Federal Government Contracting: Some Primers

Quoting Carl Vacketta of DLA Piper (full article below) “from formation through administration, contracting with the federal government is a highly regulated process with many traps for the unsuspecting. Unlike commercial contracting, which is governed generally by the Uniform Commercial Code and the common law, federal government contracting is governed by a maze of statutes and regulations. These statutory and regulatory provisions dictate, for example, what method or process an agency must use to solicit a contract; how the agency is to negotiate or award a contract; and under certain circumstances, what costs the Government will reimburse and how a contractor must account for those costs. In addition, a government contractor must remain aware that it is subject to the policy dictates of the sovereign. The U.S. Government imposes a host of socio-economic obligations through its contracts, including requirements related to affirmative action, drug-free work place, subcontracting, and minimum employee wages. Although Congress has streamlined the contracting process to reduce the burdens on contractors offering commercial products and services, any entity considering entering into a government contract must tread carefully”.

The following are some links to good overviews on the process.  This page will be updated as we develop more sources:

Books on Federal Contracting

Federal Government Contracting blogs

Federal Government Contract Overview

Introduction to Federal Contracting