PSC Mission

PSC’s mission is to provide unparalleled value to our members by being the leading advocate and resource for the government technology and professional services industry, providing our members with:

Unrivaled Advocacy

Policy and Thought Leadership

Outstanding Business Intelligence

Value-Added Programming and Networking

PSC Priorities

Demonstrate the Value of Govermental Contracting by highlighting companies effectiveness, innovation, efficiencies, and commitment to federal missions

Help the Government Become a Smarter Customer and Better Buyer by promoting a more effective, competitive federal acquisition system.

Promote Technology and Innovation by advocating for improved IT acquisitions and cybersecurity programs

Government Missions by supporting more effective management of the total federal workforce.

Maintain PSC as a World-Class Association and develop the PSC Foundation as a premier research and educational activity.

PSC focuses on these key issue areas on behalf of our members:

Acquisition and Business Policy

Appropriations and Budget

Key Issue Areas & Agency

Involvement

Federal Health

Enforcement

Supply Chain Issues

Congress and Legislative Affairs

Ethics and Compliance

Technology and Innovation

Accounting and Auditing

Foreign Assistance

Industrial Base and Competition

Technology (IT) and Cybersecurity

Resources and Labor Policy

Small Business

U.S. Federal Agencies PSC is actively involved with:

Mission and Priority #1

Successes

Demonstrate the value of government contracting by highlighting companies’ effectiveness, innovation, efficiencies, and commitment to federal missions.

Engaged tirelessly with U.S. Government officials on key issues, such as the real-world impacts on government services contractors of higher-than-expected inflation, labor market volatility, and ongoing supply chain challenges.

Suggested necessary improvements for a common-sense approach to human resources and labor policies that support recruitment, retention, training, and promotion of contractor employees. A highly skilled, knowledgeable, dedicated, and diverse workforce is the backbone of every government services company, and PSC members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states and around the world to support federal missions.

Underscored the importance of lowering barriers to entry and maintaining healthy competition in order to attract new companies to the federal marketplace (and re-attract those who might have left in recent years). These efforts can, in turn, increase the types of innovation available to the federal government.Participated actively in frequent, open dialogue with U.S. Government officials on issues related to the Russian invasian of Ukraine, counterbalancing Chinese industrial activities, and ways in which the federal agencies can access emerging technologies and solutions.

Testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the challenges to the U.S. defense industrial base, including the impacts of inflation, the COVID-19 global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and funding uncertainties, and on ways that industry, Congress, and the Defense Department can work together more effectively to address such challenges.

Worked to block harmful legislative proposals that would negatively impact contractor operations, including “blacklisting,” burdensome reporting requirements, and supply chain constraints.

Successfully advocated for legislative language on budget transparency (particularly in operations and maintenance accounts), flexible tools to surge capabilities when needed, and ways to address higher-than-expected inflation.

Held in-depth discussions with Government Accountability Office officials, providing government services perspectives on federal contractor competition at select agencies and personnel vetting processes (e.g., contractor suitability and fitness).

Mission and Priority #2

Successes

Help the government become a smarter buyer and better buyer by promoting an effective, competitive federal acquisition system

Supported legislation to make procurement more agile and worked with Congressional leaders to require government reports on agency efforts to monitor, and make publicly available, Procurement Administrate Lead Times. Concurrently, remained actively engaged with agencies to make PALT data more easily available to the public.

Published the 4th annual PSC Federal Business Forecast Scorecard, using 15 key attributes to assess the quality and transparency of 62 publicly-available, web-based agency procurement forecasts and worked with White House officials on using those forecasts to lower barriers to entry for companies who have not traditionally worked with the federal government. Of note, the General Services Administration (GSA) received the Scorecard’s highest marks for 2022 for its “acquisition gateway” system that allows users to sort information quickly to identify specific contracting opportunities.

Submitted 22 sets of comments to agencies regarding: inflation; government-wide acquisition contracts; minimizing the risk of climate change in federal acquisitions; climate disclosures; nondisplacement of qualified workers under services contracts; labor law violations; minimum wage for contractors; project labor agreements; employee data; employee and independent contractor classification; Department of Defense’s contract finance study; undefinitized contract actions; planning, collection, and submission of digital information; contract pricing requirements; noncommercial computer software; cyber incident reporting; and federal insurance response for catastrophic cyber incidents.

Joined other trade associations in 9 letters, comments, or white papers submitted to executive branch entities, including the White House, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council, on issues of common interest.

Provided input to the Department of Defense on potential reforms to the foreign military sales process.

Engaged Congress on the impact of the legislation on, inter alia, organizational conflicts of interest, personal conflicts of interest, Russia, semi-conductors, inflation reduction, and changes in procurement policies.

Facilitated 6 Reverse Industry Days to provide industry perspectives on specific acquisition approaches and engaged actively with key Government officials on high-interest opportunities.

Promote technology and innovation by advocating for improved it acquisitions and cybersecurity programs.

Revitalized PSC efforts through the newly-renamed and refocused Technology and Innovation Council, which has an expanded Executive Advisory Board, new working groups and committees (e.g., Emerging Technologies Working Group), and refreshed relevance in this space.

Submitted detailed comments to multiple agencies (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office) on cyber incident reporting, potential federal insurance responses to catastrophic cyberattacks, cybersecurity resources, and protection of critical infrastructure.

Mission and Priority #3

Successes

Provided input to Congress on the need for appropriately robust investment in cyberscecurity and technology, especially sustained support for federal IT transformation and investments in modern commercial solutions – including but not limited to appropriations for the Technology Modernization Fund.

Engaged frequently with Dept of Defense officials on contractor cybersecurity risk mitigation, developments related to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and DoD’s Zero Trust strategy and roadmap. By sharing contractor input, lessons learned, and concerns, PSC aimed to shape government approaches so that contractors are not held to a higher standard than federal agencies themselves.

Continued strong PSC advocacy on IT modernization policies, programs, and resources, including engagement with congressional members and staff on legislative initiatives.

Remained vigilant on acquisition efforts in the technology space, such as the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and ASsessment Center (NITAAC) CIO-SP4 government-wide acquisition contract vehicle and its implications for the federal IT community.

Mission and Priority #4

Successes

Communicated frequently with government and industry officials to the status of COVID-19 safety protocols for federal contractors and ensured PSC members’ awareness of developments that could impact their workforces, in part through maintaining an updated COVID-19 Resource Center on the PSC website.

With attention from senior DoD acquisition leaders and understanding that recommendations may apply in both defense and civilian agencies, established and led a multi-association Workforce Working Group to explore three lines of effort:

1. Shared DoD / industry workforce challenges (e.g., availability of talent pools, recruitment, retention)

2. Industry workforce challenges in which DoD plays a role (e.g., labor category requirements, security clearances)

3. DoD workforce challenges in which industry has a stake (e.g., qualified acquisition cadre)

Led bi-weekly discussions among industry officials on security clearance reform, provided clearance-related legislative proposals to Congress, and spoke with Hill and Government Accountability Office staff about contractor fitness and reciprocity issues.

Faciliated discussions with Defense Contract Audit Agency leaders on Paycheck Protection Program and incurred costs reports, as they pertain to personnel costs and employee retention during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Worked with the Department of Labor on key workforce issues, such as minimum wage requirements for federal contractors, nondisplacement of qualified workers under services contracts, employee and independent contractor classifications, and other wage/hour and labor law issues.

In addition to the above mentioned COVID-19 Resource Center, maintained resource centers on governemnt shutdowns, security clearance reforms, and inflation, allowing memebrs to access federal agency guidance, key PSC actions, and other relevant information on each topic.

Educational Activity

Sustained the current PSC membership base (90% renewals) while significantly growing new membership (79 new members).

Grew the Annual Partnerships Initiative 31%.

Delivered more than 100 events and conferences that exceeded PSC’s budgetary goals, ensuring continued valuable content and quality while providing options that recognize differing levels of comfort for both speakers and attendees.

Mission and Priority #5

Successes

Focused and accelerated research efforts, particularly through the PSC Foundation, that added to PSC thought leadership, media outreach, and information for PSC members and government customers.

Improved our database and website to ensure greater capability, response time, and usability.

Enhanced member engagement through more than 100 briefings and 1,000 quarterly engagement reports. Drove high visibility into our advocacy work on behalf of the industry.

Improved communications with members on internal association issues, as well as high-profile and impactful Government guidance and requirements.

Expanded media partnerships and alliances that contributed more than $500,000 of in-kind marketing value.