PMC Newsletter On-Line (Issue 08-4, April 29, 2008)

 

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT COUNCIL (PMC) NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 2008-03

April 29, 2008

 

Items for Review

 

ACMIS updates

APL 2008-06, Incurred Costs Audits
FedBizOpps

Performance Based Acquisitions
Presidential Support for AbilityOne Program
Spring 2008 Vendor Day

 

 

Spring 2008 Vendor Day

 

The DOT Office of Computer Information & Operations (OCIO) and Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) are sponsoring “Spring 2008” Vendor Day on May 13, 2008.  The goal of this Small business forum and networking opportunity is to increase the opportunity for both government professionals and small and large business to dialogue and discuss current and projected IT procurements as well as “Best Practices”.   

 

Who should attend:   All acquisition professionals, including Program Managers and COTRs.  Participants will receive a certificate and 4 Continuing Learning Points.

 

Please contact Ferguise Mayronne at (202) 366-5347 or Ferguise.Mayronne@dot.gov for more information.

 

Continued Presidential Support for the AbilityOne Program

 

In a memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, dated February 11, 2008, President George W. Bush expressed his continued support of the AbilityOne Program (formerly the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Program) and encouraged federal acquisition of products and services under such program. 

 

The OSPE encourages DOT OAs to utilize the AbilityOne Program to procure goods and services, consistent with existing law (FAR Subpart 8.7—Acquisition from Nonprofit Agencies Employing People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled). 

 

The President’s memo may be viewed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080211.html

 

For more information, please contact Cassandra Wells at (202) 366-4960.

 

  

New and “Improved” Federal Business Opportunities System

On Monday, March 31, 2008, the new Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov) system was successfully released.  The new FBO is a simplified, easy-to-manage, high performance system that offers the additional functionality that users have requested. The look and feel of the new system is improved to facilitate customer’s ease of learning and allow easy navigation by users.  A complete series of updated Users Manuals is readily available on the FBO home page to help answer any questions users may have.  You can access on the right inset of the home page.

All users will be able to take advantage of several new features, including more effective navigation.  The new FBO:

- Includes current Federal Technical Data Solutions (FedTeDS) functionality and enables users to create clickable links;

- Displays modifications and amendments to solicitations easily;

- Highlights newly added opportunities controlled by setting up “search agents”;

- Streamlines vendor’s use of the portal by enabling vendors to maintain their own account profile in the system; and

- Allows easy reference to a targeted opportunity by use of a new “Watch List”

Please note that FedTeDS website (www.fedteds.gov) currently has limited functionality and is expected to be permanently shutdown on or about May 16, 2008.   

Please feel free to contact Laverne Taylor at (202) 366-4279 or via email at laverne.taylor@dot.gov if there are any questions or concerns.

 

Acquisition Policy Letter – Incurred Cost Audits

 

Acquisition Policy Letter (APL) 2008-06 was issued on April 24 in response to the OIG Audit Report “Incurred-Cost Audits of DOT Procurement Contracts Should Be Obtained” issued August 2007.  The APL establishes a Departmental plan for assuring incurred-cost audits for cost type contracts are obtained and audit report recommendations are resolved in a timely manner.  The APL is posted to the “Breaking News” section on the OSPE M60 website at http://www.dot.gov/ost/m60/.

 

ACMIS

 

GSA has recently transitioned to new vendor support, which began on February 1, 2008.  The ACMIS system has been transferred to a new hardware platform and operating system. The ACMIS application is operating in its original form.  Security scans performed on the new environment were completed on April 23, 2008 and the system will be up and operational on April 25, 2008.  This notice will be posted on the fai.gov website to give visibility to all users.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the FAI helpdesk at (703) 805-2300 or questions@fai.gov.

 

 

Performance Based Acquisition

 

As of November 30, 2007, the Government spent approximately $140 billion on services to meet agency needs.  Performance-Based Acquisition (PBA) is the Government’s preferred approach for acquiring services.  When effectively implemented, the PBA strategy affords the Government many benefits such as competitive pricing, innovative solutions, quality services, and results that support agency missions.   The PBA performance goal was established to encourage the acquisition workforce to effectively use PBA methods to achieve results.  

 
To continue to motivate agencies to use the PBA strategy on eligible service actions, the Government-wide PBA performance goal is increased from 45 percent to 50 percent for FY 2008.  Agencies should strive to meet the PBA Government-wide and agency-wide goals.  If you have any questions please contact Lenita Ahmadi (202) 366-4974 or Lenita.Ahmadi@dot.gov.  Click to view OFPP memo dated 5 December 2007.