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  News Update
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2008 November Issue 2
In This Issue
--Security Clearances
--Minority Contractors Ruled Unconstitutional
--President Obama's Federal Contracting Agenda
--History's Top Innovations
--Ruling could end some set-aside programs

          

STIMULATE YOUR ECONOMY!

Upcoming NO COST Teleconferences
 Wed., November 19, 2008
How to Create a Powerful Capability Statement
 
Your Capability Statement should be the strongest business development tool in your toolkit. A well done Capability Statement will open doors to great business opportunities. A poorly done Capability Statement will slam the door before you get to square one.  
 
Thurs., December 4, 2008
Introduction to Government Contracting
 
This teleconference was designed for companies who are newcomers to the federal contracting market. Find out what the Government is buying and when. Learn how to target the right opportunities and more.
 
Tues., December 16, 2008
Certifications for Government Contracting Success 
 
Over $15 Billion in federal contracts are set aside for those companies meeting Minority, Disadvantaged, HUB Zone or other certifications. Do you qualify for certification? If so, how do you get certified and then use that certification to open the door to business opportunities? Register for this TargetGov Teleconference for answers! 
 
 
Click here to register for any of these NO COST sessions.

      

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Join Our Mailing List 
 
 
Good morning!
 
There have been a lot of questions about security clearances: do we need to get cleared, how do we do that, what is the process, does it matter if I inhaled back in college, does my financial record matter, what DO they ask during the polygraph, and will anybody find out what I answer? The Security Clearance Class this Thursday at the Government Contracting Institute will answer all of those and other questions about this secretive process. See the listing below for registration information.
 
It's time to move forward and rebuild our economy. The TargetGov Team has developed our own Economic Stimulation Package which is in effect the rest of the year. We want you to be as successful as possible, so we are offering every "How To" teleconference at NO COST to you through the rest of the year. Attend this week's session to learn how to write a Powerful Capability Statement. 
 
If you want to finally enter the government contracting market (or see what's its all about) the Introduction to Government Contracting is for you. If you want to find out about becoming certified as a small, minority, women-owned or veteran owned company, the Certifications Program is perfect. Attend one or all three - right from your own phone, no wasted travel time or gas expense. It is our way of reaching out to help "float all of our boats!"
 
Now is the time, and you are in the right place to benefit from this real Economic Stimulus Package - no strings attached! I will look forward to your participation. 
 
And one last thing: If you are concerend about how politics can impact you business, both men and women can join WIPP--a non-partisan organization that gets our voice heard. Check it out at wipp.org.
 
Here's to your success!

   

       Gloria Berthold signature
Gloria Berthold Larkin

President, TargetGov

 

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Security Clearances
November 20, 2008
8:30 am to noon

Attendees will learn what a security clearance is, types of clearances, the procedures and requirements for obtaining a facility and personnel security clearances, which agencies require clearances, differing application processes required by various agencies, related timelines, what to do if you do not pass the first time, and what conditions disqualify someone from receiving a security clearance.

Speakers:
Emily Buell Noreiga of the Industry Outreach & Facilitation Office at National Security Agency (NSA) will speak about the Provisional Industrial Security Approval (PISA) Program.
 
Michelle Stewart-Young has 28+ years as a Government Security Professional.
 
Sandy Hanson has 20+ years experience personnel clearance processing for hundreds of DoD personnel including new clearances, re-investigations, reciprocal clearances and visit requirements
 
Click here to register
 

The Howard County Government Contracting Institute offers you the best opportunity to receive instruction from leaders in the government contracting market on topics like getting registered as a contractor, certifications,business development, market research, proposal writing, oral presentations, accounting and legal issues, project and contract management and security clearances. Space is limited to ensure an optimal learning environment.
 
Minority Contractors Ruled Unconstitutional
 
The Defense Department's minority contractor rule is unconstitutional, a court has ruled.  A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals decided against the rule because there was no real proof that DOD has discriminated against the firms in awarding contracts. The rule requires that minority-owned firms must get at least 5 percent of defense contracting dollars. The decision blocks further use of the law.
 
Click here for details
 
President Obama's Federal Contracting Agenda
 
The Obama administration could be tough on federal contractors, although the president-elect has pledged to expand contracting opportunities for small, minority, woman-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned firms. In a policy paper released during the campaign, Obama promised to cut federal contract spending by 10% and sharply curtail the use of cost-plus contracts. "These contracts are vulnerable to waste because they provide no incentive to control costs," the paper said.

Click here for more information
 
        
History's Top Innovations
 
NDE
 
It's a pretty daunting task to list the top 25 innovations in world history, but the challenge doesn't seem to worry Lawrence Husick, a historian of innovation affiliated with the Foreign Policy Research Institute. In a new article entitled "From Stone to Silicon," Husick presents his take on history's most important innovations. His list includes concepts (e.g. the theory of evolution, the concept of money), products (e.g. paper, the wheel) and technologies (e.g. steam power, food preservation). The innovations are ranked based on their impacts (both good and bad) on human life and the number of lives they have affected. For Husick, spoken language is thus the most important innovation in history. He also places great emphasis on the concept of "intentional pedagogy," i.e., the idea that humans can intentionally transmit culture and ideas.

Access the October 2008 Foreign Policy Research Institute article, "From Stone to Silicon: A Brief Survey of Innovation," by Lawrence A. Husick.
 
� 2008 The Public Forum Institute andthe National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.
     
Ruling could end some set-aside programs
 
According to a recent story in FCW.com, government and industry officials are unsure what will happen now that a federal appeals court has ruled against some Defense Department minority contracting programs.

The  court ruled Nov. 5 that Congress had not proven DOD was discriminating against small businesses owned by minorities and therefore could not justify requiring preferential treatment through contract set-asides. Because the law incorporates an explicit racial classification, it is subject to strict court scrutiny, and Congress "must have a strong basis in evidence," according to the ruling.

"The statute fails strict scrutiny," the court ruled. A DOD spokesman said officials will carefully consider the decision, but it is too soon to know what effect it will have.

The primary rationale of the court's decision could be the impetus for further action against set-asides, said Robert Burton, former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and now partner at law firm Venable. The underlying principle could be applied to women-owned small-business contract set-asides, for example.

DOD spent $15.5 billion, or 5.75 percent of its contracting dollars, with small, disadvantaged businesses in fiscal 2007. 
 
Link: http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154388-1.html