**FINAL**

**Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer**

####### GSA Acquisition Workforce Forum

*\--Informing the GSA acquisition workforce on the latest acquisition
news and events!*

**EDITION SIXTEEN**

**SUMMER 2007**

**[INSIDE THIS ISSUE:]{.underline}**

**CAO Corner**

**Update on GSA's Strategic Sourcing Initiative**

**From the Desk of the Editor**

**Acquisition Update**

**Spotlight on FFATA**

**ALC Assessments Revised**

**Update on the APW**

**A New MAS Contractor Report Card**

**Professional Development**

**Report from NCMA's World Congress 2007**

**At 46, IRMCO is Going Strong!**

**GSA EXPO 2007 a Big Success!**

**Greater Southwest Region Conducts 4^th^ Annual Acquisition Day**

**Southeast Sunbelt Employee Named Native American Business "Advocate of
the Year"**

**Southeast Sunbelt Region's Carson Recognized as Outstanding
Professional**

**Small Business Corner**

**Heartland Networking Business Breakfast Increases Awareness of
Contracting Opportunities**

**Green Procurement**

**Energy Incentives and Procurement Programs Workshop held in New York**

**Northeast and Caribbean Region Co-Sponsors Sustainable Design
Seminar**

**New England Celebrates Completion of Second Regional Solar Roof
Project**

**Sustainable Design is Theme at AIA Convention**

**IAE Corner**

**Cleaning up FPDS Data Top Priority**

**GSA and AbilityOne Strategic Alliance**

**GSA/AbilityOne Strategic Alliance Update**

**Did You Know?**

**Check It Out!**

**Quote:**

**"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all
inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish
our children's future, and we are all mortal."**

**John F. Kennedy June 10, 1963**

**CAO CORNER --**

{Ed. Note---Michael Berkholtz is guest columnist for the CAO this
edition.}

**Update on GSA's Strategic Sourcing Initiative** by Michael Berkholtz

As discussed in the Fall 2006 Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) Corner
article, GSA is actively engaged in the governmentwide strategic
sourcing initiative. With the federal government spending over \$400
billion annually, it is the responsibility of every member of the
acquisition workforce -- from the CAO to the project manager -- to
ensure each dollar spent returns value to the American taxpayer.

The May 2005 Office of Management and Budget memorandum initiating a
governmentwide effort to identify strategic business solutions
leveraging the buying power of the federal government continues to be a
top priority for the acquisition community. Office of Federal
Procurement Policy (OFPP) Administrator Paul Dennet reinforced this in a
May 22, 2007 memorandum highlighting successes in the federal government
and encouraging agencies to participate in strategic sourcing solutions
at a federal level.

GSA has made progress in building an internal strategic sourcing
program. Initially, GSA created an internal strategic sourcing council
and developed a project plan to clarify internal efforts. In September
2006, we contracted for project management support to help formalize a
governance structure and develop strategies to move the initiative
forward. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, the Office of the CAO conducted
stakeholder interviews to better understand the interaction between the
different organizations within GSA regarding internal procurement
operations and goals. We are working to align the strategic sourcing
initiative to assist these organizations in meeting those goals. By
leading the way in strategic sourcing for its own internal operations,
GSA sets an example, building credibility for its service offerings and
expanding its agency customer base.

We are also seeking to build off our current successes. Such initiatives
as GSA's Public Building Service's National Broker Contract and Chief
Information Officer's IT Hardware blanket purchase awards (BPAs) are GSA
homegrown strategic purchases which have saved GSA and the taxpayer
money. GSA has also met with initial success in awarding contracts for
copiers and acquisition training through the use of a top-down approach
to fulfill the requirements. In this case, direction came from top
management to meet the requirement through strategic sourcing.

Savings generated by these initiatives have been significant. GSA,
through the Federal Acquisition Institute, strategically sourced a
contract for a series of four training courses saving \$1,259,662 or
approximately 43% for the life of the contract. GSA's BPA for IT
Hardware has saved the agency an estimated \$9 million on the purchase
of servers, monitors, desktops and laptop computers from September 2002
to September 2006. Since April 1, 2005, the use of the National Broker
Contract (NBC) has generated \$7,348,925 in savings in the form of rent
credits (the portion of commissions returned to GSA as shell rent
credits and then passed on to our tenants). There are additional savings
which are attributed to transactions negotiated through the NBC where
the rental rates are below GSA's benchmarks relative to the market.
These savings are estimated at \$4.9M for FY 06 and the first quarter of
FY 07.

The five commodities GSA identified for strategic sourcing in FY 2006
were the same as the five commodities identified for the Federal
Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI)\--wireless services, domestic
delivery services, office supplies, printers, and copiers. GSA has
formed commodity teams around these items and is actively participating
in the FSSI commodity teams to the maximum extent possible. Successes
with these commodities include:

-   An award to Canon USA, Inc. for 5 years of service. The winning bid
    was approximately 28 percent under the GSA schedule price for
    copiers. Offices should be transitioning to this vehicle as current
    contracts expire.

-   Full GSA participation in the FSSI process for overnight delivery
    services, supplying members for the working group, evaluation team
    and a contracting officer. Currently, the governmentwide award has
    over \$74 million in orders from 37 agencies including GSA, which
    will save the government an estimated \$10 million annually.
    Additionally, detailed shipping information is being provided to
    each agency using the FSSI agreement to improve our domestic
    delivery processes.

-   The development of a commodity team across several GSA organizations
    to create a strategic plan for sourcing wireless services. The
    Commodity Team identified \$800,000 in savings during 2006 through
    GSA-wide efforts to better manage the use of wireless services
    procured through Verizon, our mandatory service provider. GSA
    recently moved to a pooled plan for all Verizon users which will
    eliminate overage charges, simplify ordering of services and result
    in estimated savings of approximately \$500,000 in FY 07 alone.

    While GSA made significant strides during FY 2006, we are looking to
    speed up implementation of the program to keep GSA at the forefront
    of this critical governmentwide initiative. Some of the key
    objectives/activities for the current year include:

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-   Completing an agency-wide strategic sourcing blueprint that will
    implement a clear, repeatable strategic sourcing and program
    management process for managing the GSA's total spend.

-   Further developing and institutionalizing the governance structure
    to gain full participation from all of GSA's national and regional
    organizations.

-   Developing metrics for use in strategic sourcing decisions. This
    will include establishing baseline data and information for
    currently identified commodities and services as well as exploring a
    mechanism to automate collection and analysis of data and
    information for future commodities and services.

-   Completing sourcing strategies for the commodities identified in FY
    2006 and actively participate in the FSSI working groups on those
    initiatives.

-   Developing a communications platform to ensure a clear and
    consistent message reaches all of our offices.

-   Identifying and launching additional commodity teams to be
    determined by several factors including analysis of GSA spend data,
    federal sourcing initiatives, service and regional suggestions, and
    senior management direction.

As other agencies institutionalize strategic sourcing processes and
initiatives, GSA's success on internal strategic sourcing initiatives
will put the organization in a strong position to assist those agencies
in achieving their goals. Strategic sourcing is changing the way
agencies do business and is resulting in improvements in the acquisition
process. With active participation from its employees, GSA will continue
to be a leader in the federal acquisition community.

*Michael Berkholtz is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chief
Acquisition Officer at GSA and has managed the GSA internal strategic
sourcing initiative since April 2006. Mr. Berkholtz has also served in
staff positions at the Office of Management and Budget, the Small
Business Administration and the U.S. Senate. He can be reached at
<michael.berkholtz@gsa.gov> or 202-395-3301.*

**From the Desk of the Editor** by Judy Steele

This edition of the *"Forum"* is all about good news---successful
conferences, award winning employees, and how GSA is leading the
government in going green. We hope you find these articles, and the
other features in this month's *"Forum"* to be interesting and helpful.
Please forward any comments, suggestions and articles for the newsletter
to the Editor, Judy Steele, at <judy.steele@gsa.gov>.

**ACQUISITION UPDATE**

**SPOTLIGHT ON FFATA**

On September 26, 2006, the President signed the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) to reduce "wasteful and
unnecessary spending" by requiring that OMB establish a free, public,
online database containing full disclosure of all federal award
information. The bill's co-sponsors were Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)
and Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois). FFATA defines "federal award" to
include "grants, sub-grants, loans, awards, cooperative agreements, and
other forms of financial assistance" as well as "contracts,
subcontracts, purchase orders, task orders, and delivery orders."

By January 1, 2008, FFATA requires reporting on entities that are
awarded funds directly from the federal government. FFATA will include
data sourced from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), the
Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), and Grants.gov. The
passage of this Act once again emphasizes the need to ensure that all
data entered into FPDS and all the Integrated Acquisition Environment
(IAE) systems is correct.

A proposed rule change to the FAR to allow for the FFATA pilot program
was published in the March 21, 2007 Federal Register. In order to
implement Section 2(d) of FFATA, the proposed rule will change FAR Part
4, with associated clauses in FAR Part 52, which addresses reporting
subcontract awards. Exempted from the pilot are solicitations and
contracts for commercial items issued under FAR Part 12 and classified
solicitations and contracts. The pilot program is scheduled to begin
July 1, 2007. This rule applies to contracts of \$500,000,000 or greater
and requires the awardees to report all first tier subcontract awards
exceeding \$1 million to the FFATA database at
[www.federalspending.gov](../../../../../../../../C:%5CDOCUME~1%5CJUDYAS~1%5Ctemp%5CnotesFE0FC0%5Cwww.federalspending.gov).
For more information, contact Earl Warrington at
<earl.warrington@gsa.gov> or 703-872-8609.

**ALC Assessments Revised\
**

In September 2004, GSA launched a competency assessment tool designed
for the 1102 acquisition workforce called the Applied Learning Center
(ALC). Over the past several months, the ALC program office has engaged
in a comprehensive Independent Verification & Validation (I V & V) of
the ALC site and the contents of the assessment tools. The I V & V was
conducted by a team of individuals from GSA, the Defense Acquisition
University, the Federal Acquisition Institute, and private industry
acquisition experts. The team was led by a consultant affiliated with
the American Council on Education (ACE) and a psychometrician, an expert
in question development design and validation.

In order to more fully meet the needs of GSA's 1102 workforce through
the ALC, an initial decision was made to combine the three assessments
of the old ALC into a single assessment. This single assessment will be
used to measure skills gaps and, in the future, will serve as a means to
earn college credit recommendations through the ACE Credit by
Examination program. The assessment will contain multiple choice and
real-life scenarios addressing 17 competency areas identified through a
Delphi Process as necessary for the success of the 1102 workforce. The
results of the ALC will be used to provide targeted training from the
individual level to the Service level.

The redesigned and revised ALC will be released to all GSA 1102
personnel on October 15, 2007, and close on November 16, 2007.
Additional communications will be made prior to the release date so as
to ensure that all GSA 1102 personnel complete the revised ALC during
this time period. After the release of the revised ALC, the ALC program
office will announce its plan for using the assessment results to earn
college credit recommendations through the ACE program. Designation from
ACE will allow assessment takers enrolled in a degree or certificate
program to apply for credit at colleges and universities across the
country, using the results of their ALC assessment. It is anticipated
that the ACE review process will be concluded during the first quarter
of calendar year 2008. If you have any questions, please contact Teresa
Elbin, ALC Program Manager at <teresa.elbin@gsa.gov> or 202-208-4033.

**Update on the Acquisition Planning Wizard (APW)**

Exciting things have been happening with GSA's automated tool for
creating and storing acquisition plans, the Acquisition Planning Wizard
(APW). Over the last month the contractor for the APW, Development
Infostructure (DevIS), along with the APW procurement analyst from OCAO,
Michael O. Jackson, have been conducting pilot tests to determine if the
Wizard can be accessed externally. The tests were a success with not
only the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) being able to access the
Wizard, but also the Chief Procurement and Contract Management Officer,
Office of Administration, the Executive Office of the President.

On April 6, 2007, Mr. Jackson and members of the DevIS team traveled to
Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to provide a demonstration of the APW. The team
gave a detailed demonstration of the APW, including the genesis of the
APW and a hands-on demonstration with a simulated acquisition as it
worked its way through the various review and approval gates. The class
was very interested in the capabilities demonstrated by the system --
not only in terms of accessing it for future GSA actions, but also the
potential for tailoring this kind of tool for service-specific use. DAU
noted that they could see the utility of APW, especially for the variety
of geographically dispersed customers Department of Defense has and
because it could easily be used by less experienced acquisition
professionals when preparing acquisition planning documents.

DevIS and OCAO also took APW "on the road" and showcased the abilities
of APW at the 2007 GSA EXPO in Orlando, Florida. The APW was well
received at EXPO and agencies inquired how they could get full access to
the system. GSA assured them that discussions regarding making the tool
available outside of GSA were already underway and we would make APW a
solution for their acquisition planning needs.

Current APW users should expect to see the rollout of APW Version 4.0,
which enhances the user experience, in the near future. Version 4.0
tackles questions we hear routinely on Help Desk calls such as "What is
the status of my plan?" or "What is holding up my plan?" A new plan
dashboard will replace the participant role-based tabs in the previous
versions, allowing users to immediately see what information is missing
in their plan or which plan participants are holding up the process. For
more information on the Acquisition Planning Wizard, contact Michael O.
Jackson at <michaelo.jackson@gsa.gov> or 202-208-4949.

**A New MAS Contractor Report Card**

Being a successful contractor means more than just getting sales.
Success also means complying with contract Terms and Conditions and
effectively managing contractual requirements. Since 2002, GSA has been
using a Contractor Report Card as part of the Multiple Award Schedule's
(MAS) Contractor Assessment Initiative to reflect how well contractors
do just that. GSA will release a new and improved version of the Report
Card in summer 2007. Like the original, the new Report Card is designed
to provide contractors with helpful feedback. It deals strictly with
performance against MAS Terms and Conditions and does not in any way
evaluate performance on individual task or delivery orders. The Report
Card is visible only to GSA and to the individual contractor. Even
though the purpose of the Report Card remains the same, there are some
significant changes to point out. Some changes were made as a result of
industry feedback, while others were made internally by GSA. In the new
version, we're adding some new areas of evaluation:

-   System or process to monitor the "basis of award" pricing

-   Meeting the minimum sales criteria (\$25,000 over the first two
    years, then \$25,000 annually)

-   Including prompt payment terms on invoices

-   Use of electronic contracting tools

Additionally, we're changing the way we calculate the contractor's
overall rating. The current calculation is simple, but not very useful.
A score of 27 out of 27 items results in an "outstanding" rating; a
score of 22 to 26 results in a "successful;" and fewer than 22 results
in an "unsuccessful." In the new Report Card, items are classified as
critical, mandatory but not critical, and above and beyond. Nine areas
were determined to be critical, so failure in any of those areas causes
an overall rating of "serious concerns exist." If all critical items are
met, ratings will range from "very good" to "satisfactory" to "marginal"
depending on performance on the other eleven mandatory but not critical
items. Finally, six items are classified as going above and beyond the
contractual requirements. Contractors who receive a "very good" based on
the above, and achieve five of six of these extra credit areas, get an
"exceptional" overall rating.

The MAS Report Card is an important tool to help contractors
successfully manage their contracts. Receiving a less than perfect
rating does not automatically translate into contract cancellation or
denial of a contract's option period. The focus is on working towards
long-term solutions for any identified problem areas. For more
information, contact Walter Eckbreth at <walter.eckbreth@gsa.gov> or
703-605-5717.

**PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT**

**Report from NCMA's World Congress 2007**

This year\'s National Contract Management Association (NCMA) World
Congress, held April 22 through April 25 in Dallas, Texas, was a "big
success in the Big D." Just like this diverse city, the 2007 World
Congress offered a variety of possibilities and opportunities to enhance
your professional development, network with your peers, and have some
fun\...Texas style!

During his presentation at World Congress 2007, keynote speaker, Michael
W. Wynne, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, emphasized the vital role of
the contracts professional in putting together business deals,
supporting the defense of the nation, and building win--win solutions
for the government and industry. Following his presentation, NCMA
proudly presented Wynne with the Herbert Roback Memorial Award in
recognition of his significant contributions. Wynne knows the myriad
details of the acquisition business and has published articles on cost
estimating, engineering, and contracting in numerous professional
journals. An NCMA Fellow, Wynne has been a consistent supporter of the
acquisition workforce and NCMA. He upholds the standards of the
profession and ensures trust, confidence, and integrity throughout the
acquisition process.

NCMA would like to thank all those who attended, spoke, and exhibited at
this event. This program brought together more than 2,000 participants
gathered for the three-day conference to network, discuss the impact of
contract management processes, and share best practices for increasing
the efficiency of contract departments. Please join us for World
Congress 2008, in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 13-16, 2008. For more
information, go to
[www.ncmahq.org/meetings/WC07/](http://www.ncmahq.org/meetings/WC07/).

**At 46, IRMCO is Going Strong!**

GSA hosted the 46th annual Interagency Resources Management Conference
(IRMCO) at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, April 29 to
May 1. IRMCO 2007, themed "CXO's: Bringing Innovation and Delivering
Results," gave the hundreds of attendees two days of in-depth,
hard-hitting, incisive and engaging exploration of the most significant
and timely issues facing the government management communities.

IRMCO 2007 saw the introduction of the Executive Roundtable discussions
moderated by OMB and agency executives. These discussions focused on how
our nation will be better off in 2010 because of what we are doing now
to improve the management of finance, acquisition, information
technology, and human resources. IRMCO 2007 also included keynote
speakers who spoke to an unprecedented range and depth of subject matter
affecting government executives. Speakers included:

-   Rebecca Cooper, National Correspondent, ABC7/WJLA-TV

-   Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson, Deputy Administrator and Chief
    Operating Officer, FEMA

-   Rick Amme, Amme and Associates, Communications in a Crisis

-   Shantanu Narayen, President and Chief Operating Officer, Adobe
    Systems, Inc.

-   Sallyanne Harper, Chief Administrative Officer and CFO, GAO

-   Robert M. Weede, Assistant Corporate Controller, Microsoft
    Corporation

Provocative and interactive panel discussions rounded out the conference
content by looking at topics such as private-sector to public-sector
transitions, managing the multi-sector workforce, collaborations within
the Department of Housing and Urban Development executive management
team, and "Achieving Cutting Edge Innovation in Industry." For more
information on IRMCO, contact John Andre at
[john.andre@gsa.gov]{.underline} or 202-501-9069.

**GSA EXPO 2007 a Big Success!**

GSA's 13^th^ EXPO, hosted by the Southeast Sunbelt Region in Orlando,
Florida, May 15 through 17, was a record-breaking success. Over 10,400
registered participants from 375 federal entities and approximately 800
commercial vendors attended this event. GSA's customers learned what
services GSA has to offer and exchanged ideas with industry partners on
how to make the procurement process more efficient, user friendly, and
cost effective. Attendees earned over 15,000 hours of training credit
towards their annual continuing education requirements through 255
training sessions---the largest number of training sessions ever.

This year\'s event also offered the greatest variety of companies with
which to do comparative shopping and networking, with every small
business category represented to help agencies meet their small business
goals. Our industry partners reported over 350 business leads totaling
over \$23 million, an average of \$61,000 per exhibiting company.

Several FAS Acquisition Centers hosted forums with industry partners,
including the National Furniture Center, the Information Technology
Center, the Services Acquisition and Management Services Center, the
Center for Facilities Maintenance and Hardware, and the Greater
Southwest Acquisition Center. The forums offered an opportunity to
discuss a wide range of topics including cooperative purchasing, the
Disaster Recovery Program, contractor teaming arrangements and
subcontracting, the Trade Agreements Act, and multiple award schedule
modification procedures.

EXPO also included training sessions on the Integrated Acquisition
Environment (IAE). "*Effective and Efficient Utilization of the Federal
Procurement Data System (FPDS)"* highlighted the many uses of the
information in acquisition management including an emphasis on
transparency and visibility, ensuring data accuracy and accountability
in reporting, and the impact this information has on each agency's
goals. This course provided attendees with detailed knowledge about the
extensive resources in FPDS and up to the minute tips on using many of
its features to help manage and ensure accurate reporting of each
agency's performance. A standard IAE overview, providing a high level
review of all the IAE systems, was also provided in another session.

The key players in this year's EXPO---the new FAS and PBS---worked
hand-in-hand to show how GSA and its various programs will become even
more effective and efficient in the years ahead. For more information,
contact Harry Butler at <harry.butler@gsa.gov> or 703-605-5717.

**Greater Southwest Region Conducts 4th Annual Acquisition Day**

Greater Southwest Regional Administrator Scott Armey hosted the
Region\'s 4th annual Acquisition Day on April 17. More than 350 regional
and field employees attended this all-day event in Fort Worth, Texas.
Opening presentations were given by the Region\'s senior leaders
including Armey, Deputy Regional Administrator George Prochaska,
Assistant Regional Administrator for FAS Tyree Varnado, and Deputy
Assistant Regional Administrator for PBS Kenny Smith. Featured speakers
included Chief Acquisition Officer Molly Wilkinson; Deputy Chief
Acquisition Officer/Senior Procurement Advisor David Drabkin; FAS
Assistant Commissioner for Acquisition Management, Mike Sade; and FAS
Assistant Commissioner for Assisted Acquisition Services, Mary Davie.
Additionally, Rachel Lerum, Senior Program Advisor, Acquisition
Workforce Division, OCAO, spoke about the revised Applied Learning
Center and Ellis Osiname, OCAO Program Analyst, briefed the attendees on
the Federal Acquisition Certification Program. Linda Neilson, Department
of Defense Deputy Director for Defense Procurement and Acquisition
Policy, was the guest speaker. For the first time at this event,
acquisition awards were presented for the Region\'s 2007 Acquisition
Professionals of the Year, Mark Ready of FAS and Dianna Henderson of
PBS. 2007 Rising Stars were presented to Haley Naegele of FAS and Jason
McCall of PBS. The 2007 Acquisition Team Award was presented to the
Schedules 56 and 84 Ancillary Services Pricing Definitization Team. For
more information, contact Jill LaDuca at <jill.laduca@gsa.gov> or
817-978-3240.

**Southeast Sunbelt Employee Named Native American Business \"Advocate
of the Year\"**

Southeast Sunbelt Region\'s Rebecca Vanover, Small Business Development
Specialist, was named \"Advocate of the Year\" by the National Center
for American Indian Enterprise Development at the 2007 Native American
Business Leaders Awards Luncheon held April 19, 2007. Rebecca assists
Native American and Alaska Native owned small businesses in
understanding about contracting, procurement, and marketing with the
federal government. Her office networks extensively with Native American
business advocacy organizations to develop partnerships in outreach
events and other business development activities. In addition, she
coordinates business development and counseling programs and provides
information and resource material on marketing to GSA and the federal
government, in general. She develops, directs, and participates in
numerous regional and national outreach programs. She also is a speaker
at conferences and seminars on small business issues and works to expand
activities designed to increase access to procurement opportunities for
the small, minority, women-owned, veteran-owned businesses and
businesses located in HubZones. For more information, contact Gary Mote
at <gary.mote@gsa.gov> or 404-331-2774.

**Southeast Sunbelt Region\'s Carson Recognized as Outstanding
Professional**

On May 10, Southeast Sunbelt Region\'s Kristine Carson represented PBS
at the Annual Federal Executive Board\'s (FEB) Employee of the Year
Award Ceremony. Carson\'s nomination for the Outstanding Professional
Award was submitted by her supervisor and confirmed by the Regional
Administrator. Over the past two years, in preparation for the disposal
of the Middle River Station in Baltimore County, Maryland, Carson has
utilized her professional abilities in negotiating and developing a plan
of action with internal and external stakeholders. She facilitated
numerous meetings to ensure that Baltimore County and local community
groups were involved in the disposition of a 1.9 million-square-foot,
two-story warehouse with 320 parking spaces on 50.35 acres. These
meetings afforded the County and the community an opportunity to voice
their opinions and concerns on the eventual sale of the property. Carson
also overcame potential concerns regarding the properties historical
significance by bringing together an internal team which included
historians, architects, engineers, attorneys and environmental experts.
Through her guidance and perseverance an agreement with the Trust was
finalized adding \$37.5 million to the Federal Building Fund. For more
information, contact Gary Mote at <gary.mote@gsa.gov> or 404-331-2774.

##### SMALL BUSINESS CORNER

**Heartland Networking Business Breakfast Increases Awareness of
Contracting Opportunities**

On May 1 over 130 small business owners and representatives from local,
state, and federal agencies attended the Heartland Region\'s Networking
Business Breakfast. Attendees mingled, enjoyed breakfast, received
two-minute presentations from 10 small business owners, and explored
business opportunities. After breakfast, over 55 business owners stayed
to listen to presentations about business resources, contracting
procedures, tools and requirements, and federal contracting
opportunities. Representatives from GSA, the Missouri and Kansas
Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, the Department of Agriculture,
the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers made procurement presentations. The Networking Business
Breakfast, held on the first Tuesday of each month, is hosted by the
Heartland Region\'s Office of Business and Support Services and
co-sponsored by over 20 local Chambers of Commerce and business
organizations, as well as local, state, and federal agencies. For more
information, contact Mike Brincks at <michael.brincks@gsa.gov> or
816-926-7217.

**GREEN PROCUREMENT**

*At the May 23 NCR Customer Connections Conference, Deputy Administrator
David Bibb discussed GSA's role in the greening of the federal
government. Helping federal agencies meet their environmental goals is
one of GSA's top priorities. GSA offers its customers environmentally
responsible products and services; leadership in energy efficient, green
buildings; and GSA's governmentwide telework initiative which includes
GSA's 14 telework centers. GSA helps client agencies meet their
environmental obligations by providing them with responsible choices
including the construction and leasing of energy efficient,
sustainable-designed buildings; the procurement of renewable utility
services; a selection of the latest alternative fuel vehicles; a wide
range of environmentally preferable office and other projects, and
environmentally friendly telework and other alternative workplace
arrangements which result in the usage of less fuel and the reduction of
emissions into the environment. In this spirit, the "Forum" continues to
feature articles spotlighting green procurement activities.*

**Energy Incentives and Procurement Programs Workshop Held in New York**

Over 225 energy procurement and facilities professionals learned how to
be green while saving green at an Energy Incentives and Procurement
Programs workshop held at the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom
House in New York City on March 27. The Northeast and Caribbean Region,
along with GSA\'s Office of Citizen Services and Communications, teamed
up with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA), New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), Long Island
Power Authority (LIPA) and the Department of Energy's Federal Energy
Management Program to coordinate the day-long program. Participants at
the event learned how to obtain financial incentives from NYSERDA,
NJBPU, and LIPA to implement energy projects in their facilities by
selecting the most appropriate avenue for funding and implementation.
Federal and state experts discussed financial assistance opportunities
to implement energy efficiency projects, load management, distributed
generation, and much more. For additional information, visit the
Northeast and Caribbean Region's InSite at
[http://r2insite.gsa.gov](http://r2insite.gsa.gov/) or contact Brian
Magden at <brian.magden@gsa.gov> or 212-264-0591.

**Northeast and Caribbean Region Co-Sponsors Sustainable Design
Seminar**

Over 170 energy experts, building owners, engineers, and architects
learned that Sustainable Design for Buildings is fast becoming the norm
in building design at the GSA/ASHRAE (American Society of Heating,
Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers) Sustainable Design for
Buildings workshop held at the Alexander Hamilton Custom House in New
York on April 11. The Northeast and Caribbean Region, along with the
U.S. Green Building Council, International Facility Management
Association, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority,
the New York Chapter of ASHRAE, and the New York Chapter Association of
Energy Engineers, sponsored this one-day workshop. Speakers, including
ASHRAE\'s president, Terry Townsend, and the Northeast and Caribbean
Region's energy coordinator, Brian Magden, spoke about LEED
certification, implementation sustainability in existing buildings,
public sector initiatives toward sustainability and energy efficiency
and alternative energy sources. The all day seminar also qualified for
seven professional development hours and continuing education credits
for engineers and architects. For more information, contact Brian Magden
at <brian.magden@gsa.gov> or 212-264-0591.

**New England Celebrates Completion of Second Regional Solar Roof
Project**

On April 26, the New England Region, along with the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA), hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate
the newly installed 377 kW -- DC Building Integrated Photovoltaic Roof
at the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, Waltham, Massachusetts. This
is the second solar roof project completed in the Region. Speakers
included Regional Administrator Dennis Smith, Assistant Regional
Administrator Glenn Rotondo, NARA Regional Administrator Diane LeBlanc,
Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Robert Varne, and
Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy. The Massachusetts Technical
Collaborative funded \$50,000 of the \$5,000,000 contract which was
awarded to Solar Integrated Technologies on August 4, 2006. The
completed system consists of 252 double 10' x 20' solar roof panels and
a kiosk, located in the lobby, through which guests may take a virtual
tour of the roof and track building energy savings. GSA estimates the
system will produce roughly 45% of the building's total energy
requirements -- about 430,000 kW-h annually. GSA project team members
included Contracting Officer Kathryn Thomas, Regional Energy Coordinator
Roman Piaskoski, Energy Center of Expertise Director Mark Ewing, Energy
Management Specialist Karen Curran, Project Manager and COTR Sean Orgel,
Electrical Engineer Donald Fuccillo, Mechanical Engineer Sarah
Wenninger, Civil Engineer Richard Jellyman, Property Manager Eric
Keurulainen, and Construction Inspector John Buckley. For more
information, contact Cathy Menzies at <cathy.menzies@gsa.gov> or 617-
565-6551.

**Sustainable Design is Theme at AIA Convention**

The PBS Sustainable Design Program presented GSA\'s \"GSA\" (Green
Solicitation for Architects) at this year's American Institute of
Architects convention in San Antonio, Texas, May 4 through 6. Many
architects were eager to learn about changes to standard design service
contracts, requests for proposals, and solicitations for offers with the
inclusion of Executive Order 13423, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and
GSA\'s commitment to sustainable design principles. GSA\'s booth on the
convention floor was well received. Many thanks go out to the GSA
volunteers from around the country who answered architect and vendor
questions. The Sustainable Design Program Office also gave a
presentation on working with GSA at the Federal Learning Center on the
convention floor. For more information, contact Lance Davis at
<lance.davis@gsa.gov> or 202-208-2038.

**IAE CORNER**

**Cleaning Up FPDS Data Top Priority**

Paul Denett, the Administrator of OFPP, has announced that his top
priority is timely, accurate, and complete data being input to the
Federal Procurement Data Systems (FPDS) database. In a memo dated March
9, 2007 he made all the Chief Acquisition Officers (CAOs) responsible
for the accuracy of this data. Molly Wilkinson, GSA's CAO, has stated
that FPDS data accuracy is her top priority as well.

FPDS is the chief repository for acquisition information. It is critical
that the data entered into FPDS is totally accurate and dependable
because it is used as the authoritative data source. It provides:

-   an accurate accounting of how much is spent and how much is
    collected for agency managers

-   timely and useful procurement data for federal agencies and
    contractors to make business decisions

-   a reliable source of spending data

-   public access to how the government spends taxpayers' money to
    ensure transparency

Agency decisions on organization, staffing, and training are dependent
on correct procurement data as well. By ensuring FPDS data is accurate,
CAOs will also be better able to meet the requirements of the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which requires a
public website listing the government's contracting and grant
information to be operational by January 1, 2008.

Mr. Denett hopes by making the CAOs accountable that steps will be taken
to fix this problem "once and for all." He is requiring that CAOs
validate and sign off on the data that their agencies submit to FPDS. To
do this, CAOs must establish a routine verification process, assigning
clear areas of responsibility for verifying the data, and annually
certify the data's accuracy to GSA. Training should be offered when
necessary. An interim FAR case, 2004-038 \"Revisions to FPDS
Reporting,\" which clarifies FPDS roles and responsibilities, has been
sent to the DAR Council for review. It is hoped that Mr. Denett's memo
will hit home the seriousness of the inaccurate data input and ensure
that contracting offices take decisive steps to resolve this ongoing
problem. For more information, contact Lisa Cliff at
<integrated.acquisition@gsa.gov>.

## GSA AND ABILITYONE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE 

*The GSA/AbilityOne Strategic Alliance Vision is to establish a
strategic alliance for long-term mutual benefit that delivers improved
processes for contracting, recognizes AbilityOne as the vendor of
choice, and values market-pricing, job creation, ease of process,
flexibility, quality, and industry innovation.*

**GSA/AbilityOne Strategic Alliance Update** by Karone Blondin

In November 2002, a historic and notable event occurred...the
GSA/Javits-Wagner-O\'Day (JWOD) Strategic Alliance was executed by top
officials at GSA/PBS and NISH, representing the nonprofit agencies
(NPAs) serving people with a range of severe disabilities, and the
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
(the Committee). The Alliance challenges the organizations to think more
broadly in pursuit of the goal of employing people with severe
disabilities, provide best value to the customer; provide a positive
return on investment for U.S. taxpayers, and use business operating
procedures and practices. The Alliance calls for these organizations to
establish structured referral, market research, pricing, communication,
and contract management processes.

Today the Alliance is approaching its fifth year and its partners have
embraced a spirit of interdependence and collaboration as a way of
conducting business. This results in improved relationships that cause
the partners to welcome change and experience success.

**Name Change.** In 2006, a significant change occurred at the Committee
that changes the name and the identity of the Program that serves people
who are blind or have other severe disabilities. The Committee changed
the umbrella name for the Program it administers from JWOD to
AbilityOne. The Committee gave several reasons for the name change
including:

-   increasing the level of awareness, understanding and preference
    among key audiences

-   linking all of the participating organizations and employment
    mission

-   better communicating the purpose and value of the Program

-   conveying employment mission and honoring the disabled workforce

A gradual transition to the new name will take place over the next 12
months to give customers and vendors an opportunity to become familiar
with the name change. Updates on the new name, including graphics and
standards, will be posted on the Committee's website at
[www.abilityone.gov](http://www.abilityone.gov/).

**Successes.** Below are some of the notable Strategic Alliance
successes which demonstrate that the commitment to the Alliance
continues to flourish:

-   The Alliance Steering Committee created a standard operating
    procedures (SOP) manual to assist in the field with day-to-day
    operations. The manual is a living document and continues to be
    updated and improved regularly.

-   When the Alliance was rolled out at the eleven GSA regions, each
    region and their respective NISH counterparts created customized
    processes to implement the vision. This approach allowed each region
    to implement a flexible plan that fit its particular needs and
    challenges.

-   In fiscal year (FY) 2004, over 135 full time equivalents (FTE)
    representing people with severe disabilities were added to the
    AbilityOne Program\--the greatest number since the signing of the
    Alliance. Combining FY 2005 and FY 2006, 97 FTE were added to the
    AbilityOne Program. This demonstrates that GSA continues to support
    the program by creating jobs for people with severe disabilities.

-   During the development of the Strategic Alliance, NISH agreed to
    develop an NPA Certification Program to ensure that its customers
    received quality service and the NPAs maintained a program of
    continued improvement. The goal to certify approximately 180 NPAs
    delivering service to GSA/PBS is well underway. To date over 70 NPAs
    are certified, and it is expected that the remaining NPAs will
    receive certification by the end of calendar year 2007.

-   During the summer of 2006, in keeping with one of the Alliance's
    mottos\--*Communication is Key and Follow-up is Necessary*\--the
    national GSA and NISH Alliance Managers returned to each GSA region
    to brief GSA, NISH and NPA staff who may not be familiar with the
    Alliance. The briefings gave people a chance to discuss issues and
    challenges that they face with a focus on how the Alliance can
    assist them.

-   Finally, routine meetings are held nationally and regionally between
    GSA, NISH and the NPAs to exchange information and share ideas.
    Comments from these venues are used to update and enhance the SOP
    manual. An additional product of the meetings is enriched
    relationships.

The GSA/AbilityOne Strategic Alliance partners continue to work
diligently and passionately towards ensuring that people with severe
disabilities have the option to join the workforce. The AbilityOne
Program embraces the idea of inclusion and the Alliance supports this
ideal. We all agree that a strong America is a working America. For more
information, visit the PBS AbilityOne website at
<http://insite.pbs.gsa.gov/AbilityOne/> or contact Karone Blondin at
<karone.blondin@gsa.gov> or 202-501-3518.

**DID YOU KNOW?**

OFPP has issued a guide designed to help agencies prepare the
acquisition workforce for emergencies. The guide describes strategies
for effective response planning and provides a list of acquisition
reminders when contracting during emergencies. The guide also discusses
flexibilities that acquisition personnel deployed to an emergency
situation may use to facilitate timely procurements. This guide is
intended to supplement, not supplant, agency-specific guidance, and
should be read in conjunction with FAR Part 18 on emergency
acquisitions. The guide will be maintained electronically and updated,
as needed, on the OFPP web site,
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement/]{.underline}.

**CHECK IT OUT!**

"Check It Out!" highlights upcoming conferences and events of interest
to the GSA acquisition community. If you'd like to have your conference
or event listed in this column, please send an e-mail to the Editor,
<judy.steele@gsa.gov> with the pertinent information including a point
of contact.

**Aerospace and Defense Contract Management Conference**

"Rules, Risks, and Rewards-The Changing Outlook for Aerospace &

Defense Contracting"

July 26-27, 2007

Hyatt Regency Orange County

Garden Grove, CA

[www.ncmahq.org](http://www.ncmahq.org/)

**Government Contract Management Conference**

November 8-9, 2007

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center

Bethesda, MD

[www.ncmahq.org](http://www.ncmahq.org/)

\*\*\*\*\*

We thank our guest authors for their contributions to this newsletter.
Guest authors express their own views, which are provided for the
information of our newsletter readers. We welcome any comments,
suggestions, and articles. We also welcome any individually authored
articles on acquisition issues that would be of interest to the GSA
acquisition audience. Please contact the Editor, Judy Steele at
<judy.steele@gsa.gov> with comments or suggestions.

*Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer*

*1800 F Street, NW*

*Washington, DC 20405*

*Editor*

*Judy Steele*

*Graphics Editor*

*Lisa Cliff*

*Policy Editors*

*The FAR Staff*