The Office of Management and Budget said many feds responsible for IT acquisition are so cautious about running afoul of ethics rules that they\'re passing up what could be productive interactions with the industry. The administration plans to start an awareness campaign to improve communication between agencies and vendors.
Rob Burton, former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and currently an attorney at Venable Law Firm, joined the DorobekINSIDER to discuss how the events of 2010 will shape the procurement community next year.
Dan Gordon of OFPP discusses the return of the Frontline Forum meetings.
A new survey from the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton finds contracting officers don\'t always find new guidance helpful in how they do their job. Acquisition workers also say too much oversight is causing innovation to be muted.
A new memo from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy gives agencies until June to determine whether the number of contractors performing services is appropriate. First, however, agencies must develop a service contract inventory and make it public. OFPP said for agencies to initially focus on professional and management services and technology services.
OFPP is holding these meetings with large agencies to understand how they are meeting the Obama administration\'s acquisition goals. The sessions are similar to the TechStat sessions, but they\'re not at the program level. OFPP also is finalizing rules around multiple award contracts and schedule bidding.
A coalition of businesses, associations and citizen groups rate members of Congress on how they voted on bills that promote or hurt private sector companies and forces industry to compete with the government. But some experts say the business coalition is taking a too narrow view of what the government does.
A new survey on how well agencies contract for sustainable products and services is under development. GSA and OFPP also are taking other steps to promote green purchasing including training courses and changes to acquisition regulations.
The General Services Administration freezes Schedule 75 to new vendors shortly after awarding a new strategic sourcing contract for office supplies. Small businesses say the combination of the two could have a detrimental effect on their ability to sell to the government. GSA expects to save $52 million a year across government from the BPA\'s lower prices.
A new report to Congress says OFPP will release new policies this fall to improve the management and use of multiple award contracts. One of the policies will require business cases for all multi- and inter-agency contracts. OFPP found that agencies spent more than $52 billion on these contracts in 2009.
The GWAC is focused on providing health IT services along with other general technology functions. Vendors must have specific health IT capabilities to bid on the contract. NIH said a small business RFP of the contract will be issued soon.
Most agencies do not have an accurate inventory of how many devices they are paying for or how much those devices are being used. Officials estimate the government could save as much as $200 million a year by improving the management and optimization of contracts for wireless devices. The administration plans to revive the wireless communications strategic sourcing initiative.
Few agencies know how many cell phones they are paying for. Federal News Radio\'s Jason Miller tells what\'s being done about it.
The federal database of contractor integrity information is about to go public. Rob Burton, the former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
OMB issues a fact sheet detailing successes across the government. Agencies are using fewer risky contracts and achieving more competition. One expert, however, wonders if the insourcing initiative is part of the reason for the changes.