GSA's Acquisition Planning Wizard (APW)
Welcome to the GSA's Acquisition Planning Wizard (APW). The wizard addresses all the FAR requirements and will make it easier for you to develop acquisition plans that meet the agency's planning requirements and therefore speed the approval process.
This wizard is designed to be intuitive and helpful to all participants in the planning process. If you have any suggestions that will help us improve the wizard, please let us know by clicking here.
Thank you for your suggestions! The wizard is currently being enhanced to make it easier to use. Find out what's new by clicking here.
APW Notices
The Office of General Council
An issue with the Office of General Council role in the plan creation process has been corrected. Planners are now able to submit plans in accordance with the GSAM specifications.
APW 6.0 Implements New Acquisition Guidance Consistent with the GSAM Part 507 Rewrite
The Distinction Between Limited and Comprehensive Plans has been Eliminated
New or redetermined plans can be of the following types:1. Leasehold Interests in Real Property Acquisition Plan, or
2. Acquisition Plan
New Dollar Value Thresholds and Approving Official Levels
The following are dollar value threshold and approving official levels for approving acquisition plans or waiving written plans. The HCA may authorize higher level approving officials for the thresholds set out as follows:
For purposes of leasing, the Simplified Leasing Acquisition Threshold (SLAT) is defined in GSAM Part 570.
| Threshold | Approving Official |
|---|---|
| Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) (SLAT for leases) | Contracting Officer |
| SAT (SLAT for leases) to, and including, $5.5million | One Level above the Contracting Officer |
| Over $5.5 million to, and including, $20 million | Contracting Director |
| Over $20 million to, and including, $50 million | Regional Commissioner or Deputy Regional Commissioner |
| Over $50 million | HCA |
In addition, if the acquisition meets one of the following criteria and is greater than the SAT, the planner must obtain HCA approval of the plan:
- Complex, critical to agency strategic objectives and mission, highly visible or politically sensitive.
- An acquisition with which GSA has little or no experience that may result in a need for greater oversight or risk management
- Actions using significantly changed methods (e.g., methods of procurement such as lease versus purchase, or methods of performance such as contractor versus Government personnel).
- New construction or repair, lease prospectus and alteration prospectus budget line items.
- Any acquisition that requires contact bundling (FAR 7.101)
APW 6.0 Manages Suggested Edits
Previewers can now provide feedback to planners through the "Suggested Edits" functionality. When viewing a plan that is still on draft status, you can enter your suggestions into the "suggested Edits" field that is located on each text field on the plan; you can also view suggestions made by other previewers. At some point planners can review, modify, accept or reject suggested edits as they move towards completing the plan.
APW 6.0 Reminds Planners of 508 Compliance
Planners are reminded about 508 compliance early in plan creation, and when they reach the point where 508 compliance would be entered
GSA Security Compliance
In an effort to improve security for Federal applications, there is a new mandate that TLS 1.0 is the only GSA and Government compliant protocol for secure web connections. The APW system is taking appropriate measures over the next week to ensure compliance with this policy.
How does this affect you? It will not affect you at all if your web browser is relatively current. As long as you are using at least IE version 6.0 or Firefox version 2.x, you will be fine. If you are using a browser version that is older than this, you may not be able to access the APW system.
If this is the case, then you should either update your web browser or contact the APW Helpdesk for instructions by calling: APW Help Desk at (866) 279-6435 or emailing: apwhelp@devis.com
FAQ addressing Mods of approved plans
A new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) has been added in response to recent questions on when it is appropriate to create a Mod of an approved plan.
APW Training Presentation
Click here to download the power point presentation used during the APW Training Presentation
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are available via the APW FAQ link at the bottom of the screen. New FAQs relate to making changes to approved plans
APW Help
For questions concerning GSA Policy and Guidance (what goes in a plan?) please call: Michael O. Jackson at (202) 208-4949 or email: michaelo.jackson@gsa.gov
For question concerning the operation of the system (Example:I'm having problems accessing the APW! I forgot my password!) please call: APW Help Desk at (866) 279-6435 or email: apwhelp@devis.com
The help desk is available from 8am until 8pm (EST) Monday through Friday, except holidays and your calls will be returned within 30 minutes. You may also email support requests 24 hours a day and expect to hear back the same or next business day.
