Start Now! Become a

CERTIFIED CONTRACT SERVICES PROFESSIONAL (CCSP)

Requirements:

1.  Nominated by Company Officer for Certification Training

2.  Demonstrated successful performance in a responsible position on a Service Contract

3.  Completion of CSA Contract Services Training Institute (CSTI) mandatory six courses and three elective courses (101 hours)

4.  Successful completion of CCSP competency examination

5.  Maintain Certification with 40 hours continuing education training annually

Receive professional development, college and continuing education credits

for CSTI Training!

The Federal Market Institute is certified by the following organizations:

CCSP Mandatory Training Courses

1.   (PM/CM 100)   Managing Profitable Government Contracts for Peak Performance                                                       

Two days of solid best practices to successfully manage profitable Federal Government Service Contracts!  One of our most popular and requested programs.  The “big picture”; learn how the Federal Government acquires supplies, services and data.  Learn the rules of the game, the regulatory foundation, the players and how to read and understand your contract. Finally, learn how to successfully manage that contract.  Checklists and performance support tools provided.  Provides a good foundation for all follow-on training.

2.  (FA 100)   Finance & Accounting for Service Contracts:  “Improving Cash Flow & Profitability”   

This program provides a clear insight into understanding government contract cost principles and the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS); determining if your cost accounting system is sufficient to meet your management needs; preparing for government audits; developing solid cost estimates and then controlling those cost; and finally, proven techniques for improving cash flow and provides insight into government estimating techniques and pricing strategies. This two-day course is designed to orient the Service Contractor Profit-Center Manager and other personnel responsible for cash-flow and profit on government contracts in the fundamentals of finance and accounting.

3.   (PM 101)   Project Management in Service Contracts: The Competitive Edge

Many federal solicitations are mandating certified project managers.  This program provides both new and experienced project managers practical insights into the discipline of project management for service contracts.  This is the second  (PM/CM100 is the first) in a series of eight courses designed to provide an overview of the entire project management environment from two viewpoints – those related to the entire project life cycle processes and those related to the skills project managers need to have to address the myriad of challenges encountered in services contracts.

The content of this course is centered on the principles of project management from the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOKÔ).”  The principles are reinforced through a series of case studies and hands-on exercises that will draw from the best practices in service contracts.

4.   (BD 100)   Capture Management & Winning Proposals                                                           

Capture Planning is an aggressive life-cycle approach to winning.  In this highly interactive 2-day program, you will learn best practices and proven techniques for identifying, pursuing and winning government service contracts.  Recognized as subject-matter experts by the government in Source Selection, The Federal Market Group is responsible for helping clients win more than $23 billion in government contracts over the past five years with an 80% win rate.  Checklists and other performance support tools provided.

5.   (CM 110)   Teaming Agreements and Subcontract Management

The focus is on the demanding job of teaming and subcontracting with other contractors who enter into contracts with the Federal Government. The Federal Government only enters into bilateral contracts and therefore, the subcontractor’s contract is a commercial contract with the prime, subject to mandatory flow-down clauses.

 Privity, a contractual relationship, with the government, therefore, does not exist for the subcontractor. Both the prime and the subcontractor are at risk. You learn how to turn this into a positive and profitable effort whether you are the prime or the subcontractor.  Creating a high-performance team is the solution.  This program provides best practices approaches to the process.  Real-time subcontracts are used for the case study. Checklists and proven techniques are provided.

6.   (SG 100)   Self-Governance – Managing Compliance and Ethics Risks*

Learn how to proactively manage audits, compliance requirements and personal and corporate risks.   This dynamic training program provides proven tools and techniques for a proactive, problem avoidance approach to managing Government contracts.  In an environment where even the appearance of an impropriety can create enormous difficulties for a company, it is essential to institutionalize a culture of self-governance; a work environment where ethics and standards of conduct are beyond reproach.

Congress and the Executive Branch continue to focus on ethics in government contracts.  Concentration is on: misuse of information, bribes and gratuities, product substitution, cost mischarging, conflict of interest, and drug abuse.  Tools and checklists are provided to support oversight of ethics in your organization.

Elective Training Courses

7.   (FA 110)   Estimating and Pricing Government Service Contracts        

Pricing is a strategic decision!  This 2-day program focuses on the critical steps necessary to capture your true costs and then make the right pricing decision to win and profitably manage government service contracts.  It is a team effort.

Learn how the government conducts cost and price analysis, cost realism analysis and market research to determine a “fair and reasonable price.”  Learn how to conduct your own analysis to provide the government with data to demonstrate how your solution provides: 1) cost savings, 2) cost avoidance, and, 3) productivity enhancement, or all three.  Detailed costs estimates demand discipline and tools to support that discipline.  Proven estimating and pricing tools are provided.

8.   (FA 200)   Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) for Service Contracts                                              

Best practices and a solid start on understanding and practical use of EVMS in service contracts.  Earned value management systems in service contracts are required by the federal government for all projects over $20 million.  It is an early warningsystem that: ensures on-budget, on-time execution; enables accounting control over the project level and project manager control over the task levels; and, prioritize opportunities across the enterprise to reduce redundancy.  

EVM systems align projects to corporate strategy, lower project management administrative and implementation costs, standardize project management process that enforces quality, reduce costs for revenue recognition, and reviews historical project results for future project planning. 

9.   (CM 300)   Performance Based Service Contracting (PBSC)

Performance-Based Service Acquisition (PBSA) offers the potential to dramatically transform the nature of service delivery, andpermit the federal government to tap the enormous creative energy of private industry! Laws, policies, and regulations have dramatically changed the acquisition process into one that must operate with a mission-based and program-based focus. 

Since 2005, 50% of all service contracts must be performance based.  This course focuses on the government’s Seven Steps to Performance Based Acquisitions in the Services Industry.  Best practices and proven techniques with performance support tools provided.

 10.   (BD 201)   GSA Federal Supply Schedules for Services – Excellent Marketing Tool for Services

Under the GSA Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules and Federal Supply Schedules) Program, GSA establishes long-term government-wide contracts with commercial firms to provide access to over 10 million commercial supplies and services that can be ordered directly from GSA Schedule contractors or through the GSA Advantage!® online shopping and ordering system.

GSA Schedules offer customers direct delivery of millions of state-of-the-art, high-quality commercial supplies and services at volume discount pricing. All customers, even those in remote locations, can order the latest technology and quality supplies and services, conveniently, and at most-favored customer prices.    Learn how to get on the schedules you need and then how to successfully market them.

12.   (CM 202)   Negotiating for Success – A Process, Not an Event

In this dynamic 2-day program, you will understand how conflict, influence, persuasion and negotiation fit together; Understand how you manage conflict!  Learn how to properly use the nine techniques of influence and persuasion; it’s not about manipulation!  Understand the Principled Negotiations approach (“Getting to Yes! The Harvard Negotiation Project”); Differentiate process from action!

You will learn to plan a negotiation; if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there!  You will be able to apply the Principled Negotiations approach, having practiced its use during the case study; understand what to do if the other side does not use Principled Negotiations; and understand collaborative negotiation techniques.

Other Electives to be Announced!!

Receive professional development, college and continuing education credits

for CSTI Training!

The Federal Market Institute is certified by the following organizations: