The association merger mania

December 12, 2007

It's a bit curious that both sides were so coy about the deal given that it was close to being announced. Perhaps they probably wanted to announce things on their terms. It is always interesting to watch these mergers. They aren't always easy. It is also interesting to see who ends up as the merger and who is the mergee. That sometimes takes time to flesh out. But I have already heard some people note that CSA is moving into PSC's offices until they find a new, larger HQ. Something of an aside, here is a list of :

We warned you about association merger mania and then that the Professional Services Council and the Contract Services Association were close to a merger or a buy or something along those lines.

Now we've learned that they are merging. PSC has an FAQ on its Web site about the merger:

The Professional Services Council (PSC) and the Contract Services Association of America (CSA) have long shared a common mission to represent the interests of, speak for and advocate on behalf of the federal government services industry. In light of the growing integration of the federal services industry, continued industry consolidation, and the growing policy and other challenges associated with the federal government marketplace, the memberships of PSC and CSA agreed that it was in their best interests to integrate resources and capabilities into a single, unified entity.

UPDATE: CSA has a release posted.

CSA's top 10 issues

IMPROVING THE EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RETENTION OF THE
FEDERAL ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.
-Support legislative and executive branch initiatives.
-Work with the Defense Acquisition University and Federal Acquisition Institute.

FIGHTING THE 3 PERCENT WITHHOLDING ON ALL
GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS.
-Oppose legislative efforts to move the implementation date up from Jan. 1, 2011.
-Fight for a legislative repeal of the provision.

STOPPING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW REGULATION REQUIRING
RECERTIFICATION OF SMALL-BUSINESS SIZE STATUS IMMEDIATELY
UPON A MERGER OR ACQUISITION.
-Fight for a change to the regulation to allow agencies to receive small-business
credit for task and delivery orders and work performed under contracts in
existence at the time of the merger or acquisition.

IMPROVING THE PAST-PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS.
-Continue to advocate (executive branch) for improvements in the evaluation
process, expanded use of past performance as an evaluation criteria and
improved consistency in application.

REDUCING SECURITY CLEARANCE BACKLOGS.
-Continue to advocate (legislative and executive branch) for improvements to the
security clearance process, including reciprocity.

FIGHTING LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS DEBARRING CONTRACTORS FOR
VIOLATION OF IMMIGRATION, TAX OR OTHER LAWS.
-Support efforts to enforce existing laws and regulations, but not an expansion of
the debarment process. Don’t make contracting officers law enforcement officials.
-Ensure that there is no debarment without appropriate due process, a
determination of a pattern (rather than a single violation) of abuse and that
debarment is not used as a penalty.

IMPROVING THE CONSISTENCY AND EXPANDING THE USE OF “BEST
VALUE” EVALUATIONS OF CONTRACT BIDS.
-Advocate for better definitions of the criteria being used for evaluation.

SUPPORTING LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS REQUIRING AGENCIES
TO DISCLOSE GREATER DETAIL ON SIGNIFICANT FACTORS AND
SUBFACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN EVALUATING PROPOSALS,
INCLUDING WEIGHTS.

OPPOSING LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS:
-Prohibiting subcontracting (at any tier) more than 65 percent of the contract value.
-Limiting the length of contracts awarded noncompetitively for urgent reasons to
240 or 365 days.
-Minimizing the use of cost reimbursement contracts.

ADVOCATING IMPROVED MEASUREMENT AND CREDIT FOR
SUBCONTRACTING TO TARGETED ENTITIES.
-But opposing regulations that would require divulging information that would
reveal “make-or-buy” decisions, strategic sources, etc.

NEXT STORY: More association merger-mania

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