News for the Acquisition Workforce

 

Aug. 16, 2023 Deadline for CAOC Award Submissions is Aug. 20th! Don't Miss Out! The deadline to submit nominations for the 2023 Acquisition, Program Management, Small Business and Procurement Equity, and Sustainable Acquisition Excellence Awards is four days away! This is the final call to submit your nomination(s) to help highlight acquisition professionals who contribute to outstanding improvements in acquisition throughout the federal government. Submit nominations and read the official announcement here. Webpage UPDATE on FAI.gov: Credentials! Explore FAI's new credentials webpage, a hub for federal acquisition workforce (AWF) professionals. Enhance expertise through both Federal and DAU Credentials, bolstering credibility in federal acquisition. These credentials validate skills, boosting confidence in navigating complex acquisition processes. Discover both OFPP/FAI Federal Credentials and DAU Credentials available to the AWF. Introduced after FAC-C Modernization, they offer on-demand, just-in-time training, promoting lifelong learning. Watch our videos explaining credentials' benefits for both workforce and supervisors. Elevate your career journey today! Take Note: Adjustment to the Small Disadvantaged Business Threshold FAC 2023-05 was issued in the Federal Register on Aug. 8, 2023, and included FAR Case 2023-04 Small Disadvantaged Business Threshold, which implements the Small Business Administration's (SBA) final rule published on Nov. 17, 2022, and increases the net worth threshold that is used to determine eligibility for small disadvantaged businesses from $750,000 to $850,000 for inflation. The final rule also updates obsolete FAR citations to certain SBA regulations. Acquisition Workforce Spotlight: Robyn Wiley Acquisition workforce members from across the federal government are making amazing contributions to the acquisition community every day, and FAI wants you to know about them! Check out this quarter’s spotlight featuring Robyn Wiley, a program management section head from the U.S. Copyright Office. Go to FAI.gov to learn more about Robyn and her work! Mission Support Leadership Program, Formally Known as LEAP The Mission Support Leadership Program is accepting applications now. It is designed for GS-12 to GS-14 federal employees in acquisitions and prepares mission-critical federal professionals to become more effective leaders by focusing on the four core tenets of the Partnership’s Public Service Leadership Model—self-awareness, engaging others, leading change and achieving results. The application deadline is Sept. 15, 2023. Fiscal Year 2024 Courses are Coming! FAI's fiscal year 2024 FAC-C, FAC-COR, credential, and continuous learning virtual instructor-led training will be available in September 2023. As soon as the training sessions become available, FAI will notify the workforce, and they will also be listed on FAI.gov. Seats will be first come, first serve, and, as always, there will be no tuition cost to students or their agencies. FAI CSOD Tip: How to Get Notified When New Training Sessions are Available Are there courses you need or know you want to take in fiscal year 2024? We encourage you to use the “Indicate Interest in a Future Session” feature in FAI CSOD. By using this feature, you will receive an immediate notification from FAI CSOD that a new session is available. To use this feature, follow the steps outlined on pages 51 and 52 of the Federal Employee Task Aid. FAI Student Training Guidebook An excellent resource is now available to all civilian acquisition professionals: the FAI Student Training Guidebook! The guidebook contains a series of expectations, policies, guidance and more for individuals who participate in Federal Acquisition Certification training and FAI-provided (virtual) instructor-led training. It ensures that all parties are fully aware of FAI's policies and expectations for their training. We recommend that you read the guidebook and keep it close at hand. It has been developed by a variety of acquisition subject matter specialists and reviewed by a number of acquisition career managers from a variety of agencies in order to support acquisition workforce excellence.

Acquisition Today is published the first and third Wednesday of each month. If you have information that you would like to share with the federal acquisition workforce community via Acquisition Today, you may submit your article for consideration by completing this form. If you have feedback that you would like to share with FAI, please email us at contact@fai.gov.