# Presentation: 519316

## Exploring the Competitive Sourcing Environment 

- Exploring the Competitive Sourcing Environment

- FLICC 2005 Content Management Update
- Carolyn Helmetsie, NASA Langley Research Center
- Karen Kapust, Food and Drug Administration
- Held at the Library of Congress
- September 14, 2005

## Competitive Sourcing Overview

- The Fair Act
- OMB Circular A-76
- Possible Outcomes
- Outsourcing Environment
- Core Competencies
- Managing Information Resources
- Panel Discussion

## Example of Competitive Sourcing Page

## Privatization, Outsourcing, or Contracting Out ...

- Private sector has provided commercially available services and products since mid-1950s
- OMB Circular A-76 Performance of Commercial Activities (1966)
- Revised May 29, 2003
- A-76 has impacted federal libraries (partial listing)
- Dept. of Energy
- HUD
- EPA
- Labor
- NOAA
- NASA
- FDA

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”, History of  Legislation, Jean Conrad, NOAA, January 7, 2005

## FAIR Act (Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act) 

- Passed in 1998:  P.L. 105-270
- Requires Federal Agencies:
- Prepare and submit to OMB by June 30th of each year, inventories of commercial activities performed by federal employees
- Submit inventories of inherently governmental activities
- Submitted to Congress and published following OMB review

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”.  Fair Act, Susan Tarr, Library of Congress, January 7, 2005

## Inherently Governmental Activities

- A function “that is so intimately related to the public interest as to require performance by Federal Government employees.”
- Examples include “ultimate control over the acquisition, use or disposition of the property...of the United States”

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”.  Fair Act, Susan Tarr, Library of Congress, January 7, 2005

## Commercial Activities Inventory

- All functions in the annual inventory that are “not inherently governmental”
- Defined as a “recurring service that could be performed by the private sector...”
- Normally subject to competitive sourcing under OMB Circular A-76

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”.  Fair Act, Susan Tarr, Library of Congress, January 7, 2005

## Reason Codes for Commercial 

- Reason Codes for Commercial
- Activities Inventory

- M-05-12 2005 Inventories of Commercial and Inherently Governmental Activities

## Possible Function Codes for Library Functions

- G010, G102-G105 under Social Services
- Y850 under Force Mgt & General Support (not available to civilian agencies)
- Or possibly under
- B – Personnel Mgt
- C – Finance & Accounting
- F – Procurement
- U – Education & Training
- R – Research, Development, Test & Evaluation

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”.  Fair Act, Susan Tarr, Library of Congress, January 7, 2005

## Changes in OMB Circular A-76

- Eliminates all direct conversions
- Establishes mandatory time frames for conducting competitions
- Standard Competition – 12 months
- Streamlined Competition (65 FTE or less) – 90 days
- Requires formal announcements of competitions
- Performance decision
- Private sector decision – CO shall award a contract in accordance with the FAR
- Agency decision – requires letter of Obligation (equivalent to contract) when Government wins
- Requires Agency to track execution and monitor performance
- Provides for “best value” selection

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”. OMB Circular A-76. Carolyn Helmetsie, NASA, January 7, 2005

## Source: OMB Circular No. A-76 May 29, 2003, B-6

## Source: OMB Circular No. A-76 May 29, 2003, B-4

## Civil Service Process Overview   

- PWS—Performance Work Statement
- SOW—Statement of Work
- RD—Requirements Document
- The work that needs to be done
- Includes how often, how many
- Based on historical statistics as well as future needs
- QASP—Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan
- The mechanism for implementing the inspection and acceptance clauses in the FAR (Federal Acquisitions Regulations)
- Performed by the Government to asses service provider performance

- Revised from: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”, Competitive Sourcing Overview, Gloria Miller, NRL,  January 7, 2005

## Outsourcing - Possible Outcomes 

- Remain In-House
- Most Efficient Organization (MEO)
- Contractor Outsourced
- Mixed

- From: “Competitive Sourcing: A Catalyst for Change”, Overview of Possible Outcomes, Linda Parker, Dept. of Labor,  January 7, 2005

## Most Efficient Organization(MEO)

- Karen Kapust
- Director, FDA Biosciences Library
- September 14, 2005

## MEO

- Presents Government’s in-house organization
- Competes with contract bids in response to PWS
- Prepared when already decided that library is a commercial activity
- Includes:  improvements in operation, reductions in staffing, or other performance improvements
- Responds only to task/functions specified in PWS

## MEO

- Validates workload collected in PWS
- Documents “As-Is” organization:  description, mission, functions, staffing plans, facilities, equipment
- Responds to collection of workload statistics, or estimates if no stats to define FTE requirements
- Includes position descriptions for staff required to perform the function/operations
- Must ensure PD’s reflect librarian competencies, and show value to organization, before tasked to prepare PWS/MEO

## MEO

- Analyzes “As-Is” organization defined in PWS – from a snapshot in time possibly a year before PWS is prepared; when MEO is awarded, PWS tasks often out-of-date due to technology changes
- Determines the “To-Be,” most efficient organization and cost savings with reduced staffing or services
- Organization must be adequately staffed to meet workload requirement and perform at acceptable performance level.  Monthly QASP (quality assurance surveillance plan) measures performance
- Work outside scope of PWS is unauthorized

## MEO

- Involve Human Resources to ensure accurate job classifications; rewrite PD’s if not reflective of current work
- Ensure PD’s contain Librarian competencies required to do the work; competencies need to reflect changes in technology and information management environment, plus be written to reflect future environment
- Be prepared!  Take opportunity to communicate to senior management what your staff does, their competencies, and their value to the organization, before you are tasked to prepare a PWS and MEO

## Outsourcing Defined

- “Procurement of services from an outside vendor to perform functions that are NOT core to the mission of the library and for which the library is unable or uninterested in providing for itself”
- Business definition:  “Outsourcing is the act of transferring some of a company’s recurring internal activities and decision rights to outside providers, i.e. a contract”
- What is core activity?  What is recurring activity?

## Outsourcing Environment

- According to ALA:
- Notion that “libraries are an essential public good”
- Responsibility and implementation for policy making should not be shifted to the private sector in publicly funded libraries
- Affirms that publicly funded libraries should remain directly accountable to the publics they serve

## Outsourcing Perspectives

- Outsourcing of services core to the library’s mission evokes strong reactions
- Outsourcing option for libraries - procure capabilities not available internally
- Outsourcing core functions threatens institutional viability, diverts local control, and diminishes the value of professional librarians

## Future Outsourcing Environment

- There will be continuing budget restrictions
- There is a focus on the customer and results
- Benchmarking of services is essential
- Fair Act and OMB Circular A-76 will remain in effect until legislative change

## Keep In-House? Outsource?

- Are the priority processes under consideration impacting effectiveness of operations?  Are the processes mission critical?  If so, identify processes reflecting or determining organization’s identity that should be handled in-house
- Is service core to relationship with its users, for example, embedded librarians, creation and maintenance of content of web site?  Is work qualitative, not quantitative?  If so, advocate to maintain in-house

## Routine/Recurring Activities  

- Where specialist suppliers should be able to offer economies of scale
- The higher the revenue cost, the greater the potential benefit of outsourcing
- Routine tasks easier to specify – not qualitative
- Lack of clarity is impediment to outsourcing – if requirements complex, measured by quality, don’t outsource

## Making a Case to Keep In-House  

- Make case for how well you provide your own and your staff’s value and professionalism to your organization
- Prove a return on investment to make the case for your library’s needs
- Maintain the quality of services your users deserve and expect
- Contracts may not allow contractors to change services to meet a community’s changing needs

## Library Core Competencies

- SLA-defined professional competencies
- Managing Information Organizations
- Managing Information Resources
- Managing Information Services
- Applying Information Tools and Technologies

## Core Competencies

- SLA-defined Personal Competencies
- Set of attitudes, skills, and values
- Enable Information Professionals to work effectively and contribute positively to their organizations, clients, and profession
- Strong communicators
- Ability to demonstrate value
- Remaining flexible and positive in ever-changing environment

## Managing Information Organizations

- Interpret implications of information policy, including copyright, licensing
- Collaborate with Agency researchers to share knowledge, advise and refine information-seeking skills
- Interpret, synthesize, analyze, and deliver information packages
- Maintain awareness of Agency political environment, initiatives, mission, and interpret to deliver valued information
- Consultants on content management issues

## Managing Information Resources

- Partner with broader communities to share resources; seek channels to increase breadth of resources
- Create collection development policies appropriate to organizational mission
- Identify, collect, evaluate, organize, and package content
- Analyze user needs, make informed choices about Agency’s core business drivers

## Managing Information Services

- Synthesize information from dispersed sources to provided targeted services; provide for quality filtering and data transfer
- Conduct long-range planning and policy formulation for services and training needs
- Ensure optimal use of facilities to accommodate evolving client needs
- Train clients in use of information access systems and products
- Aggregate content to create and deliver customized products

## Applying Information Tools & Technology

- Design and implement information products and systems
- Create, access, and manage databases, integrated library systems, client-server applications
- Evaluate new and evolving technologies
- Implement and test hardware and software
- Apply systems thinking to adapt to constantly changing technologies

## FLICC Competitive Sourcing Working Group

- Karen Kapust, Food and Drug Administration, Chairperson
- Jean Conrad, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
- Gloria Miller, Naval Research Laboratory
- Carolyn Helmetsie, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

- Linda Parker, Dept. of Labor
- Donna Ramsey, U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir
- Lynne Tobin, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- Anna Bohlin, Library of Congress
- Lynn McDonald, Library of Congress
- Robyn Frank, Executive Office of the President, FEB Representative

## Useful Links

**Outsourcing and Privatization in Libraries**
- 	_[http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/iftoolkits/_x000b_outsourcing/Default2446.htm](http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/iftoolkits/%0Boutsourcing/Default2446.htm)_
**Calling a Change in the Outsourcing Market – The Realities for the World’s Largest Organization. Deloitte Consulting, April, 2005**
- 	_[http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/us_outsourcing_callingachange.pdf](http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/us_outsourcing_callingachange.pdf)_

## Useful Links

**COTR Handbook**
- 	_[http://www1.va.gov/oamm/acquisition/training/cotrhndbk.pdf](http://www1.va.gov/oamm/acquisition/training/cotrhndbk.pdf)__ _
**Implementation of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-270) ("FAIR Act")**
- 	_[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a076/a076tm20.html](http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a076/a076tm20.html)__ _
**2005 Inventories of Commercial and Inherently Governmental Activities**
- 	_[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/_x000b_fy2005/m05-12.pdf](http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/%0Bfy2005/m05-12.pdf)_

## Useful Links	

**Share A-76!** from DoD, _[http://emissary.acq.osd.mil/inst/share.nsf/](http://emissary.acq.osd.mil/inst/share.nsf/)_ especially the “A-76 Cost Comparison Process Model” & “Best Practices”
**AcqNet**, _[http://www.arnet.gov/](http://www.arnet.gov/)_ includes “What You Always Wanted to Know About OMB's Circular A-76”

## References

- White, Herbert, "What price salami?: The Federal Process of Contracting Out Libraries," Library Journal, January 1988 p.58-57
- White, Herbert, "Why Outsourcing Happens, and What to Do about It," American Libraries, January 2000 p.66-61