All Civil & Government Articles
  • How strong is your business ecosystem?

    Brenda Crist Civil & Government

    ​Achieving a consistently high proposal win rate requires a highly capable bid and proposal team, in addition to a strong business ecosystem consisting of contracts, finance, human resources, recruiting, technical and project management, communications, partners and suppliers. If one or more of the components of the ecosystem is weak, your bid can fail.

  • The double-edged sword of Amazon’s HQ2

    Kate Hessong Civil & Government

    "Amazon is performing a competitive site selection process and is considering metro regions in North America for its second corporate headquarters," Amazon wrote in its request for proposal, seeking a home for HQ2. If the thought of having a retail and technology giant call your city home wasn’t exciting enough, the company is also promising to bring 50,000 new jobs, $5 billion in up-front construction investment and an inevitable boost to the local economy. But is Amazon moving to your city too good to be true?

  • A diverse force makes for a stronger force

    Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

    ​It is no secret that we live in troubled times. Racism, white nationalism and minority harassment make daily headlines. At the same time, maintaining law and order is a challenge. Hate speech and mistreatment accusations are battering the police force. The need of the hour is to rebuild the trust and faith of the people they have sworn to protect and serve. A specific focus is on building a diverse force and strong community connections.

  • #MeToo and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace

    Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    Accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against film producer Harvey Weinstein have recently exposed widespread behaviors in Hollywood towards many women and some men. As a result, Alyssa Milano adopted the now-hashtag #MeToo, taking from a campaign that started 20 years ago with activist Tarana Burke. But sexual harassment and sexual assault by men in power towards women is not a new phenomenon. According to a recent ABC News-Washington Post poll, 54 percent of all American women have been subjected to unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances.

  • Opportunity alert: NOAA NEMITS IDIQ

    Lisa Pafe Civil & Government

    If you pursued the Department of Commerce (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NOAALink program — whether successfully or unsuccessfully — over the course of its nine-year acquisition history, be aware that NOAALink 2.0 has been laid to rest.

  • Trump ends payment subsidies to insurers

    Seth Sandronsky Healthcare Administration

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to end the federal cost-sharing reduction payments that help lower income consumers buy marketplace insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. The administration's decision will likely force insurers to hike the cost of their policies to make up for the loss of federal money.

  • The messy problem with global city rankings

    Lucy Wallwork Civil & Government

    For those of us looking to see how our home city stacks up against the rest of the world, there is now no shortage of places to find comparisons — the "Quality of ​Living" index made global headlines, as did the Economist Intelligence Unit's widely cited ranking of the "world's most livable cities."

  • Trump signs executive order to bypass ACA requirements

    Seth Sandronsky Healthcare Administration

    With Congress' repeated failures to overturn the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump on Thursday morning signed an executive order that opens the door to dismantling Obamacare.

  • Enforcing anti-discrimination policies in the workplace

    Nicolette Penner Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    The protection of LGBT workers against discrimination has been a gray area in the workforce ever since ​the Department​ of Justice filed an amicus brief declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover "discrimination based on sexual orientation." Although certain states have passed laws protecting LGBT workers, sexual orientation is not directly stated in Title VII, which protects individuals' race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability from discrimination.

  • Avoid the ‘bad words’ trap while writing your proposal

    Brenda Crist Civil & Government

    ​Bob Lohfeld published an article in Washington Technology several years ago called "100 wo​rds that kill your proposal." He explained, "Inexperienced proposal writers seem to use words that should be avoided when writing proposals. These inappropriate words and phrases can weaken a proposal, annoy evaluators and even undermine the bidder's credibility."