester Research predicts that there will be more than one billion personal computers (PCs) in use worldwide by 2008. That’s a pretty astounding growth rate in PC use as Forrester researchers project that PC use will grow at a compounded annual rate of roughly 12% between 2003 and 2015. Overall, it took 27 years to reach the one billion mark for PCs. The two billion mark should be achieved in an additional five years. As PC use skyrockets, there are lots of implications for entrepreneurs and for policy makers. One clear conclusion from this research is that emerging markets (especially Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will account for the predominant portion of future growth in the personal computer market.

Learn more about the June 2007 Forrester Research report, Worldwide PC Adoption Forecast, 2007-2015. (Access to full report requires purchase)

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

Chamber Supports Withholding Repeal Legislation

Chamber Rallies Support for 3% Withholding Repeal Legislation

Reps. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and Wally Herger (R-CA) joined the National Association of Counties and the Chamber-led Government Withholding Relief Coalition in rallying support for H.R. 1023, the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2007. This legislation would repeal a mandate that federal, state, and local governments withhold 3% from all payments to government contractors for goods and services beginning in 2011.

The Chamber and the Coalition oppose the 3% withholding mandate, which will cause companies to lose vital funds needed to operate day-to-day activities, forcing them to pass along the added costs to customers or finance the additional amount.

Click here to read the summary of the 511 legislation

Click here to read the Talking Points

For more information, visit: http://www.withholding.relief.org