Procurement Contests Review

The basic idea of a procurement contest — sometimes called a prize or challenge — is to set out a performance requirement for a capability that needs development work and offer a prize, usually money, for the first or best entity to produce a product or capability meeting the requirement.

from the Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech August 15th, 2011 article Procurement contests pooh-poohed by an unlikely source

In this 3-Part Series I examine the procurement contest concept in greater detail, including citing actual case study examples such as the one involving Denver, Colorado-based Alpine Energy Group which spent four years and I am certain a great deal of money to walk away empty handed from a government incineration project right here in my own backyard.

Are procurement contests a viable (and equitable) acquisition tool for the government?  After reading the posts let me know what you think?

September 1st, 2011 – Part 3 (Government procurement contests (Part 3): A question of (IP) ownership)

August 31st, 2011 – Part 2 (Government procurement contests (Part 2): When innovative ideas collide . . .)

August 30th, 2011 – Part 1 (Are procurement contests just another way for government to pass the innovation buck to a preferred outside vendor?)

 

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