Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to right sidebar Skip to footer

Author: laura long

Upcoming Events

If it’s been a while since you attended a live event, training, or a webinar, it might be time to consider checking into as updates and changes are happening. Stay ahead of the curve. Give us a call at (301) 913-5000 if we can answer questions about any of the following:

Building Maintenance and Operations Overview & DPA Training – Virtual 10/25/2018
Announcing the Building Maintenance and Operations Overview and Delegation of Procurement Authority Training. The training will provide detailed ordering procedures for the new BMO government-wide strategic sourcing contract vehicle.

 

GSA Schedule 66 Training 11-6
What’s up with Schedule 66? Drones and a whole lot more!

 

Building Maintenance and Operations Overview & DPA Training – Virtual 12/13/2018
Announcing the Building Maintenance and Operations Overview and Delegation of Procurement Authority Training. The training will provide detailed ordering procedures for the new BMO government-wide strategic sourcing contract vehicle.

There’s Actually a Strategy…

Earlier this year, the Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goal: Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset was released, with a goal to develop and implement  comprehensive Federal Data Strategy. Over the next year,  the first government-wide data strategy will be developed, along with plans for implementation.

The Federal Data Strategy is chartered to define principles, practices, and a first-year action plan to deliver a more consistent approach to federal data stewardship, use, and access. This development team will also test solutions and assumptions with the Data Incubator Project, which will help identify priority use cases and methods that should be replicated or scaled.

Four Federal Data Strategy areas of exploration include:

  • Expertise data governance
  • Decision making and accountability
  • Access, use, and augmentation
  • Commercialization, innovation, and public use

This strategy will be built on the expertise and input of those who contribute ideas, examples, comments, and suggestions. If you have any, now is the time to share!

Want ideas considered?  Let’s talk at 301-913-5000.

Heads Up! Great Opportunity for Schedule 70 Holders

The FBI has decided not to hold a full and open competition for spots on the Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract (known also as ITSSS). They have decided instead to award to vendors that already hold contracts on the GSA IT Schedule 70.

The bureau announced back in the spring that ITSSS would remain a single contract made up of multiple tracks. The tracks are being revised, however: the BPA will only include vendors with pre-vetted tools and services available on Schedule 70, thereby greatly reducing the competitive pool.

The six tracks currently proposed are:

• end-user services

• business applications services

• delivery services

• platform services

• infrastructure services

• emerging services

Between 15 and 22 spots on each of the six tracks are expected to be awarded, totaling between 90 and 132 awards. However, one single company could win spots on multiple tracks. Each track will include 10 to 15 large businesses and 5 to 7 small business. This presents a fantastic opportunity for many of our Schedule 70 clients. Now is the time to get out and market market market to FBI purchasing agents!

Not on the Schedule yet? Give us a call at 301-913-5000 or email Melissa Botello.

 

 

eBuy Open Launches

eBuy Open takes eBuy a step further — this electronic Request for Quote (RFQ) system launched just this week. The one-year pilot will test whether  vendors without a GSA Schedule contract will be better able to determine their intentions with regard to the Schedules or subcontracting opportunities.

GSA’s idea is to increase new entrants in its acquisition vehicle programs, increase competition, and promote transparency. This latter part will be promoted through federal buying opportunities receiving public view in eBuy of opportunities posted, after contract award.

A test group of government purchasers is included in the one-year pilot program, comprised of contracting officers from the GSA Office of Internal Acquisition and the FAS Region Southwest Supply and Acquisition Center for GSA-funded procurements. The test group will upload award notices for public viewing of each eBuy award. Opportunities can be found by entering the keyword “eBuyPilot” in the search box.

Please call EZGSA at 301-913-5000 if we can assist or answer any questions.

Modernizing the Federal Workforce

Transformation of the Federal Workforce

The current Administration says it is making progress towards transforming the federal workforce and framework that governs it. Over the summer, low-scoring agencies improved employee engagement and chose executives to lead upcoming workforce initiatives.

Development is slow but headed in the direction of preparing the federal workforce for “future” skills while addressing hiring and performance management frustrations. The goal is to have a simplified hiring process, while giving agencies more flexibility, in place by March of 2019. (On average it took 106 days to hire a new employee in 2017.)

Employee and Performance Engagement

During the summer, NIH piloted a tool for employee and performance engagement, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). This tool has helped low-performing agencies find opportunities to improve employee engagement. OPM drafted guidance to help low-performing agencies improve the FEVS scores. In the future, all agencies will be asked to give OPM more detail on their plans to improve engagement.

Federal Workforce/ Private Sector Workforce

By April of 2019, results from a study of the federal government’s compensation package will be available to compare to the private sector.  Among other tasks, all supervisors and managers are scheduled to have performance management training, which will align the federal to the private sector workforce.

The goal of these new plans, measures, and tools is to prepare the federal workforce for future skills and address long-held performance management and hiring practices.

Please call EZGSA at 301-913-5000, if we can answer any questions.