government technology & services coalition – GTS Coalition

GTSC Releases 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market

Kristina Tanasichuk — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 18:07:36 +0000

The Government Technology & Services Coalition, the foremost organization for government contractors in the homeland security mission space, released its 2019 Annual Report at their Annual Meeting.

GTSC’s 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market, catalogs the non-profits activities and progress toward a trusted community to protect the nation.

The theme: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market highlights the effectiveness of the over 200 contracting companies that have joined together to collaborate to bring the best solutions to the homeland security market. The organization saw 25% growth among its mid-tier members, contractors with revenue between $25 million and $1 billion, and saw over one million page views at their news site, Homeland Security Today (www.HSToday.us). In addition to engaging to improve procurement for all contractors, the organization works to provide a level playing field, increase competition, and assure that smaller companies with innovative solutions have an opportunity to share with the public sector officials that need them. The organization has attracted new government partners, and sustained vibrant partnerships with its traditional supporters.

“We are extremely happy that our approach to collaboration, facts, and practical solutions has been embraced by the homeland security community. We have worked very hard to create a community of trusted relationships between the public and private sector to work together to protect our nation. We work daily to bridge the communication gap and lack of understanding between those who are accountable for the mission, and those who support them to achieve it. Our non-profit’s work, our mission, has always been to support those on the front lines, executing our nation’s laws, to keep our children, citizens, and cities safer against all threats.” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder, at the release.

“Our partnership with GTSC is incomparable,” said Alba M. Alemán, CEO of Citizant and GTSC’s Mid-Tier Company of the Year. “GTSC, has been paramount in developing trusted relationships between industry and agency leaders to bring forward unique perspectives, so that those agencies will be better served and able to achieve mission-critical objectives. Moreover, to be a part of such an elite network of like-minded professionals passionate about national security and core infrastructure missions, is both energizing and humbling.”

GTSC was founded in 2011 by small business CEOs in the homeland security market to find ways to improve procurement and acquisition of innovative technologies, give small businesses a voice in the federal market, and provide a trusted community for those tasked with securing the country. The organization has evolved to represent the ecosystem of the homeland security market with small, mid-tier, and large companies engaged to collaborate, mentor, and network to achieve mission. In 2017, the non-profit purchased the Homeland Security Today media platform.

“As a fairly new business having started in 2012, I have been a part of various organizations and associations. GTSC has been the ONLY one that has consistently supported businesses and government entities with a passion for both sides. I can proudly say that Potomac Management Solution’s growth and success has been directly contributed to the programs, guidance and overall structure of GTSC!” said Diane McCain, CEO of Potomac Management Solutions and GTSC’s Small Business of the Year.

GTSC and Homeland Security Today also hosts the Annual Holiday Hero Awards recognizing those on the front-lines on watch every single day to protect our country from threats to homeland security. The awards recognize private citizens and public sector officials doing exceptional work on behalf of the homeland.

The 2019 Annual Report catalogs the numerous programs, meetings, networking opportunities, charitable events, and workgroups supported by the organization and the leaders and members shaping those activities.

Click here to view the report.

A Case Study on the Power of Partnership: How Federal Agencies Can Find Qualified Small Businesses, Faster

Kristina Tanasichuk — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:45:28 +0000

When the Government Technology and Services Coalition (GTSC) was formed a little over 5 years ago, one of our primary missions was to improve and assist our federal partners in performing their market research. We immediately formed a “Market Research” workgroup, chaired by Brian Nault, President of BlueWater Federal to identify how the government could find the best providers, and reach the largest number of competitors, possible to meet the demands of their mission at the best price and highest quality.

We met with procurement officials and contracting officers to discuss some of the challenges of “being noticed,” by federal agencies, particularly for small businesses. We conveyed the shortcomings of the “Requests for Information” from a small business’s perspective, described how the lack of response from some agencies to the information provided in an RFI hindered a robust response from industry, and explained how the value of responding often was not high enough given the need for companies to spend time staying afloat chasing real opportunities. All of these shortcomings held true for any size business.

We are still working on improving the RFI process but recently we were able to provide some tangible assistance to a partner in the government – and were successful in showing that with the proper partnership, the government can get better, and faster access to qualified providers.

It began with a call from GTSC member and GTSC Small Business Member of the Year 2016 Kathy Pherson, CEO of Pherson Associates, a Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), who was concerned that a partner agency found no Woman-Owned Small Businesses in a certain NAICs code. The member connected us with the agency and to their credit, they were very interested in hearing from us! GTSC put out a call for firms qualifying for the requirements. In less than 48 business hours we had amassed over 25 qualified WOSBs and submitted them to the agency.

With that, they altered their initial track structure for the intended procurement to reflect this market research.

Why am I writing about this? This is obviously an “ideal” scenario!

I wanted to provide a real life example of how our government partners can leverage their industry partners to find their most qualified providers and best solutions competitively. We encourage all of our government partners to consider:

Go to where the small businesses live. There are very few organizations that really represent small businesses in the federal market. Why? Simply because they do not have tremendous marketing dollars. Small companies look for the most resources for the least outlay of the capital they use to grow. Federal agencies should forge close ties with non-profits that work with, and actively represent small businesses.
Develop and Leverage relationships.Every market is a series of relationships – healthy markets are composed of those you trust and those you do not. That is why “industry relations” are so important to a vibrant federal market. Good relationships with industry allow an agency to reach and get assistance to find the small businesses they need. It also saves a tremendous amount of time and leg-work to try and find new communities around every procurement.

Be strategic. Different organizations are good at different things. The best federal industry liaisons, procurement officers, and leadership understand their market’s industry partners, who represents what, the organization’s mission, and the efficacy of the organization. Developing these relationships with industry allows them to understand how to best leverage existing resources and find active, engaged businesses.

Talk to your industry partners. We may finally be coming out of a period where many in the federal government were reluctant to talk to industry. The message we’ve been hearing more than ever – from nearly every component within the Department of Homeland Security – is that acquisition and procurement leaders are encouraging their staff to get out more and talk to, and learn from, industry. As a matter of fact, under the leadership of DHS CPO Soraya Correa the Department has undertaken “Reverse Industry Days” – devised by industry – to provide their contracting staff an opportunity to learn about industry and how it operates. GTSC’s Acquisition & Procurement Workgroup lead, Carolyn Muir from SE Solutions and a former contracting officer with the Navy has been instrumental in crafting and adding tremendous value to the topics and lessons provided in these “Master Classes” on government contracting.

We continue to applaud these changes to our procurement and acquisition process and look forward to continue leading both industry and government as we navigate a market environment moving faster than conventional procurement can handle.

Kristina Tanasichuk is CEO & Founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan organization of small and imd-sized companies working in homeland and national security. She is also the president of InfraGardNCR, a public private partnership between the private sector and the FBI to share information to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure, and the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security.

GTSC 5th Anniversary Awards Spectacular December 7

Kristina Tanasichuk — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 14:10:49 +0000

Join GTSC to celebrate 5 years of serving the homeland and national security community at our 5th Anniversary Holiday Awards Spectacular! With special guests galore and our usual line-up of stellar supporters — this will be the year to remember — and the YEARS to be thankful to all for their support!

We will announce our:

Small Business Member of the Year

Mid-Tier Company of the Year

Mentor of the Year

Federal Small Business Champion of the Year

Market Maven Award

Federal MVP

Strategic Advisor of the Year

Strategic Partner of the Year

and include a special new 5th anniversary recognition for supporters from our 5 years!

CONTACT US TO NOMINATE A PEER, CLIENT OR ADVISOR FOR OUR AWARDS (nominations accepted until November 15!)

Support and sponsorships of our holiday event are welcome — please contact us to help make this our best event ever!

Have YOU Joined GTSC’s Collaboration Group?

Kristina Tanasichuk — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 12:18:36 +0000

GTSC is executing our member collaboration network — an online resource for you to communicate with other members of GTSC, collaborate within your Business Development Exchanges, and have direct, real-time access to the latest information, opportunities, and colleagues.

Often, I’m presented with opportunities and I have no fast way of getting out to you except by sending an email to the entire membership. This collaboration site allows me to post those opportunities or questions to all of you, and allows you to do the same. Similar to a listserv, you will be able to post opportunities, teaming requests, staffing challenges, and questions to the group. More valuable than a listserv, the collaboration site allows members to form work groups, opportunity groups, jointly edit and work on documents, whatever will help your business forward its goals by collaborating with others in GTSC.

What does this mean to me?

We have sent invitations for GTSC members to join our collaboration site and set up a profile. GTSC will be pushing more and more of our real-time communications through this tool. As soon as you have a profile, we can invite you to your specialty group (GTSC BDEs, Lion’s Den, Innovation workgroup) and start communicating.

WHY are you doing this to us, Kristina? Another network??

I know, I know. Another thing. But we have to do it, frankly, to be more efficient. This tool cleans up your inbox, helps you focus on the opportunities we’re working on, and gives you all a platform to leverage the Coalition better. The key of course is for you to start using it actively so that we work as a cohesive machine.

So….let’s get busy!! Check your inbox (and your junk mail) for the invite from group site. If you have not received an invite, please let me know and we’ll figure out the problem.

THANK YOU all for your patience while we implement this exciting new function — once up and running I assure you that it will become your “go to” spot for tracking and partnering.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions!!

Kristina

GTSC Expands Steering Committee to Accommodate Growth

Kristina Tanasichuk — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:12:30 +0000

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES COALITION
EXPANDS STEERING COMMITTEE
GTSC expands Steering Committee to accommodate Coalition’s growth

Washington, D.C. April 8 — The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), the premier non-profit organization for small and mid-sized companies in homeland and national security, today announced that it has expanded its Steering Committee to serve the mission more effectively by representing the increasing number, and diversity, of companies in the Coalition.

“US-CERT last month told electric utilities to disengage from the internet as much as possible. The Office of Personnel Management suffered a breach that affected over 22 million people. In 2015 we lost approximately $800 million to hostile countries, nation states, and criminals. ISIL uses Twitter to plan attacks quickly and effectively across the globe. As we approach our 5^th anniversary, we have expanded our Steering Committee because we need more mission-oriented people and companies engaged in providing the government the best ideas and execution,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, founder and CEO of the Coalition.

“While GTSC works to parse through the challenges in Federal procurement, the mission marches on. We want to assure that the most successful small, mid-tier and large companies committed to the homeland and national security mission have a voice. It was natural to reach out to some of our best and brightest to inform our path,” she continued.

“The key to successfully delivering against our most pressing homeland and national security challenges is a strong partnership between private sector companies with innovative approaches to delivering real capability and this in government who understand the challenges. GTSC is providing significant value to both my firm and our federal partners through dedicated focus on bringing us together to advance the mission of homeland and national security,” said Frank Landefeld, managing director & public sector market leader at MorganFranklin Consulting.

Members of the GTSC Steering Committee contribute to the direction and priorities of the Coalition, identify mission needs, and work with federal partners to find innovative mechanisms to bring cutting-edge ideas and technologies to the homeland and national security mission.

Additions to the Steering Committee include:

Robert Aguilera, Garud Technology Services, Inc.
Elizabeth El-Nattar, CEO, TRI-COR Industries, Inc.
Diana Francois, Senior Vice President, WBB, Inc.
Josh Kussman, CEO, Sentinel Strategy and Policy Consulting
Frank Landefeld, Managing Director & Public Sector Market Leader, MorganFranklin Consulting
Suzanne Liscouski, Vice President, NCI, Inc.
Tim May, Chief Marketing Officer, Salient CRGT
Dennis Murphy, PMP, President, ASM Concepts
Michael P. Stabolepszy, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, INTEGRITYOne Partners
Wayne Willis, Managing Partner, HWC

They join existing Steering Committee members Dr. Sheri Dougherty, president, DAI; Elaine Kapetanakis, CEO, Kapstone Technology; Lisa Martin, CEO, LeapFrog Solutions; Carolyn Muir, executive vice president, SE Solutions; Brian Nault, president, BlueWater Federal; Kathy Pherson, CEO, Pherson Associates; and Andrea Stone, CEO, Dynamic Pro, Inc.

“As a small business in homeland security we are thrilled with how GTSC provides a forum where small and mid-tier firms can forge trusted relationships to collectively pursue opportunities. Nowhere is there such a strong voice with the attention and focus on the continuing success and extremely high ROI to member companies as at GTSC – we are excited to be part of an organization bringing the best of breed to our government partners,” added Michael Stabolepszy, co-founder and managing director, INTEGRITYOne Partners.

“I am honored to have had the privilege not only to serve the first two secretaries of DHS, but also now to assist GTSC in defining their strategic path forward in engaging DHS in productive industry dialogue. Their work on behalf of mid-tier companies is unique and extremely relevant in today’s market,” said Suzanne Petrie Liscouski, vice president, federal civilian agencies, NCI, Inc.

GTSC works on behalf of its members with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Justice, Treasury, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Founding Strategic Advisor Michelle Mrdeza on GTSC’s Accomplishments

Kristina Tanasichuk — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:09:42 +0000

During our March Membership Madness promotion we asked a number of our Strategic Advisors to share with our community why they joined, how they see us impacting the homeland and national security agenda, and what the ROI for joining the Coalition is for small, mid, and large companies. In our latest video, Michelle Mrdeza, one of the most respected homeland security professionals in Washington, D.C. discusses the Coalition’s role in educating members of Congress, their staff, and our Federal partners. Michelle has more than twenty-three years in public service on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch, including four years as Majority Staff Director of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security. At Cornerstone, Michelle contributes to the firm’s homeland security practice group.

See the video here.