Message from Frank Dixon, State Director |
CT PTAC is continuing to move forward with one of its important 2021 strategic goals; by intensifying the contracting relationships between Connecticut businesses and local municipalities. CT PTAC is coordinating with purchasing and economic development teams from the various counties across Connecticut to support our new “Doing Business with Municipalities Series.” Our first webinar in the “series” will take place on March 9th 2021 where attendees will experience an interactive session with key procurement decision makers from various municipalities in Fairfield County, CT, and what they’re looking to buy in 2021. Attendees will learn where to properly Register as a vendor, where to find bid opportunities, how to market and sell your products and services, and other Valuable information to build strategic partnerships at the municipal level.
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Doing Business with Municipalities Series |
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Feb. 16: Simple Steps for Obtaining Your VA Veteran Owned Business Certification
Feb. 23: How to Create Ad Hoc Reports using beta.SAM.gov
March 2: Create a "Government Friendly” Capability Statement
March 9: Doing Business with Municipalities Series
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Webinars that build your federal and state contracting acumen |
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Connect with us on social media
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FYIs from CT PTAC Procurement Specialists |
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Cheryl DeMarco
Procurement Specialist
Hartford Office
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Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC): Decoded for you!
Although CMMC is ramping up and many solicitations are posting the Certification requirements, it’s a relief to know that the process is not as complicated as it appears. For starters, if you sell off the shelf items, you are exempt from the formal certification. If you are a small business, you will likely only need Levels 1 or 2, which are not performed formally or with the high costs associated with Levels 3, 4 or 5. Level 1 is the starter level to lead to Level 2, which is the starter for the formal Level 3 certification.
You should, however, be implementing the practices of Levels 1 & 2 on an everyday basis to protect your business and all secure items on each computer, laptop, cell phone and tablet associated. At PTAC, we will decode the steps of Levels 1 & 2 for you. You will also be happy to know that you are most likely doing most of the steps already.
Examples:
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CMMC AC.1.001- Use passwords and PINs to restrict log-on: Everyone most likely has a password to log into their computer that is not easily guessed. If not, add a password to log on, and a password or pin to enter for your email. If you can avoid sharing an email with multiple people, that is also covered in this 1st step to Level 1.
- CMMC AC.1.002- Assign “user” rights to most accounts: If the employee is not in IT or the Owner, they should not have administrator rights to add, delete, make changes to computers in the company.
- CMMC AC.1.003- Don’t share your neighbor’s network: Make sure to use the business network, not your home, coffee shop, neighbors’ house or even your personal Wi-Fi. Separate all networks so your company data is protected if another should be hacked into.
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Yu-Han (Jamie) Yang
Database Media Manager/ Procurement Specialist
East Hartford Office
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Welcome to 2021! Thank you all for being with CT PTAC in 2020. To highlight, through CT PTAC assistance, our clients won an amazing $286 Million in federal, state, and municipal direct and subcontract awards during 2020!!!!
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Marisol Herrera
Procurement Specialist
Fairfield County
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Market Research
Conducting market research is a vital part of doing business with the government. In the government marketplace it involves gathering data and asking yourself the following questions:
- Who is buying in your industry?
- What are they buying?
- How much are they buying?
- Who is winning contracts?
- Who are your key competitors?
- Who can you potentially team with?
- What contracts are set to expire that can become potential opportunities?
USASPENDING.gov is a government managed website. It is a free market research tool where you can find detailed contract award. You can learn: who bought what, from whom, for how much, when, and where. Using USASPENDING.gov for your market research will give you a competitive edge by better understanding your target market!
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USASPENDING.gov is a government managed website.
- FREE public research tool
- User-friendly
- You can download CSV files with detailed information about awarded federal contracts.
- Useful for Market Research Analysis-- Find where the government is spending its money.
Create and Action-Outline Federal Agencies that you Plan to Target!
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Join the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Professional Services Council (PSC) for an Industry Day on March 10, 2021 |
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The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Government Contracting Services (GCS) in partnership with the Professional Services Council (PSC) is hosting a virtual ACF Industry Day 2021 on March 10th, 2021 from 8AM to PM ET
The objectives for this event are as follows:
- Share information directly from ACF Executive Leadership about our unique missions that support American citizens throughout the United States every day and plan for the future,
- Hear from ACF’s new Head of Contracting Authority (HCA), Dr. Francine Hemphill, about her vision to maximize ACF’s knowledge of what is the current ‘State of the Art’ within private industry and expand its industry-engagement activities,
- Explain how private industry business leaders can team and partner with ACF for ‘Shared Success!’ today and over the years to come, and
- Provide information regarding current and future ACF procurement goals and partnering opportunities
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Meet the CT PTAC Team
Solving the Puzzle of Government Contracting
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