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So what if tech companies can bid? It’s $10B, they likely already know who they’re going to give it to. Most of this stuff is wired anyways.

by mygo 8y ago

stephengillie 8y ago
There's usually a fulfillment requirement - basically proving the company can handle contracts of this size, often from prior contracts.
- mygo 8y ago
  Right. Of course there is. That’s not my point. My point is that, before accepting any applications, the administration likely already knows who they want to give this contract to. That entity will be capable of doing the work, of course, but there’s too much politics in $10B for it to be given solely on merits.
  - dahdum 8y ago
    The terms are also important, and assigning the contract without any competition ensures they will be incredibly one sided.
    - mygo 8y ago
      Yep they use it to drive up the price of the contract. Reminds me of when I was a pledge a decade ago. The fraternity with one of the best houses was kicked off campus. So the owner, seeking new occupants, put the house up for bidding. There were a lot of implications to having your letters on that house— anyone who had that house would automatically be guaranteed an excellent fraternity experience. Everyone who was in the know already knew the seller was going to give it to one specific fraternity that wanted it. So most fraternities who were eyeballing the house didn’t even bother. Still, my fraternity engaged, and in the end it was the remaining bidder along with the aforementioned. Ultimately, even though we gave the best bid (we could fill up all the rooms and at a better price), it still ended up going to the other fraternity, because politics. However the biggest winner was the seller, because they not only gave it to who they wanted to give it to from the start, but they also got to drive up the price for it. Even though that was my first real exposure to this kind of stuff, I’ve seen over the years that this is par for the course. Actually just last month my company, partnered with two universities, was involved in what turned out to be a wired $10 million grant. Truly open bids are rare for contracts with major implications. For any big contract, it’s good practice for interested parties to use their connections to try to find out if it is wired or truly open before spinning their wheels and dumping their resources into it.

So what if tech companies can bid? It’s $10B, they likely already know who they’re going to give it to. Most of this stuff is wired anyways.

by mygo 8y ago

So what if tech companies can bid? It’s $10B, they likely already know who they’re going to give it to. Most of this stuff is wired anyways.

stephengillie 8y ago

There's usually a fulfillment requirement - basically proving the company can handle contracts of this size, often from prior contracts.

mygo 8y ago
Right. Of course there is. That’s not my point. My point is that, before accepting any applications, the administration likely already knows who they want to give this contract to. That entity will be capable of doing the work, of course, but there’s too much politics in $10B for it to be given solely on merits.
- dahdum 8y ago
  The terms are also important, and assigning the contract without any competition ensures they will be incredibly one sided.
  - mygo 8y ago
    Yep they use it to drive up the price of the contract. Reminds me of when I was a pledge a decade ago. The fraternity with one of the best houses was kicked off campus. So the owner, seeking new occupants, put the house up for bidding. There were a lot of implications to having your letters on that house— anyone who had that house would automatically be guaranteed an excellent fraternity experience. Everyone who was in the know already knew the seller was going to give it to one specific fraternity that wanted it. So most fraternities who were eyeballing the house didn’t even bother. Still, my fraternity engaged, and in the end it was the remaining bidder along with the aforementioned. Ultimately, even though we gave the best bid (we could fill up all the rooms and at a better price), it still ended up going to the other fraternity, because politics. However the biggest winner was the seller, because they not only gave it to who they wanted to give it to from the start, but they also got to drive up the price for it. Even though that was my first real exposure to this kind of stuff, I’ve seen over the years that this is par for the course. Actually just last month my company, partnered with two universities, was involved in what turned out to be a wired $10 million grant. Truly open bids are rare for contracts with major implications. For any big contract, it’s good practice for interested parties to use their connections to try to find out if it is wired or truly open before spinning their wheels and dumping their resources into it.