Mission, Values, and Goals
As the government’s premier acquisition agency, GSA continues to assist its customers with procuring various goods and services cheaper, faster, and in compliance with laws and regulations, which in turn saves money for the taxpayers. GSA brings best practices to procurements and harnesses the full purchasing power of the Federal government. At the same time, GSA is helping other Federal agencies to concentrate their efforts and limited contracting resources onto agency-specific procurements.
| GSA leverages the buying power of the Federal government to acquire best value for taxpayers and our Federal customers. We exercise responsible asset management. We deliver superior workplaces, quality acquisition services, and expert business solutions. We develop innovative and effective management policies. |
The Agency’s mission is derived from GSA’s original authorizing legislation, the Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949. This law consolidated the Federal government’s real estate, supply, and other management support functions so that agencies would run more efficiently. GSA seeks efficiencies through joint management policy-making with departments and other agencies. Today, for the great majority of functions, agencies are able to determine for themselves whether GSA’s centralized services serve their needs, as agencies are no longer required to use GSA.
|
|
|
A major change to the delivery of GSA’s mission has been accomplished in the consolidation of the former Federal Supply Service (FSS) and the Federal Technology Service (FTS) into the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). The evolution of technology and the marketplace has blurred the distinctions between information technology (IT) and other products and services. Thus, the separation between FSS and FTS that served the government well for decades no longer makes sense. GSA customers require a blended delivery model that integrates products and services in a manner that is transparent to the customer with GSA providing end-to-end customer service.
A crucial aspect of GSA’s mission is to promote unified planning and coordination of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These responsibilities relate to both natural and manmade incidents that threaten lives and property before, during, and after a major emergency or disaster. In addition to making certain that GSA’s operations respond to these crises, GSA provides other agencies with the space, supplies, telecommunications, and policies they need to do their jobs. This means, for example, going to the site of disasters and finding suitable space for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to set up operations or providing equipment and vehicles to the U.S. Forest Service to fight wildfires.
The use of the Internet and other new electronic tools touches every aspect of GSA’s mission. GSA’s primary Web site, GSA.gov (www.GSA.gov), is the electronic gateway to the Agency. GSA also maintains USA.gov (www.USA.gov), which provides citizens with a single point of access to the vast index of official government information, including more than 50 million Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial documents. Through this initiative, GSA successfully meets the President’s Electronic Government (E-Gov) initiative, which is to provide citizens with accurate, timely, and consistent information about government programs and services. USA.gov has been rated the number one Web site in the Federal government for quality and e-government readiness by Brown University in its annual e-Government report in 2007.