PUAD 6600 PUBLIC CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

PUAD 6600 - Fall 2011

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University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 500

Campus Box 142 Denver, CO 80217

PUAD 6600 – PUBLIC CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Office: Lawrence Street Center, Suite 500, Office 500Z4 Phone: 303-315-2861

Email: [email protected]

Class: August 22, 2011 – December 17, 2011 Online via eCollege

Please go to www.cuonline.edu and select the eCollege course login.

Course Description & Scope

This course examines the life cycle of public procurement and contract management and reviews the basics of government contract law. It provides an overview of public procurement from the practical perspective of a public administrator. The course covers each phase of the procurement cycle with an emphasis on tools and techniques necessary to manage a procurement project.

Course Goals & Objectives

This course will explore a number of different issues pertaining to the procurement of goods and services by government agencies. Specifically, students will:

1. Become aware of current issues and practices pertaining to government outsourcing decisions; 2. Develop an understanding of the procurement life cycle and the options available for organizing

a procurement;

3. Learn about solid practices for managing each stage of public procurement; 4. Appreciate the ethical considerations related to procurement

Required Text

Engelbeck, R. Marshall. (2002). Acquisition Management. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. Additional readings are listed in the online classroom, eCollege. These readings will be available for download or available via an external website.

About the Instructor

Jen Gartner is the Director of Grants & Contracts for the School of Public Affairs. She is trained as a government contracts attorney and has worked with military and government contractors for many years, first at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius in Washington, DC, and later at the Space Science Institute, a research non-profit and home to the Cassini Imaging Team, in Boulder. Jen has practiced before the US Court of Federal Claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the DC Superior Court. She has also worked for the US Sentencing Commission, where she advised judges and

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prepared teaching documents about the drug sentencing guidelines and briefed the Director of Legislative Affairs on congressional hearings regarding money laundering and drug trafficking.

Jen received her BA in Criminal Justice and Political Science from the University of Delaware in 1998 and her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, where she served as Senior Managing Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal and as Student Director for the Domestic Violence Advocacy Project. While working as an attorney in Washington, DC, she also obtained an MPA from Norwich University.

Jen has been an adjunct professor and lecturer for both the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs and Norwich University’s Office of Graduate Programs. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of public administration and criminal justice. Jen has published

several articles related to government contracts law, including an article about government contracting under the Homeland Security Act.

Although she is a “recovering attorney,” Jen remains licensed in Maryland and Washington, DC. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Jen is a rabid Ravens fan and keeps a tin of Old Bay seafood seasoning at her desk. She is owned by an extremely cute Aussie Cattle Dog mix, Dodger.

University Policies

1. Student Conduct & Discipline. The University has rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of its business. Students are responsible for knowing and complying with the rules and regulations that govern student conduct and activities. Please visit the UCD Policies & Guidelines website, http://catalog.ucdenver.edu/content.php?catoid=6&navoid=530 , for a complete guide to applicable policies and procedures.

2. Academic Integrity. All students are expected to uphold the University’s academic honesty code. A student must submit work that represents the student’s own original analysis and writing. If a student relies on the research or writing of others, the student must cite those sources. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source.

All students must be sensitive to plagiarism! For each written assignment and for each wiki, the instructor will select a random sample and conduct a plagiarism screening using Google searches, SafeAssign, and other available methods. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas, strategies, research, and writing. If you use the words or ideas of others without giving proper credit, you are guilty of plagiarism. The following guidelines will help you avoid plagiarism:

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• When writing, use your own words. When you use another person’s words, use quotation marks and credit the source with an in-text citation and a proper reference page.

• Credit the original source even when you have made slight variations to the language. • If you are unsure whether to cite or not, err on the side of caution and cite!

Please note that submitting an assignment that you wrote for another course, without specific approval by the instructor of the current course, is also a form of plagiarism. The University honor code and related policies is available online at:

http://catalog.ucdenver.edu/content.php?catoid=6&navoid=530#Academic_Honor_Code_and_Disci pline_Policies.

3. Email Use. The University requires all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s UC Denver-assigned email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students to be official only if it originates from a UC Denver student account. (Beware! If you send emails from your personal email address, those emails may be quarantined by the system and never reach the instructor.)

4. Accommodation for Disability. The University is committed to providing reasonable

accommodation and access to programs and services to persons with disabilities. Students who want academic accommodations must register with Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 177 Arts Building, 303-556-3450, TTY 303-556-4766. I will be happy to provide the requested

accommodations once you provide me with a copy of DRS’s letter.

Course Requirements and Policies

1. Schedule. This is an online course via eCollege. Each week begins on Monday at 12:00 am

Mountain Time and ends on Sunday at 11:59 pm Mountain Time. The course uses a combination of asynchronous discussions, written assignments, and a research paper.

2. Reading Assignments. Most of the readings assigned in the syllabus and any supplemental readings added throughout the semester are mandatory; there are a few “recommended” readings, which students are strongly encouraged to at least skim. Students must read the appropriate material prior to the week for which it is assigned and be prepared to discuss the material in the online discussion boards.

3. Discussions. This course includes ten (10) graded group discussions. Students must post an initial response to the discussion question by 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Wednesday to avoid losing points. Students must post at least two (2) additional responses by 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Saturday. See the Discussion Guidelines and Grading Rubric for details regarding expectations. PhD students enrolled in PUAD 6600 must post at least four (4) additional responses.

4. Written Assignments. This course includes five (5) short written assignments. The assignments are intended to test your understanding of key concepts while providing an opportunity to relate the course readings to “real life” responsibilities that public administrators have in relation to

procurement issues. Students must submit assignments through the dropbox no later than 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Sunday. See the Assignment Guidelines and Grading Rubric for details regarding expectations.

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5. News Items. In order to better understand the field of administrative law, each student must post five (5) news items to the New Item Discussion Board over the course of the semester. Your post should summarize the news item, include a link to the news item (CNN story, Denver Post article, etc.), and include your thoughts about the news item. See the News Items Guidelines for deadlines, details, and examples.

6. Research Paper. All students will select a topic relating to one or more of the subjects covered in the course and prepare a standard research paper. The paper shall be no less than 8 and no more than 12 pages, double-spaced, exclusive of references. The paper must be in APA format. See the Research Paper Guidelines for details regarding expectations. PhD students enrolled in PUAD 6600 shall prepare a policy analysis paper between 15 and 20 double-spaced pages, exclusive of

references.

7. Late Work. Students must complete assignments and discussions at the identified times. Only the instructor may grant an extension, and only then for serious extenuating circumstances. In the absence of an extension, the instructor may lower a student’s grade for each day the assignment is late.

8. Important Dates. Students are responsible for knowing all academic calendar dates for the semester. Please see the Registrar’s website for the full academic calendar.

9. Technical Requirements. Students are responsible for maintaining or accessing a computer system capable of participating in all aspects of this course. This includes, but is not limited to, running the eCollege software, Real One player, Adobe Reader, and web browsing.

10. Respect for Fellow Students. Respect opposing views! There is much to be gained by active, critical debates on opposing viewpoints. Please remain respectful and professional in your discussions and assignments. This includes strict avoidance of sexist, racist, and other derogatory language. Keep in mind that it is difficult to determine “tone” in written communications. What comes off as a playful jab when spoken verbally can be read as a harsh criticism in email or on the discussion board. 11. APA Style. Written assignments and the Policy Analysis Paper must follow APA format. Points will

be deducted if you fail to use APA format! See the Student Resources section for information on APA format.

Teaching Strategies & Methods of Evaluation

Students are responsible for a variety of written assignments and asynchronous group discussions that test their ability to apply the concepts and principles addressed in the course to a variety of factual scenarios that replicate real-world challenges confronted by managers in public organizations. Students will be required to:

1. Synthesize and apply what they have read from the course readings and textbook; 2. Research online resources to supplement the course readings;

3. Identify relevant and material issues and exhibit critical thinking and analysis of the issues and concepts applicable to the issues; and

4. Exhibit clear and effective writing with an appropriately professional tone in all assignments and discussions.

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Evaluation

There are 1000 possible points awarded for the required number of assignments and discussions in this course. A perfect grade with full points will only be given to an assignment or discussion of superior quality that meets all expectations as detailed in the grading rubric (a copy of the rubric is available in the eCollege online classroom).

PAD 5410 Seminar Points

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Activity Points per _Activity # Required Total Points % of Final Grade

Discussions 30 10 300 30%

News Items 30 5 150 15%

Written

Assignments 50 5 250 25%

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Topic Outline & Items Due A= Assignment

D = Discussion

Week Dates Topic Reading Assignment Items Due

1 8/22 – 8/28 Intro to Government Contracting I • Brief overview of

government contracting • Foundations of

government contracting • What do agencies buy?

*Washington Post, Top Secret America

*NY Times, In Washington, Contractors Take on Biggest Role Ever

*Obama, Memo for Heads of Exec. Depts. – Government Contracting

Recommended

*Rubin, The Possibilities & Limitations of Privatization

*D1 & D2

2 8/29 – 9/4 Intro to Government Contracting II • Overview of US

government, including the “Fourth Branch” • Agency delegation • Private v. public contracts

*Text, Ch. 1 (ok to skim) *Schooner, Too Dependent on Contractors

Recommended

*Berrios, Government Contracts & Contractor Behavior

*D3

3 9/6/ - 9/11 Ethics in Contracting *DOJ, Lee Dynamics Press Release *OSOGE, Ethics & Procurement Integrity

*D4

4 9/12 – 9/18 Government Contracts Legalese • Important laws and

regulations • The FAR

*Gartner, Legal Research Guide (PowerPoint)

*List of Government Abbreviations & Acronyms

*A1

5 9/19 – 9/25 Socioeconomic Issues in Government Contracting

*Denes, Do Small Business Set-Asides Increase the Cost of Gov. Contracting?

*Marion, How Costly is Affirmative Action?

*D5

6 9/26 – 10/2 Contracting Basics *Text, Ch. 2

*Schooner, Objectives for a System of Government Contract

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Law

*Phillips, Guiding Principles 7 10/3 – 10/9 Acquisition Planning, Part I *Text, Ch. 3, pp. 77-106

*Cohen, Limits to Contracting: When to Make Instead of Buy *Gartner, Demystifying Government Outsourcing Decisions

*Comp. Gen Decision – New Dynamics Corp., B-401272

*D6

8 10/10 – 10/16 Acquisition Planning, Part II • The Acquisition Plan

*Text, Ch. 3, pp. 107 – 133 *A3 9 10/17 – 10/23 Solicitation *Text, Ch. 4

*Queensland, Developing Specifications

*Proposed Rule, Organizational Conflicts of Interest

*D7

10 10/24 – 10/30 Bid & Proposal Preparation *Text, Ch. 5

*Lieberman, 10 Big Mistakes in Gov’t Contract Bidding

*A4

11 10/31 – 11/6 Source Selection *Text, Ch. 6, pp. 267 - 294 None 12 11/7 – 11/13 Negotiation & Award *Text, Ch. 6, pp. 294 – 317

*Draft Exec. Order, Disclosure of Political Spending by Gov’t Contractors

*Draft Bill, keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act

*A5 *D8

13 11/14 – 11/20 Disputes & Protests *Nagle, Practitioner’s Road Map to GAO Bid Protests

*D9

14 11/21 – 11/27 FALL BREAK None

15 11/28 – 12/4 Contract Administration *Text, Ch. 7

*OFPP, Best Practices for Contract Administration

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*Lieberman, 10 Big Mistakes in Government Contract

Administration

16 12/5 – 12/11 Contractor Performance *Schoooner, Contractor Atrocities at Abu Ghraib

*D10

17 12/12 – 12/17 FINALS WEEK None * Research

Paper (due 12/15 by 11:59 pm)