A Guide to Federal Contracting

The federal government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, spending hundreds of billions of dollars per year, employing hundreds of thousands of people as civil servants or contractors. Yet no textbook is commercially available to discuss how federal contracting is done in a format that is written for the general public as well as the practitioner. This publication is intended fill this void - to demystify the volumes of regulations and policies, and provide in one volume a succinct yet thorough treatment of federal contracting requirements and regulations. Bringing together concepts of business law, politics, public and social policy, pricing, and procedures for contract placement and administration, the author draws on over 30 years of federal government experience to cover the vast spread of this important process which impacts our daily government operations.
About the Author: Dan Lindner possesses more than 30 years of experience in federal acquisition and program management for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. He was a long-time contracting officer for the Navy, and is well-versed in federal acquisition policy and procurement regulations. He has chaired review panels and study teams, negotiated contracts for major weapons system components, worked daily with administrative contracting officers, established a remote buying office, and served as a Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist. As a staff aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he conducted personal briefings on pending Congressional issues affecting defense acquisition, and co-authored the Procurement Reform Act of 1986. Dan also established and chaired the Environmental Committee for Defense Acquisition Regulatory (DAR) Council, and was a member of the Cost Principles Committee, gaining expertise with Cost Accounting Standards. Dan also has a lengthy career in the private sector, working closely with technical and acquisition clients to define business needs and product requirements, counseling program managers and contracting officers to develop effective strategies, and helping to develop winning proposals. He also served as Vice President for Mindcorp, Inc., a small business furnishing program management support to both Federal and commercial clients. In academia, Dan was an instructor for the Navy Office of Human Services and with Fairfax County (Virginia) Adult Education where he developed and taught newly-hired employees about procurement basics.