A Bi-Weekly Newsletter from ITA Administration
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
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A Bi-Weekly Newsletter from ITA Administration | |
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Office of the Chief Financial Officer |
Wednesday, November 08, 2006 |
Transit Benefit
Program
The
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has announced their
transition from Metrocheks (paper fare cards) to SmartBenefits (electronic
smart card technology) for all Federal workers participating in the
Transit Benefit Program in the National Capital Region. WMATA will transition all federal
participants using Metrorail, Metrobuses, and Metro vanpools to
SmartBenefits technology by January 2008. Participants that use commuting
modes that have not adopted the Smartrip technology, such as VRE , MARC
train, and commuter buses, will continue to receive Metocheks. Stay tuned for further information
and updates. If you have
questions, please call Sharon Russell, ITA Transit Benefit Coordinator, at
(202)482-3267. When you go to renew your ID
badge you will notice some changes.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has
developed a new standardized badging system. The new system is designed to
enhance security, reduce identity fraud and protect personal privacy of
government workers. The Personal Identity Verification (PIV) system
requires you to provide background information that will be used to verify
your identity. The Department of Commerce (DOC) and other agencies will
use the new PIV badge to grant you access when you request or require use
of federal facilities and computer systems. All DOC employees, including
contractors, are required to participate in PIV online training: New
Mandatory Procedures to Renew Your Badge: Who is the sponsor for my
unit? Spending Under the Continuing Resolution A reminder to ITA program managers. For the duration of the continuing resolution all procurements, including MOUs that would obligate ITA to $100,000 or more must be approved by the Resource Coordinator and the Budget Officer. The continuing resolution is scheduled to expire on November 17th and will likely be extended through the end of this calendar year http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app07.html . Questions should be directed to the ITA Budget Officer, Michael House at (202)482-5739. Michael House began his DoC career with ITA in 1987, where he spent five years in OFM as a budget analyst responsible for Import Administration and CS’s foreign posts, and for a time held dual duties as the acting resource coordinator for IA. In 1992, he left ITA for NOAA where he spent the next 14 years at various positions within NOAA’s Office of Finance and Administration including stints as the Resource Coordinator and acting Budget Division Director. Mr. House is in Room 4124 and can be reached at (202)482-5739 or via email at Michael.House@mail.doc.gov.
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New Employee Orientation – MakeoverThe Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) is undertaking an initiative to improve the entry-on-duty (EOD) process. Our goal is to ensure that the EOD process is helpful and informative, especially for first-time Federal employees. To ensure that the revamped EOD process meets the needs of its target group, OHRM is asking for volunteers from among new ITA employees, who have been hired in the last year. You will be asked to actively participate in the redesign of the EOD process. Your suggestions, based on your own recent experience, will help to make new employees first day at ITA a positive experience. If you are interested, please contact Marcia Tyler at (202)482-2850 or via email at Marcia_Tyler@ita.doc.gov. Building Results-Oriented Performance Plans
This course is designed to assist employees in developing solid
performance plans that are aligned with organizational goals. The plans include results-oriented
elements and credible measures.
The course is divided into three modules: Alignment,
Results-Focused, and Credible Measures. A quiz follows each module. In order to receive a certificate
of completion for each module, employees must pass each quiz. The total time to complete all
three modules is 53 minutes.
To log on to the Learning Management System (LMS) and register for
this course, go to this website:
http:www.ita.doc.gov/hrm/documents/results.pdf
and follow the directions.
Please contact Carol Davison at (202)482-2537 or via email at Carol_Davison@ita.doc.gov with
any questions related to LMS. Question: How should a requester document a sole source purchase? Answer: The CD-492, Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition should include the following information: When preparing a CD-492, the requesting office should identify the market research conducted in their attempts to locate other qualified sources, not merely to determine price reasonableness. The requesting office also needs to discuss the attempts to locate other qualified sources as per FAR 10.002(b) 2: Techniques for conducting market research should include some or all of the following: 1) Contacting knowledgeable individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet requirements. 2) Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements. 3) Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. 4). Querying the Government wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies available at <http://www.conractdirectory.gov/> and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions. 5) Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers. 6) Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources. 7) Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line. 8) Conducting meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the acquisition process. Agencies should document the results of market research in a manner appropriate to the size and complexity of the acquisition. Stating that a contractor is the only entity capable of providing the services needed, and that “awarding to other sources would be much more costly” is not a valid justification to sole source a requirement. Have any other sources ever provided these same services to the government? If so, at what price? If not, how do you know this to be true, given the absence of supporting facts obtained through market research? If you have questions contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via email at Robin.Carpenter@mail.doc.gov Where do I find …. A Current List of Resource Coordinators You can find a current list of Resource Coordinators at the following website: http://www.ita.doc.gov/ofm_guidance/rcs.html. |
Approved by the Office of ITA Acting DOA
Send your suggestions or comments about this newsletter to Nina.Harris@mail.doc.gov