Never pay for state contract information again. Newly launched free online state and local contract search. Read more GSA Going Green Now

Federal agency customers are required to buy environmentally-friendly products whenever possible. Executive Order 13514 requires 95% of new contracts to contain recycled content and sustainable materials. GSA has a goal of increasing the number of sustainable products on its schedules from 41,000 to 250,000 by the end of FY 2015. Read more Free Gov-Only Field Trial 4-Channel 600 MHz Oscilloscope: LeCroy Waverunner 64Xi-A-N

The LeCroy WaveRunner 64Xi-A-N is the most powerful and capable scope available in its class. Basic system validation using advanced triggers, fast viewing modes, measurement parameters, or serial decodes is simple and easy. Read more Technical Communities Named to 2010 Inc. Magazine 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America

Third consecutive year of recognition for the company. Read More NIH kicks off $40 billion follow-on contract for IT services

The National Institutes of Health kicked off one of the largest information technology procurements in the federal government: a 10-year governmentwide Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 3 contract valued at $40 billion. Read More ]]> http://contracts.govcontractsmagazine.com/index.php/govcontracts-insider-aug2010-highlights/feed/ 0 http://contracts.govcontractsmagazine.com/index.php/technical_communities_2010_inc5000/ http://contracts.govcontractsmagazine.com/index.php/technical_communities_2010_inc5000/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:22:38 +0000 Ali Cheung http://contracts.govcontractsmagazine.com/?p=1058 Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, today announced that it has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America for the third consecutive year.

Technical Communities partners with 100+ technology companies to offer 75,000+ products on GSA Schedules: FSC66 Test and Measurement Equipment, FSC70 Information Technology, FSC84 Security, and FSC81IB RFID and Shipping Technology. Technical Communities’ government sales and support group serves 1,200+ federal and local buying organizations.

“Technical Communities is honored to have been ranked in the prestigious Inc. 5000 list for the third consecutive year,” said Peter Ostrow, President and CEO of Technical Communities. “Continued growth isn’t easy, especially in this economy. It’s been through our knowledge, expertise, and incredibly hard work that we’ve been able to consistently deliver a superior service to an ever-increasing number of satisfied government customers and technology company partners.”

The 2010 Inc. 5000 serves as a unique report card on the U.S. economy. Despite the fact that most of this year’s measuring period of 2006-2009 took place during the latest recession, aggregate revenue among the companies on the list actually increased to $321.6 billion, up more than 50 percent from last year. The Government Services sector showed the biggest gain in terms of the number of companies on the list, up 33 percent from last year to 335 companies. The Government Services sector was also the second fastest-growing sector in terms of median revenue growth, posting a 202 percent gain over the 2006-2009 measuring period. Technical Communities is proud to be ranked amongst the best in this fastest-growing sector of 2010’s Inc. 5000 list.

A sustainable product is defined as either:

• Energy-Efficient (Energy Star Federal Energy Management Program [FEMP] designated)
• Water-efficient
• Biobased
• Environmentally preferable (e.g., Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool [EPEAT] certified)
• Non-ozone depleting
• Containing recycled content
• Non-toxic (or a less toxic alternative)

GSA has taken several actions to make their contracts Green.

• The environmental symbols used in GSA Advantage! (and other systems) to identify sustainable products are being changed to align with the Executive Order.

• GSA Advantage! Environmental Aisle uses the symbols to offer thousands of individual green products to help federal agencies meet their needs. The environmental aisle is designed to allow direct access to the variety of environmental products and services that GSA offers. Customers are encouraged to purchase products designated as biobased and recycled content, ENERGY STAR and FEMP qualified, water efficient, and non-ozone depleting materials.

• GSA helps track and report environmental spending
  With GSA’s Advantage Spend Analysis Program (ASAP), agency customers can meet Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and Office of Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) requirements by tracking monies spent on environmental products purchased through GSA Advantage!. Customers must be registered with the GSA Advantage! website to access this tool.

• GSA is making some of the Schedules Green:
  - A Schedule 75 requirement in effect that states printer and copier paper must be compliant with EPA’s Consumer Product Guidelines (30 percent recycled content) to be awarded on a Schedule contract.
  - Schedule 36 will require that copiers printing less than 100 pages per minute must be ENERGY STAR compliant to be awarded on a Schedule contract.

• GSA is promoting Green services
  Through GSA’s Multiple Awards Schedules, agencies can contract with environmental services providers to plan for strategic sustainability performance, manage greenhouse gases, develop sustainable buildings, manage water efficiently, maintain green fleets and transportation, prevent pollution, and reduce waste.

Get ready to go green now!

Things to Do Now:

• Take advantage of the environmental goals established under EO 13514 by marketing your company’s existing green initiatives to government customers.  With a goal of 95% of contract actions, agencies will seek out opportunities to award contracts to companies implementing green initiatives. 

• Decide if you have in place the contractual means to comply the coming carbon footprint reporting requirements and green initiative marking requirements.

• If you do,
  - Develop a process to identify products and services complying with the varying green initiatives.
  - Prepare a way to develop your carbon footprint measures.
  - Make sure your GSA contract has the products or services in demand for the green initiatives in EO 13514 funds.

• If you do not,
  - Locate partners now such as Technical Communities who will act for you in the market.
  - Make sure they have full access to the products or services that are in demand for the all of the green initiatives.  

Technical Communities

The ideal candidate has a solid background in government contract negotiation and technology licensing to federal, state and local governments. This is a full time regular position with competitive salary, comprehensive benefits package, stock options and a quality work environment.

See full Job Description

The LeCroy WaveRunner 64Xi-A-N is the most powerful and capable scope available in its class. Basic system validation using advanced triggers, fast viewing modes, measurement parameters, or serial decodes is simple and easy. Advanced debug, multi-domain analysis, and waveshape analysis are possible with tools unique to WaveRunner 64Xi-AN. equipped with a 10.4″ Color touch screen display and multiple functionality features the 64Xi-AN is up to the task.

• U.S. Government, military and prime contractor facilities only
• No obligation, costs or hidden fees
• Free shipping to and from your facility
• Limited slots available
• Open dates and product datasheet

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The CIO-SP3 contract includes a full- and open-competition vehicle valued at $20 billion and a separate small business contract also valued at $20 billion, according NIH’s Information Technology Assessment and Acquisition Center, which is managing the contract.

CIO-SP3 will incorporate medical imaging, remote sensing, videoconferencing and Web services previously handled under a separate NITAAC contract called Image World 2, according to a pre-solicitation notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website on Tuesday. NITAAC said it plans to release the full and open competition CIO-SP3 request for proposals on or about Sept. 1, with the small business RFP planned for a later and unspecified date.

Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for FedSources Inc., a consulting firm in McLean, Va., said only the General Services Administration’s omnibus $50 billion Alliant IT services contract has a higher ceiling value than CIO-SP3. But he questioned whether NITACC overestimated the value of the contract. Sometimes agency’s “eyes are bigger than their stomachs” when it comes to setting ceilings, Bjorklund said.

Mary Armstead, who was appointed NITAAC director in April after a more than 25 year career in procurement with the National Institutes of Health, said she welcomed a dialogue on the value of CIO-SP3, but added the ceilings are high because they take into account a range of IT variables spanning a the next decade.

Peter R. Orzag, outgoing director of the Office of Management and Budget, approved the $40 billion CIO-SP3 ceiling in a letter to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, in July and said the contract can provide “cost-effective, quality results for our taxpayers.”

NITAAC said the contracts will help fulfill a range of IT needs across the federal government, with a particular emphasis on agencies such as NIH and the Health and Human Services Department, both of which are involved in health care and clinical and biological research.

In his letter, Orzag said he expected the contracts to offer a range of IT services to federal health agencies, with a “particular emphasis on health related IT services to support agencies with health related missions and responsibilities under the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act,” the landmark health care reform bill Congress passed in March.

The law envisioned using IT to support many of its goals, including offering Web portals to allow people to compare online health insurance costs and benefits, state-managed health insurance exchanges, universal patient identifiers, and data matching technology to detect waste fraud and abuse related to health insurance claims.

Armstead said CIO-SP3 will provide the IT services called for in the health care law, including Web portal development and data mining. She emphasized interested bidders must demonstrate expertise in applying these services to the health care domain.

The draft CIO-SP3 RFP released in August 2009 called for contractors to support development of interoperable heath care systems under the Federal Health Architecture, including interoperable systems. Armstead said CIO-SP3 is being designed to support the architecture.

NITAAC already supports a variety of agencies, including the Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments, and the Environmental Protection Agency under its current IT services contract. Armstead said she anticipates continuing that support under the new contract.

Full article by Bob Brewin, NextGov