News for the Federal Acquisition Workforce

August 19, 2020

Get Your Free Acquisition Training! FAI’s incredible array of FY21 FAC-C, FAC-COR, FAC-P/PM, and continuous learning instructor-led training offerings are now open for enrollment. Book a seat now to take advantage of this free training. Visit FAI’s training page for a lists of all the class offerings that have seats available. All the courses necessary for certification can be found there as well as course offerings for the following new subjects: Understanding Industry (Business Acumen), Cybersecurity—Supply Chain Risk Management, Information Technology Acquisition, Acquisition of Agile Services, Applying Agile Scrum Master—Practices in the Federal Environment, Developing Agile Requirements and User Stories in the Federal Environment, Conducting Acquisitions for Cloud Services, The Integrated Project Team, Government Product Owner, Procurement Innovation—FAR Flexibility, Other Transaction Authority, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and the Critical Decision-Making Capstone.

New Detail Opportunities for the Acquisition Community In addition to education, Open Opportunities provides detail assignments, including several for the acquisition workforce. Right now, Open Opps has full-time details for two to five Contract Specialists to support the Executive Office of the President and a part-time detail at FAI for a Program/Project Manager. Visit Open Opps for more information and to look for additional open details.

New CO, COR, PM, and Acquisition Team Courses Discover the value of acquisition professional collaborations and understand the role of COs, CORs, PMs, and other members of the larger acquisition team. Take advantage of FAI’s four virtual, interactive, cross-functional courses: FAC 072 Foundational Overview of the Acquisition Team, FAC 073 Requirements Development, FAC 074 Obtaining the Best Solution through Contracting, and FAC 075 Achieving Program/Project Goals. Complete all four to earn 4 CLPs and prepare for our newest cross-functional course launching in FY21: FQN 076 Critical Decision-Making Capstone. Review the course descriptions in FAITAS or register for the courses on DAU Virtual Campus.

New Course: FAC 089 Writing Quality Past Performance Evaluations In partnership with GSA and the Navy, FAI has released a new course designed for Acquisition Professionals (COs, CORs and PMs) entitled Writing Quality Past Performance Evaluations. In this online course, you will earn 1 CLP and learn the components of writing a good contract effort description and past performance evaluation narrative, and how to rate a contractor's performance. Register for FAC 089, Writing Quality Past Performance Evaluations through the DAU Virtual Campus today!

Managing for Accessibility Throughout the Acquisition Lifecycle Accounting for and managing accessibility throughout the federal information technology procurement lifecycle can be challenging and confusing. The Section 508 Best Practices Webinar Series can help. Watch the next webinar on September 29 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET. Presenters will address how to establish accessibility requirements, what contract terms and conditions are important to include in a solicitation, how to evaluate vendor claims for accessibility, and how to manage the contract throughout its lifecycle to ensure that information and communications technology remains accessible as software or websites are upgraded and contracts are modified. To register or to find more details, visit accessibilityonline.org.

New Training on Section 889 Prohibition on Certain Telecommunication  FAI, in collaboration with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), has developed a new training for the government-wide acquisition workforce on Section 889 of Public Law 115-232, “Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment,” Part B, which took effect on August 13. The FAR Case 2019-009 rule prohibits the government from contracting with an entity that uses certain telecommunications equipment or services produced by the entities listed in the statute. This online course summarizes information and resources to help the acquisition community apply the new Section 889 regulation, and can be downloaded for review. To take this course and receive 1 CLP, register for FAC 889, Section 889: Prohibition on Telecommunication and Video Equipment. Civilian employees should register through FAITAS and DoD employees should register through DAU’s Virtual Campus.

New CM Trainings and Infographics Available The Category Management (CM) program management office has recently developed new CLP-certified CM training webinars and infographics for government-wide use!  Visit the Acquisition Gateway to access the new training materials.

August GSA Spotlight Webinar Register for the next GSA Spotlight Webinar, to be held August 20 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Join Government-wide Professional Services Category Program Manager Adam Soderholm and learn about cost avoidance methodologies and how to use an existing government-wide contract to avoid cost, leverage administrative efficiency, and free agency resources to focus on mission-critical work. Spotlight webinars are free, online classes that are open to the federal acquisition workforce. Register now to earn 1 CLP!

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