GSA Awards $2.5 Billion Multi-Channel Contact Center Contract

GSA # 10469

March 17, 2008
Contact:  Lindsey Willis, (202) 501-1231
lindsey.willis@gsa.gov 
                   
Nine Firms to Provide Federal Agencies with Broad Range of Contact Center Services

WASHINGTON – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today awarded a key contract that will provide federal agencies with easy access to a broad range of contact center services and facilitate citizen access to official government information on a daily basis and in times of emergency.

The “USA Contact” contract, worth an estimated $2.5 billion over the next decade, was awarded to nine providers: Convergys Corporation; CSC-Datatrac Inc.; EDS; ICT Group; Lockheed Martin Services ; L3 Communications; TechTeam Government Solutions, Inc.;Teletech Government Solutions; and Vangent, Inc.

“Every second matters during a crisis,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. “This contract vehicle enables us to establish emergency centers in days, if not hours.” Doan noted that USA Contact also provides agencies with ongoing fully managed contact center solutions to respond to citizen inquiries through phone and email.

GSA devised this unique approach to providing federal agencies with a choice of pre-approved contact center service vendors as part of its commitment to citizen-centric government. USA Contact replaces FirstContact and remains part of GSA’s USA Services, a Presidential E-Government initiative.  FirstContact completed 15 task orders from 2004 to 2007. Key tasks included setting up contact centers for: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of State; FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs following the theft of a laptop with sensitive personnel data.

“GSA is helping citizens get the information they want and need from government by assisting agencies with the delivery process,” said Martha Dorris, Deputy Associate Administrator of GSA’s Office of Citizen Services, which manages USA Contact.  “Agencies will be able to come to GSA for help in setting up easily accessible, timely and complete contact centers to respond to citizen’s questions via the communications channel of their choice.“

For more information about USA Contact, visit www.usaservices.gov.

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GSA provides a centralized delivery system of products and services to the federal government, leveraging its enormous buying power to get the best value for taxpayers.
• Founded in 1949, GSA manages more than one-fourth of the government’s total procurement dollars and influences the management of $500 billion in federal assets, including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 208,000 vehicles. 
• GSA helps preserve our past and define our future, as a steward of more than 425 historic properties, and as manager of USA.gov, the official portal to federal government information and services.
• GSA’s mission to provide superior workplaces, expert technology solutions, acquisition services, purchasing and E-Gov travel solutions and management policies, at best value, allows federal agencies to focus on their core missions.
 
Did You Know? FirstContact responded to more than 14 million citizen inquiries from 2004 to 2008.