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**Five Key Tips for Stress-Free Buying at Year-End**

*By Victor E. Powers, Director for the Division of Information
Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center in the Office of
Administration, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health*

Picture yourself in a wooded glen fishing beside a gently rippling
brook. Or maybe your idea of relaxing is sitting under an umbrella and
listening to the ocean waves soothe your soul. While many business
professionals are lounging at the beach, or relaxing by that mountain
stream, federal government acquisition professionals are preparing for
the busiest time of their year: the end-of-fiscal year buying frenzy.
The summer season is already here, and it is important to plan ahead so
we acquisition professionals, too, can enjoy these lazy, hazy days of
summer.

Our goal is to remind you of the tools that will help you plan for and
negotiate the tumultuous days ahead. We offer five key tips for smooth
government Information Technology (IT) acquisition. We hope these tips
will ease your agency acquisitions and help ensure that when you buy on
behalf of your agency, you buy with confidence.

The flurry of federal government year-end ordering doesn't have to be
stress-filled. But it is important for us to realize the critical
components of the season in order to negotiate it smoothly. This is a
vital time for our agencies to finalize mission-critical IT purchases
before time and appropriated funds expire. There is no extension to the
end of the fiscal year. It ends September 30^th^ at midnight. Between
now and then, time is at a premium.

Government contracting staff face a number of challenges in this
condensed period of acquisitions. We must be sure that we are securing
the best value for our government agency. We must meet ever growing and
more complicated mandates and requirements. And, we must efficiently and
effectively manage the heavy acquisition workloads dictated by last
minute IT requirements.

We here at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Information Technology
Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) have an award-winning history
of success in helping agency acquisition professionals fulfill their IT
needs in a fast, flexible, and comprehensive manner. NITAAC facilitates
the acquisition of IT products and services for federal agencies and has
been doing so since its initiation in 1996. NITAAC was granted its
Executive Agent designation in 2000, and maintains it with distinction.
The Executive Agent designation allows NITAAC to operate its
Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) to help NIH, DHHS
components, and other federal government agencies more effectively meet
IT acquisition requirements. The Program also offers customer agencies
the confidence that NITAAC has met stringent reporting and management
control requirements. The NITAAC Program is a \$12 billion program,
offering three GWACs: Chief Information Officer -- Solutions and
Partners 2 *Innovations* (CIO-SP2*i*); Image World 2 *New Dimensions*
(IW2*nd*); and Electronic Commodities Store (ECS III).

As successful acquisition professionals, we have worked to devise
strategies to confront the challenges presented by the year-end buying
crunch. What follows are NITAAC's five tips to ensure that your agency's
IT needs are met as you navigate your way through this busy time of
year.

**[Top Five
Tips]{.underline}**![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.935416666666667in"
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**1. Communicate Early and Often.**

Engage all affected personnel early and often. Talk to the program
managers you support. Remind them about the need to finalize all FY 2006
purchases by September 30^th^.

IT requirements will fall into two categories: planned and unplanned. In
either case, program officials may not have communicated their need for
upcoming IT requirements with you.

Leadership can be a valuable resource at this time. Ask them to
communicate to their peers. Ask them to raise the issue at staff
meetings or volunteer to give a 30 second update. Ask your leadership to
send e-mails to your program managers. Leadership can get your managers
to address a subject of importance.

Surprises are inevitable, but with repeated communication in various
forms, keeping your internal customers up-to-date on key issues and
deadlines will help streamline the process.

**2. Engage in Acquisition Planning**

Prepare for the unexpected. You know that the end of the year will bring
last minute purchases. September 30^th^ will be busy but can also be
manageable. Acquisition planning can help you strategize how to manage
the known workload. You can also build in time and resources for that
unexpected necessity by developing a written acquisition plan. Since
federal mandates will guide many of your deadlines, include a calendar
with the requisite dates. Share the plan and calendar with your program
managers to define priorities and requirements. Help them work within
the parameters of the mandates. Help the program managers to establish
priorities and provide the technical specifications you will need to
complete the mission-critical acquisitions.

Prepare a decision matrix. There are many acquisition vehicles already
in place that can be used to streamline your acquisition. Include
contact information in the matrix, as well as delivery estimates and
documentation needed for the acquisition.

**3. Review Funding**

In the rush to finalize year-end buying requirements, it is important to
keep funding availability and regulatory requirements in focus.
Contracting officers and administrative officers should work together
with program officials to ensure that adequate funding is available to
complete the purchase of IT requirements. With a few exceptions,
appropriated funds may only be used to purchase IT products and services
in the fiscal year for which they were appropriated. Obligation of all
funds requires bona fide need. "Parking" money or ordering items when
your agency is not ready to take delivery is not permitted.

**4. Know Your Options**

Your customers' IT requirements will not fall into a "one-size-fits-all"
category. There are more contracting vehicles available than ever. You
need to know the different types of vehicles, their strengths and
challenges, and how each can work to your advantage. Prepare a matrix of
the types of contracting vehicles. There is no need to reinvent the
wheel. Use the matrix to determine which acquisitions can be streamlined
by using vehicles that already exist to help you meet your requirements.

With the advent of new contract vehicles, acquisition personnel are no
longer subjected to an 18 month process to award a contract for an IT
purchase. Streamlined contracting vehicles have replaced the cumbersome
process previously seen as the norm.

Some of the contract vehicles that can streamline your ordering process
are GWACs, Multi-Agency Contracts (MACs), Enterprise-wide contracts, and
Schedules. Your matrix may help answer the question of which vehicle is
the right one to meet the IT requirement in front of you.

The attributes of a GWAC are many. Because the vendors are already
pre-qualified, task orders and delivery orders cannot be protested.
Although a GWAC may be housed in and managed by an agency outside your
organization, they can be used throughout the federal government by any
agency whose acquisition fits the specifications of the contract.

GWACs exist throughout Government. For example, NITAAC manages three,
CIO‑SP2*i*, IW2*nd*, and ECS III. Some offered by other agencies include
the General Services Administration's Millennia and Millennia Lite; the
Department of Commerce's COMMITS contract; and the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's SEWP III. The Office of Management and Budget
designated the NITAAC GWACs with Executive Agent status for
governmentwide acquisition of IT, which allows for providing IT products
and services to all government agencies.

Depending on the stipulations of the contract, GWACs can be used for
task or delivery orders. Extra documentation for a Determination and
Finding (D&F) as required in the Economy Act does not apply to GWACs.

MACs are managed by one agency for use throughout the federal
government. Task and delivery orders require competition. The IT MACs
are also governed by the Clinger-Cohen Act. Acquisitions must include a
D&F that confirms that the interagency acquisition is in the best
interest of the government and cannot be obtained as conveniently or
economically through a private acquisition, as required by the Economy
Act.

Schedules are indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) vehicles
established by GSA to assist the federal government purchaser. As with
other vehicles, an acquisition requires competition.

**5. Work Smarter, Not Harder**

Determine what the priority is for each acquisition.

-   Is it delivery time?

-   Is it customer service to assist you with a complicated Request for
    Quote (RFQ)?

-   Do you plan to use this acquisition to meet small business goals?

-   Does Fair Opportunity to be Considered figure highly into the
    decision?

-   Can you obtain immediate sales and discounts?

-   Do you want this acquisition to focus on Performance-Based Service
    Contracting?

-   How important is it to use electronic ordering as part of your
    acquisition process?

In our "on-time-delivery" world, getting IT now to fulfill your agency's
mission is often the priority. If this is your priority, choose a
vehicle that can reduce time for your delivery order by having
precompeted vendors and a history of delivering in under a week.

Can you do it yourself or is the statement of work outside your
expertise? Sometimes customer service and working with knowledgeable
professionals who are familiar with the IT and services for an
enterprise-wide or complex solution is your most pressing need. There
are acquisition professionals who specialize in IT solutions, and access
to them is often just a phone call away. Use the expertise of these
business and task order specialists to both assure an accurate and
complete acquisition, and to reduce time and stress.

Has your agency satisfied its small business commitments and
requirements? There are ways to meet Fair Opportunity to be Considered
rules and automatically include small businesses in the process.
Contracts that offer discounts for small business vendors are available.

Time and money are always high priorities. Making a best-value decision
is always important. Take advantage of discounts and spot pricing. Your
decision matrix can help you identify a vehicle that provides best
value. Your acquisition can be accomplished by simultaneously sending
one RFQ to multiple vendors and letting the vendors respond through a
centralized system.

Time is money. Streamlined acquisitions that can be accomplished
electronically meet the goal of saving time, which results in cost
savings. Include electronic ordering as a choice when possible. By
selecting the right contracting vehicle that meets your requirements'
priorities, you will reduce your time and effort significantly.

**Relax!**

You can take that restorative vacation break on the beach, or enjoy the
peace of the mountains, confident that your upcoming acquisitions will
be achieved without the stress that can sometimes surround this frenzied
season.

The year-end buying season might be hectic, but it also offers you an
opportunity to excel on behalf of your Government customer, vital
programs, and the taxpayer. We hope that by following these five tips,
your acquisition season will be under control.

For more information on NITAAC or for a matrix of its award-winning
GWACs, please visit our website at
[http://nitaac.nih.gov](http://nitaac.nih.gov/) or call us at (888)
773-6542.

*NITAAC, a multi-billion dollar program, provides NIH Institutes and
Centers, and other federal government agencies with quality Information
Technology products, services, and solutions.*