Federal e-Newsletter |
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 |
CapITal Reps Fed e-Newsletter #443, Just GSA
www.capitalreps.com What's NEWS GSA recruits integrity council to review Sun case GSA on the road to recovery? GSA cuts back assisted acquisition service GSA names new CIO Grassley to GSA: Nix Sun deal Don't Miss Federal Strategies Eligibility to Use GSA Sources Vets-100 Reports Due by September
30th GSA opens competition for federal
funding database GSA starts second phase of
contract streamlining program Interagency contracts worry GSA GSA to name Schobert as ITS GSA: Alliant has everything Federal unions attack pay-for-performance efforts Alliant goes to 29 contractors GSA recruits integrity council to review Sun case FCW, 9-11-07Lurita Doan, administrator for the General Services Administration, has asked the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency to help sort out a conflict between GSA's inspector general and Sun Microsystems, saying the case is just one example of a disturbing trend. The problem stems from the IG's concern that Sun has overcharged government customers by more than $25 million for its products. The IG said Sun has not cooperated with the investigation, failing to turn over certain documents to investigators despite requests from the IG. In a letter to Kenneth Kaiser, chairman of the Integrity Committee and assistant director of the FBI's Inspection Division, Doan wrote that her concern extends beyond the immediate case to its broader implications. The GSA administrator noted that it is not unusual for contractors to resist handing over documents to investigators, a situation that threatens to undermine the authority of GSA and its inspector general’s office. "I am concerned that the lack of cooperation that has been reported is not an isolated case but is reflective of a systemic issue for the GSA OIG throughout industry as well as with GSA employees," Doan wrote in the Sept. 7 letter. "It is imperative, given our core mission, for GSA to have a fully capable, competent, independent and respected OIG, capable of gaining industry and GSA employee cooperation for investigations and audits," Doan wrote. GSA is not the only concerned party. Even Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) stepped into the matter in recent months. He told Sun to mind the IG's information requests. "Under the contract, Sun must open its books for inspection and provide all the information the IG needs to conduct the audit," Grassley said Tuesday. He doesn’t expect the council will get involved because it has no jurisdiction. In a separate letter to Grassley, Doan said she would not cancel GSA’s contract with Sun as he requested, because she is unwilling to step on a contracting officer’s toes. "I believe they need greater flexibility to make good decisions to the benefit of American taxpayers," she wrote. Doan added that it also would damage the procurement process and be unfair to contractors and customer agencies. Sun had no comment. However, in a July statement, company officials said they had already assembled information in response to a GSA contracting officer’s request and delivered more than 25,000 pages of documents to GSA. Sun officials also said they did not believe the IG was objective and so opposed its role in the investigation. "The inspector general’s office is on record as prejudging whether our current contract is a good deal for the taxpayer," Sun said. In her letter, Doan ultimately wants the council to consult with industry groups and various GSA employees to determine the validity to Sun’s perceived lack of cooperation. The administrator also asked the council for recommendations for GSA and the IG. An FBI spokesman said the committee has received Doan’s letter. The matter is pending, however,and the committee will not reveal if it does the review until a report is finished. GSA on the road to recovery? FCW, 9-10-07In the past three years, the market for assisted acquisition services moved, but the General Services Administration didn’t. Now the agency is trying to catch up. In announcing plans for fixing its slumping business, GSA said it will not eliminate the Assisted Acquisition Services Office. But the agency will trim the office and refocus it by moving into new areas of business. By December, officials plan to send almost half of the 600 employees in the Assisted Acquisition Services Office to another part of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service or to its Public Building Service. Administrator Lurita Doan and FAS Commissioner Jim Williams announced the transfer at a Sept. 7 press briefing. GSA is in this situation because, for the past decade, it hasn’t catered to agencies’ requirements as it should have, said a GSA official, who requested anonymity to speak freely. Williams attributed the need for a new strategy to a change in the way customer agencies do business. Agencies go elsewhere for acquisition services, a development that is leaving GSA in the red. The agency’s assisted acquisition services business has been on a downward slide since fiscal 2004, and GSA sources say they expect it to lose about $50 million in 2007. To catch up to the market, GSA will cut back on assisted acquisition services offerings to build a more economically viable business line that will break even by 2008, officials said. "It is not enough to launch new programs," Doan said. "You also have to have the courage and willingness to modify programs that are not performing successfully or not meeting expectations." Doan said FAS must align its assisted acquisition services’ costs with actual and projected revenue. "For us to do nothing was not an option," she said. Several plans came to Doan in the past few months that she rejected because they were not bold enough for turning around the service. But the plan released last week was comprehensive, she said. GSA’s decision to move into new business areas and reduce resources will not mean job losses, officials said. Williams said the agency used a humane approach in dealing with employees who will no longer be needed in the assisted acquisition services business. About 250 employees will likely move to other FAS positions or other parts of GSA, based on their skills. Layoffs are not part of the plan, Williams said, adding that FAS officials do not expect to submit early-out or buyout request packages to the Office of Personnel Management at this time. FAS is working with employee unions and affected employees to ensure a smooth transition, he said. Doan said she sees a bright future for GSA’s assisted acquisition services. Information technology is becoming more complex, creating a greater need in the government for assistance in writing statements of work, managing projects and guiding customers, she said. GSA can handle that business. GSA cuts back assisted acquisition service FCW, 9-7-07The General Services Administration decided to cut back its assisted acquisition service to build a more economically viable business line that will break even by the end of fiscal 2008, the agency announced today. The strategy will affect half of the assisted acquisition service's employees, however they will not lose their jobs, according to GSA. Officials said they are realigning resources in assisted services by moving about half the workforce to other positions within the Federal Acquisition Service or other parts of the agency where they are needed. FAS is increasing the types of services it will offer, while expanding into new areas in professional services. It already provides expert technical, acquisition and project management support services on a fee-for-service basis. Officials plan to start pre-award and post-award acquisition services for agencies that are conducting internal acquisitions. They also plan to offer acquisition assistance to agencies using GSA’s new contracts, such as Networx and Alliant. "Assisted services is a work in progress, a strong business line whose services are very much in demand," GSA Administrator Lurita Doan said. "However, we needed a plan to align [assisted acquisition service] costs with actual and projected revenue." The recovery plan will affect about 250 employees. But FAS Commissioner Jim Williams said reductions-in-force are not part of the plan, and the service is not planning to submit any early-out or buyout request packages to the Office of Personnel Management at this time. "We are confident that [assisted acquisition service] and FAS will be able to match these employees with new positions within the GSA family," Williams said. FAS is working with unions and affected employees to ensure a smooth transition to the new makeup, he said. GSA announced its robust cost-recovery plan for the assisted acquisition service, which lost about $50 million in fiscal 2007. The service has already implemented a 10-percent reduction in costs against the fiscal 2007 plan. Alliant protests won't slow GSA, officials say FCW, 9-6-07Companies filed five new bid protests Aug. 31 on the General Services Administration’s major information technology contract Alliant, bringing the total number of protests to eight. But GSA officials said today they expected protests on the $50 billion governmentwide acquisition contract. Those protests won’t have a deep impact on GSA because of other GWACs that are still in place, however. Those contracts, such as Millennia, offer agencies an avenue to buy what they need in the meantime, said John Johnson, GSA’s assistant commissioner for integrated technology services in the Federal Acquisition Service. GSA officials added that although the Government Accountability Office decision could come as late as mid-December, they aren’t sitting around and waiting. At a conference today, GSA said it plans to move ahead as much as possible. It wants to tell agencies about Alliant and educate its own staff on details of the contract. GSA's goal is that "we can hit the ground running," said Jim Ghiloni, Alliant’s program manager and director of GWAC programs at GSA. GSA may have a lot of training to do, though. "Many customers don’t know what a GWAC is," Ghiloni said. At times, customers don’t even understand the differences between buying off a GSA schedule and a GWAC. Nonetheless, Alliant will draw in those customers, as IT acquisition becomes more complex and weighed down with more requirements, he said. "I don’t think you have to sell Alliant; you just have to make them aware of it. It sells itself." Agencies can use Alliant to buy IT applications, infrastructure and end-to-end services. Ghiloni also said GSA plans to track customer spending so agencies can check where their money goes. "Customers have a hunger for data," he said. Ghiloni added that customers are asking GSA about their money, especially since budgets are getting tighter with the war in Iraq. But tracking the information will also give GSA a glimpse into how the market is changing and how it can adapt to it, he said. As for the protestors, STG filed its second protest Aug. 31, along with Client Network Services, Nortel Government Solutions, Advanced Technology Systems and Artel, according to GAO. Stanley Associates and the Centech Group filed protests Aug. 27. Gulf Coast businesses get boost from GSA FCW, 8-31-07A new directive from the General Services Administration will streamline the process for awarding recovery contracts to small businesses in the Gulf Coast region, the agency said today. GSA Administrator Lurita Doan’s order allows contracting officers to give preference to local small businesses working to repair the area Hurricane Katrina devastated two years ago, GSA said. Instead of writing separate justifications for why the contract should go to a small business, the order provides a blanket validation to the companies. Justifications are required only when a contract would not go to a local business. "Local small businesses are the backbone of every community," Doan said in a statement. "Revitalizing the small businesses is one of the most significant ways we can aid in the recovery of the Gulf Coast region." The directive will remain in effect until the government no longer considers the region a major disaster area, GSA said. During her visits to the Gulf Coast, Doan met with contracting officers, local officials and small-business owners. They told her GSA should make it faster and simpler to award government contracts for regional recovery efforts, GSA said. Besides the new directive, GSA helped in other ways. It has held meetings in the region to connect local small businesses with subcontracting opportunities and enroll companies in the government’s programs for small and disadvantaged businesses. GSA has also helped firms get schedule contracts. GSA names new CIO FCW, 8-29-07Casey Coleman is now the General Services Administration’s chief information officer, the agency announced today. She had been acting CIO since June 26. In a statement, GSA Administrator Lurita Doan said she has confidence in Coleman’s ability to reduce costs while improving the quality of government services and minimizing technology risks. "Casey Coleman is the right person to fill this crucial position for GSA," Doan said. Coleman moved into the acting CIO role two months ago, replacing Mike Carleton, who left to be CIO and deputy assistant secretary for information technology at the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Resources and Technology. Previously, Coleman was CIO at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. She also served for two years as the Federal Technology Service’s CIO and held leadership positions at GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications from 2002 to 2004. Grassley to GSA: Nix Sun deal Washington Technology, 8-27-07Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked the General Services Administration Administrator Lurita Doan to cancel its controversial Multiple Award Contract with Sun Microsystems. During the last several months, Grassley has been pushing GSA and Sun to address his concerns over the vendor's pricing strategy. The senator believes the vendor is not giving government customers its lowest pricing as required by its GSA Schedule contract. According to GSA's inspector general, Sun has overcharged the government by more than $25 million. But despite the pressure, the company has not provided information for an audit the senator requested, even after requests by a GSA contract officer and Inspector General Brian Miller, according to the senator. Sun also has not provided Grassley's office with its plan for bringing its pricing strategy back into compliance. "Quite frankly, Administrator Doan, I do not understand why Sun would refuse to cooperate fully with this audit," he wrote in an Aug. 24 letter. He questioned why Sun is refusing to hand over contract information and open its books for inspection. "It makes me wonder: Does Sun have something to hide?" he wrote. Sun supplied more information on Aug. 20. Although the new material is still under review, Grassley believe it lacks complete sales data and has no information on the plan. Grassley is especially concerned about the plan, writing that it was a major determining factor in the awarding of a contract extension to Sun. "If Sun is failing to comply with the terms of the contract, then I respectfully request that you consider initiating the cancellation of the contract as recommended by the Inspector General," Grassley wrote. Grassley and Sun’s chairman, Scott McNealy, exchanged letters in July. Both want to reach a reasonable examination of Sun’s GSA Multiple Award Schedule contract, especially its Price Reduction Clause. "We share the same goal of a fair and transparent process," McNealy wrote to Grassley on July 25. "Our only dispute is over how to get there." McNealy wrote that Sun believes Miller and his auditors "have a significant and well-documented conflict of interest and a demonstrated predisposition" against the company, and has asked that a third party conduct the audit. Grassley disagrees. Don't Miss Federal Strategies Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 A One Day Conference of Particular Interest to Small BusinessesPosition your Organization for Government Contracts in FY 2008 This One Day Event will be held at: Holiday Inn National Airport (Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport) Arlington, VA, 22202 (near Washington, DC) (Right across the street from Reagan National Airport) $99.00 Early Bird Pricing click below to register now: www.regonline.com/133092 Maximize Your Opportunities and Exposure in the Federal Arena: This one day event will gave you the information that you need to develop a strategy for your company's success. This informative conference is open to all types of Products and Services, Construction, Technologies, Office Supplies, Furniture, Building Maintenance, Security, Facilities Management, Engineering, Greening, Environmental, Firefighting equipment and more. Our speakers are Current Government Personnel and Successful Experienced Business Owners and consultants who sell to the Federal Marketplace. "No Business Can Succeed in the Federal Arena Without a Plan." We can give you the tools for success! Speaker Schedule:* including Keynote: John Moliere, President, Standard Communications, GSA VETS GWAC holder and a visionary and influential advocate for veterans' contracting. Darryl Rekemeyer, Director, Fort Detrick Business Development Office "Fort Detrick Business Development Office Program & Alignment." Richard Mackey, President, CapITal Reps "GSA Schedule & Crisis Selling" Bob Hesser, President of HITS Inc. In addition to the demands that HITS places on him, Bob currently provides extensive counseling for Service Disabled Veterans businesses and is an active member in the Taskforce for Veteran Entrepreneurship. Michael Bowlds, President, Mountaintop Marketing, "How to Market to the Federal Government" Murray Schooner, former SBLO of UNISYS (invited) Bob Faithful, former Chair, Federal OSDBU Council and former director of OSDBU for US Department of Interior(invited) and more..... Our expert speakers will be addressing topics you need to succeed: Financing Sources GSA Federal Supply Schedule The new Vet's GWAC and you How to do business with specific agencies How to find who in the agency buys what you are selling 8(a) FAR How to Partner and Team Invaluable Contacts Networking Opportunities DATE: Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 TIME: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM LOCATION: Holiday Inn National Airport (Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport) Arlington, VA 22202 $99.00 early registration price GovConectx Vaune M. Marino govconectx@cox.net vaune@govconectx.com 703-916-7777 *Speakers, agenda and topics are subject to change. Eligibility to Use GSA Sources Many of my GSA clients don’t realize how large the federal government is and which agencies and/or organizations their required to provide GSA pricing to, even if not asked or known by the ordering activity/org. GSA Order ADM 4800.2E, Eligibility to Use GSA Sources of Supply and Services, provides detailed information regarding those agencies, activities, and organizations that have been determined to be eligible to use GSA Schedule contracts. The GSA Order also provides definitive guidelines concerning eligibility requirements and limitations for a variety of other GSA sources of supply and services. In addition to the eligible entities listed in the body of the document, the GSA Order contains the following appendices that identify those specific agencies, activities, and organizations for which eligibility determinations have been made: • Appendix A—Executive Agencies; • Appendix B—Other Eligible Users; and • Appendix C—International Organizations. Here’s the link of authorized GSA users Vets-100 Reports Due by September 30th All federal contractors are required to submit their annual Vets-100 Reports each year by Sept 30th (not well enforced so many contractors don’t do it). Companies are encouraged to submit reports online through http://vets.dol.gov/vets100/vets100login.htm Vets-100 FAQ’s http://www.dol.gov/vets/contractor/main.htm GSA opens competition for federal funding database FCW, 8-20-07The General Services Administration has decided that more qualified vendors than only Eagle Eye Publishers are available to help develop a database to meet the first phase of the Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act. Instead of awarding a sole-source contract to Eagle Eye, which it planned to do according to a July 25 notice on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, GSA issued a request for proposals Aug. 15 asking for vendors to submit bids to deliver data and software that would list all grant and contract award information from fiscal 2000 to 2007. The small-business set-aside contract is for 19 months and is a firm-fixed-price type. "GSA had between one and four other vendors that said they had the data," said a federal official with knowledge of the procurement, who requested anonymity. The official said it isn’t clear whether the other vendors could produce the information because many are companies that resell the federal data to other contractors and the information is protected behind subscription-only portals. GSA knew Eagle Eye could provide the data because the market research firm works with OMB Watch, a nonprofit organization, to set up FedSpending.org. Congress mandated that the Office of Management and Budget set up a public Web site similar to FedSpending.org, which lists all contract and grants data. Congress passed the act in September 2006. The law charges OMB with corralling agencies to provide accurate data for a public database that Congress said would improve government accountability by Jan. 1, 2008. Vendors have until Aug. 24 to respond to the RFP. GSA, acting as the procurement arm for OMB, wants vendors to make the site operational three days after the award. The site should have 13 contracting and 12 grant capabilities, including a listing of the top 100 contractors and the top 100 grant recipients, awards by state, place of performance by state, agency search, program search, and advanced searches with multiple fields. Once GSA receives offers, vendors will present their systems to agency evaluators starting Aug. 28. "The acquisition is to purchase some of the existing groomed data and operational software for delivery in three days after the contract award and display it on a Web site," the RFP states. "And to make available and operational on government hosted Web site within three weeks after contract award." GSA starts second phase of contract streamlining program Gov Executive, 8-16-07The General Services Administration has started the second part of an initiative to speed up the process of awarding schedule contracts, tripling the scope of the program and allowing for electronic submission of offers. The goal of the Multiple Award Schedule Express program is to reduce the time it takes to award companies a place on GSA schedules -- lists of prenegotiated contracts available for use across government -- to 30 days. It has taken companies as long as 120 days to get on the schedule. Speeding up the schedule contracting process has been one of GSA Administrator Lurita Doan's primary initiatives. "I presented GSA with a tall order when I promised we would make these improvements," Doan said in a statement. "I'm proud to announce that during [the first phase] of the [program], GSA has met the goal of awarding [multiple award schedule] contracts to eligible vendors in 30 days." During the first segment of the initiative GSA awarded seven contracts, all in less than 30 days. Michael Sade, assistant commissioner for GSA's Office of Acquisition Management, said the program averaged just over 20 days in awarding those contracts, compared to an average of 88 days for schedule contracts overall. While the scope of phase one was limited, covering only five product schedules and resulting in only seven contracts, Sade said the program will really establish itself in the second phase. The agency hopes to expand the program to cover all 37 of its multiple award schedules. The first segment was aimed at testing a reengineered award process and a piece of technology on a limited number of cases, Sade said. The technology, called the Schedule Program Express Evaluation Desk (SPEED), completes the initial review and qualification of offers and then notifies vendors if they meet the minimum criteria for consideration. If the vendor does not meet the criteria, SPEED presents other available options. The technology plays a crucial role in enforcing the program's requirements. In order to participate, contractors must complete a "Pathway to Success" educational seminar, either by attending a live or Web-based presentation. The course provides general information on the GSA schedules program and details GSA's vendor expectations and how to build a schedule-specific business plan and submit proposals, among other things. Vendors must have been in business for at least two years, have a minimum of $100,000 in cumulative sales and have a positive or neutral rating in the past performance system, Sade said. SPEED automatically notifies offering companies if they do not meet the requirements. GSA hopes that by expediting the initial review and providing feedback early on in the process, it can reduce the time it takes to review, evaluate, negotiate and award schedule contracts. In addition to the expansion of the program, the second phase will allow vendors to make offers electronically. "We were not doing that before -- it was all paper-based," Sade said. "It makes it easier for industry to submit the offer, and we actually have electronic tracking so industry can go in and see where their proposal is in the process." While the program simplifies the process for vendors, Sade said its most important goal is to make top-notch procurements. "The primary objective was to ensure we had the latest and greatest supplies and services available for customer agencies," Sade said. "We wanted to streamline the process so we can make newer technology and services available to our customer agencies as well as help our industry partners in terms of getting into the federal market space." Interagency contracts worry GSA FCW, 8-15-07Interagency contracting and agency-specific contract vehicles will be obstacles to the General Services Administration’s success in the coming years, agency officials said in their strategy plan for the coming five years. GSA predicts that pressures to make the acquisition process more responsive will force the agency to change how it operates. Moreover, GSA needs to learn about its customers, according to its recently released Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2007-2012. Interagency contracts have flooded the government’s procurement community, and agencies have set up enterprisewide contracts, such as the Homeland Security Department’s Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions (EAGLE) contract. The various avenues give agencies more tailored options to get what they need. And the growing number of interagency contracts worries the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Early this year, OFPP found 200 agencywide, 41 multiagency and 12 governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs). OFPP officials have said they will issue a step-by-step guide for the acquisition process, outlining agencies’ roles and responsibilities on a contract or agreement. "Everybody is using [contracts] more," said Paul Denett, OFPP administrator, in an interview July 31. "The numbers are up. More dollars are being spent through these various vehicles, be they GWACs or agencywide contracts or even agency-specific ones." Denett’s staff provided him with a draft last month on interagency contracting, and OFPP is working to put it in final form, he said. One of GSA’s strategies in the next five years is to adapt its business models and relationships to meet emerging demands. GSA plans to address diverse customer needs with more vigorous business cases. It will also improve business processes. "Achieving financial health in all business models and programs is essential," the strategy states. As information technology advances and becomes more important, GSA wants to be a leader in the field. "Just as there has been a remarkable evolution in technology, so too has GSA changed to accommodate a federal marketplace that has become increasingly complex," David Bibb, GSA’s deputy administrator, said at the GSA/Integrated Technology Service’s 2007 Network Services Conference in Denver. GSA recognizes that it must be prepared to deliver what customers need, particularly with the dynamically changing IT industry and constraints on agencies’ budgets. "Our goal, clearly stated, is excellence in the business of government," Bibb said. To reach that goal, GSA intends to increase its focus on strategic accounts and customers. It wants to understand purchasing patterns. "The challenge in the future will be organizing internal business units by function and by specialized knowledge and skills, and ensuring coordination," the strategy plan states. GSA to name Schobert as ITS CTO FCW, 8-3-07Today the General Services Administration will officially name Fred Schobert as the new chief technical officer for the Federal Acquisition Office’s Integrated Technology Services (ITS) office. John Johnson, GSA’s assistant commissioner for ITS, said Schobert, the former Networx program manager, also will be the director for IP Version 6 transformation for the agency. "What Fred will be doing is performing three main functions: He will interface with industry and the federal IPv6 working group, and serve as conduit for emerging technologies," Johnson said. "The ITS portfolio is rather broad, and I needed a technical adviser. That is a good thing for ITS across all fronts, whether it is IPv6 or not." The CTO position for ITS is a new one, and Schobert will have a small staff initially with just Gene Sokolowski helping out, Johnson said. Since February, GSA had been considering whether to establish a governmentwide IPv6 program office. But Johnson said they decided to give the CTO position the responsibility to make sure all the agency’s service offerings integrate with IPv6. "We are considering a lot of different things, such as providing a testing capability, and making sure our portfolio provides IPv6 compliant products that will help agencies achieve the criteria for 2008," Johnson said. "Fred will look at all of that to make sure everyone will do their part to provide a program presence." The Office of Management and Budget set a June 2008 goal for agencies to make their network backbone IPv6 compliant. Johnson added that one of Schobert’s main responsibilities will be to determine to what extent GSA’s products are IPv6-compliant and aligned to a possible approved products list. Schobert "and a cross-organizational team will look across the GSA enterprise to see what we have to do across all fronts," Johnson said. Schobert said his first priority is to establish relationships with governmentwide IPv6 leaders, and work across GSA’s business lines to see where the new technology fits. "The key to IPv6 is getting its benefits to the desktop and that is where transformation will occur," Schobert said. "There are a lot of opportunities to look across our business lines in areas such as security products, applications and Microsoft Vista so ultimately we have to get a secure solution to the desktop. That requires a broad reach across our organization and that is the opportunity I have." GSA: Alliant has everything FCW, 8-6-07It took the General Services Administration more than a year longer than it expected to award Alliant, its latest governmentwide acquisition contract. But officials said several innovative features of the information technology contract will make it well worth the wait. Alliant, awarded to 29 vendors July 31, rolls into one contract the best aspects of existing multiple-award contracts, including innovative approaches to refreshing the contract and making task orders competitive, GSA officials said. "The challenge we faced is how could we create a contract that is flexible enough to allow for ongoing technology and keep up with industry changes," said Jim Ghiloni, acting director at the Center for Governmentwide Acquisition Contract programs at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. "Rather than taking a typical approach, we have a next-generation contracting model." Ghiloni said the agency took the extra time to develop Alliant so it could incorporate the federal enterprise architecture and the Defense Department’s architecture as models for what vendors could offer. "These models describe what an IT initiative would look like, not how to do it," Ghiloni said. "We want the task order to get one level above specifics and describe what an IT solution might look like, not how to accomplish it." Ghiloni said the Alliant contract will change to incorporate new technologies and performance expectations as the federal enterprise architecture and DOD architecture models evolve. Alliant is a five-year contract with one five-year option and a ceiling of $50 billion. Agencies can use it to buy IT applications, infrastructure and services. Alliant lets agencies use any type of task-order contract: firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials, cost-plus or award-fee. That is more flexibility than offered by the two contracts GSA created Alliant to replace. Millennia limited agencies to firm-fixed-price and cost-plus task orders, and they could use time-and-materials or cost-plus task orders under the Applications ’N Support for Widely Diverse End-User Requirements contract. Alliant will be easier to use than Millennia has been, said Ted Davies, Unisys’ managing partner for civilian agencies. Ghiloni said he hopes agencies will start placing orders through Alliant by Sept. 1. But GSA must wait to see if any of the 37 unsuccessful bidders files a protest. He said GSA would award a second Alliant contract, Alliant Small Business, before Dec. 31. Several of the winning Alliant vendors said they anticipate some lag time before agencies start using the new contract. Dennis Pelehach, Booz Allen Hamilton’s Alliant program manager, said GSA has created a self-sustaining contract by using the federal enterprise architecture and DOD architecture as models. Unlike previous GSA contract vehicles, Alliant should not require special technical refreshes or changes to the scope of the contract. Federal unions attack pay-for-performance efforts FCW, 8-1-07Government employee union representatives attacked the Bush administration’s effort to move toward a pay-for-performance system and alleged at a House subcommittee hearing July 31 that initial efforts to implement the changes were dismal failures that would politicize federal pay. In response, Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer defended the administration’s programs, saying that early attempts at pay-for-performance implementation have by and large succeeded. The hearing on federal pay policies and administration was held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee. Some of the discussion revolved around the proposed performance-based pay system, which the administration’s hopes will be used governmentwide by 2010, replacing the current General Schedule system. A few early pay-for-performance implementation efforts at selected agencies were rushed and ran into problems, Springer said. But over time, the change will be successful, she added. "It takes a few years before you really start to see it take hold," Springer said. But Colleen Kelley, head of the National Treasury Employees Union, disagreed. She said the early pay-for-performance efforts were failures and that the new system had no record of success. "There is no credibility with employees," Kelley said. David Cox, national secretary-treasurer at the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, said the new system was based on subjectivity, and would give managers the ability "to discriminate and call it ‘performance.’" "The Bush administration has been relentless in its effort to politicize federal pay," Cox said. Both Kelley and Cox agreed that the current General Schedule system was flawed, but they said fixing it, not scrapping it, should be the goal. "At this point," Cox said, "it’s the best system that we have." Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chairman, said his panel would hold more hearings on federal pay issues. "We need to know more about agencies’ experience with pay-for-performance systems and market-based compensation studies," Davis said. Alliant goes to 29 contractors FCW, 7-31-07Twenty-nine contractors have earned spots on the General Services Administration’s Alliant contract. GSA announced the winners today. GSA had been working on Alliant for several years. The agency has not yet awarded Alliant Small Business, a companion contract to Alliant. That could come as late as the end of the year, said John Johnson, assistant commissioner of integrated technology services at GSA. However, Alliant contractors must award at least 50 percent of their subcontracting dollars to small businesses, he said. The 29 winners will now compete with one another for task orders. In all, 66 companies submitted bids for Alliant, said Jim Ghiloni, GSA’s Alliant program manager. The contract spans a five-year period with one five-year extension option, and has a ceiling of $50 billion. Unlike some contracts, Alliant has off-ramp and on-ramp provisions so that companies can be removed from it or added to it over the 10-year course. "This would allow us to re-open the solicitation and make new awards somewhere along the line," Ghiloni said. "That allows us, should we choose, should the market change in some significant ways, to refresh the providers we make available through Alliant." The companies GSA selected are: • Accenture National Security Services • Advanced Management Technology • Alion Science and Technology • AT&T Government Solutions • BAE Systems Information Technology • BearingPoint • Booz Allen Hamilton • CACI International • Computer Sciences • Dynamic Research • EDS • General Dynamics One Source • Harris • Indus • IBM • ITS • L-3 Communications Titan • Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems • ManTech Advanced Systems International • Modern Technologies • NCI Information Systems • QSS Group • Raytheon • RS Information Systems • Science Applications International • SI International • Systems Research and Applications • TASC (Northrop Grumman IT) • Unisys.
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