Contracting Officer Podcast 2.0 (samples)

Latest Episodes:

577 - What is a GovCon IPT? (w/ Bill Scheier) Aug 28, 2026

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All Episodes are inside Skyway Central©
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070 What is an ACRN? Aug 28, 2026

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If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. What is an ACRN? Yes, another confusing Government acquisition term. ACRN is an acronym for Accounting Classification Reference Number. Kevin and Paul explain how ACRNs are used and why both Government and Industry need to pay attention to ACRNs in order to keep the contracting (and billing) process moving along efficiently.———— If you need help with the Government market, join the Skyway Connection Community and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support __________Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

064 Proposal Manager Questions About Source Selections Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. Proposal Managers have a unique view of the proposal process. Among other roles, proposal managers are key to ensuring that proposals are 100% compliant and submitted on time.Kevin and Paul field questions from proposal managers who participated in a recent webinar hosted by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP). Can a Contracting Officer apply proposal compliance rules differently across different proposals? Why should you know your Contracting Officer’s tendencies before you write your proposal? What do proposal page limitations tell us about the Government’s evaluation approach? Listen and learn….This episode is brought to you by Skyway Acquisition Solutions. The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support

069 Five Proposal Myths Aug 28, 2026

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If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. The Federal Government proposal writing and source selection process is full of myth and mystery for the Industry players writing the proposals and the Government employees (and support contractors) who are responsible for evaluating proposals and selecting a winner.Kevin and Paul play Mythbusters and tackle five common proposal and source selection “myths” to root out misperceptions in the acquisition process.Listen and Learn the truth behind these common myths:1) “The evaluators already know what we can do. We don’t have to explain it.” (2:20)2) “The small details don’t matter” (6:00)3) “Proposals are good marketing tool” (11:18)4) “The “shotgun” sales approach is an effective way to win business” (15:08)5) “You can win work you first find on fedbizops.gov after the RFP is released” (17:08)———— If you need help with the Government market, join the Skyway Connection Community and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support

068 Why Targeting Matters Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. Why is targeting so important? How does it benefit both Government and Industry? In this “Follow-on” episode Kevin and Paul dig deeper into the concepts introduced in Episode 016, The Importance of Targeting”. Learn “How to Be the Prize” the Government is looking for by understanding your Target Market and Reachable Market. For the Government folks, you’ll gain insight into why it is important to help Industry better target opportunities to save time and money for both sides. If you need help with the Government market, join the Skyway Connection Community and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support

067 Acquisition Planning - Failure to Plan Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. This episode is brought to you by PROPRICERTM, the #1 proposal pricing and cost analysis software used by federal agencies and small to large government contractors. Visit www.PROPRICER.com/podcast to learn more or request a demonstration. You’ll be glad you did!Why is acquisition planning so important? The GAO recently sustained a protest based on the agency’s failure to engage in reasonable advance planning. You can read the details here: https://skywayacquisition.com/skyway-co-insight/protest-sustained-due-to-agencys-failure-to-plan/ Kevin and Paul discuss why this could be huge for the Government acquisition world and why both Government acquisition offices and Industry should pay attention! It seems that the GAO has had enough excuses and is going to hold program and contracting offices accountable for ensuring adequate advance planning is done. Learn why this decision could be considered a good or bad development for you, whether you are the CO, the COR, the Government user, or Industry.

066 What is an IDIQ Contract? Aug 28, 2026

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If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. This episode is brought to you by Unanet. Use Unanet for all Projects, People & Financials, or integrate seamlessly with other accounting and ERP systems. Unanet provides a ‘single source of truth’ and removes the barriers to sharing realtime information caused by using separate business systems. Visit unanet.com\podcast to learn more.What does Indefinite Delivery \ Indefinite Quantity mean for my contract? Did I really win any work? Or for the Government, how much can I buy and for how long?Kevin and Paul explain what IDIQ means and discuss the benefits and pitfalls of this common contract type. Learn how to leverage IDIQ contracts to make acquisition easier for both Government and for Industry. You’ll also hear cautionary tales of how misunderstanding of IDIQ contracts can wreck your program or company.

065 Do I Need An Approved Accounting System? Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. This episode is brought to you by Unanet. Unanet provides a ‘single source of truth’ and removes the barriers to sharing realtime information caused by using separate business systems. Use Unanet for all Projects, People & Financials, or integrate seamlessly with other accounting and ERP systems. Visit unanet.com/podcast to learn more.When do you need an “approved” accounting system? What does “approved” actually mean? Who approves it? What is the difference between adequate, acceptable, and approved accounting systems?Kevin and Paul answer these questions and discuss the reasons why the Government requires contractors to build rigor into cost accounting systems in order to accumulate and allocate different cost elements. Learn how the requirements for accounting systems (and other business systems) scale as the size and complexity of contracts grows. Visit unanet.com/podcast to learn more.

059 Encore: RFI, DRFP, RFP. What is the difference? Aug 28, 2026

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Listen and Learn… What is an RFI? What is a DRFP? What is an RFP?In this special Encore episode, Kevin and Paul describe RFIs (Request for Information), DRFPs (Draft Request for Proposals) and RFPs (Request for Proposals) and explain why and when they are used. The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in Federal Government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support

054 Encore - The 80/20 Rule Aug 28, 2026

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Listen and Learn… In this Special Holiday ENCORE episode - Kevin and Paul discuss the Contracting Officer Podcast’s 80/20 rule. This is one of the earliest and most popular CO Podcasts, presented again “in case you missed it” because the concept shows up in so many episodes.The 80/20 Rule (of thumb) plays on Pareto’s Law (look it up…) by comparing the relative importance of relationships and processes in the Government market to their importance in commercial industry. If you need help with the Government market, join the Skyway Connection Community and get access to one-on-one insights, time-saving tools, and contract-centric training resources that will make sure you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities each time they knock.The Skyway Connection© Community was created specifically to help small companies expand their knowledge and capabilities, and to increase their competitive position in federal government acquisitions. - Learn more at: https://skywayacquisition.com/connectMembership benefits include: Access to Skyway Insight© Webinars Unlimited access to The RFP Score™ Access to Ask a Contracting Officer Forum™ Priority Access to Skyway Team for Skyway Insight, capture, proposal support

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