For the last couple weeks, I've had my first COTR assignment. I'll tell you what COTR stands for, but it won't enlighten you: Contracting Officer's Technical Representative. Here are a couple hints to help you decipher that. First, out here in Fedland, "technical" simply means "expert." Second, Fedland is heavily populated with people involved in contracting- that is, in making arrangements to purchase goods and services with public money. I suspect it's possible to spend public money without a contract, but I think you need special training for that.
Anyway, federal contracting is so complicated that it takes specialists, contract specialists, to do it. It takes all their time to follow the federal acquisition rules, so they don't have much time to understand the goods and services they're acquiring. That's why they need expert representatives to make sure that, once all the acquisition rules have been followed, the government actually gets what it's paying for.
The government is paying me to monitor and direct the work of an exhibit planning and design firm. If George Bush has his way, that's all anyone at HFC will be doing, because in his ideal Fedland, as much public money as possible goes right back out the Treasury doors and into private businesses.
I had a pretty intense, fun time in Denver last week, working with the planning/design people and the WABA Park folks. I'll tell you about it later.
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Anyway, federal contracting is so complicated that it takes specialists, contract specialists, to do it. It takes all their time to follow the federal acquisition rules, so they don't have much time to understand the goods and services they're acquiring. That's why they need expert representatives to make sure that, once all the acquisition rules have been followed, the government actually gets what it's paying for.
The government is paying me to monitor and direct the work of an exhibit planning and design firm. If George Bush has his way, that's all anyone at HFC will be doing, because in his ideal Fedland, as much public money as possible goes right back out the Treasury doors and into private businesses.
I had a pretty intense, fun time in Denver last week, working with the planning/design people and the WABA Park folks. I'll tell you about it later.
.
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