Acquisition and Procurement

Archive

ACQUISITION AND PROCUREMENT

Acquistion and Procurment are resource strategies which are become increasingly more critical to the missions of Federal agencies and their day to day operations. Internal tasks and customer services can be performed more effectively and efficiiently. By creating meaningful partnerships between procurement professionals and program managers the accomplishment of goals will be accelerated. The free exchange of information, especially on the Internet, will lead to increased cooperation and teamwork and better value returned to taxpayers.

If you have questions or seek information about:

Training Opportunities

The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI)
(http://www.gsa.gov/staff/v/training.htm) offers a one-stop shop of training opportunities. FAI has worked for more than a decade to foster Government- wide career management programs in the field of procurement and acquisition. Information available at their website includes;
- Procurement curriculum
- Latest course updates
- Draft course designs
- News and features
- Hot items
Federal Acquisition Institute
Office Acquisition Policy
18th and F Streets NW
Washington, DC 20405
The General Services Administration has developed a website for its Interagency Training Center (www.gsa.gov/itc/gsaitchp.htm). A variety of contracting, acquisition, and procurement courses along with session dates and locations can be reviewed and evaluated. Courses are divided into "entry-level", "intermediate", and "advanced-level" categories.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has provided a website which lists courses and training opportunities offered at VA. (http://www.va.gov/oa&mm/training.htm)
1997 Acquisition Reform Symposium (http://apollo.dsmc.dsm.mil/arsinfo.htm) will be sponsored by Defense Systems Management College and the National Contract Management Association. The Symposium's theme is, "Imagination, Innovation, and Implementation". For more information contact .... infomaster@dsmc.dsm.mil.

Other Federal Procurement Activities

GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy (http://policyworks.gov/policy.htm) offers a comprehensive listing including helpful offices and contacts, relevant regulations, libraries, publications, and interagency work groups.
The Department of Energy Procurement Page (www.pr.doe.gov)
NASA Procurement Home Page (www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/welcome.html)
The Department of Transportation Procurement Page (http://www.dot.gov/ost/m60/)
NASA provides a listing of other Federal procurement assistance websites (http://procure.msfc.nasa.gov/procinfo.html)
NASA's Federal Acquisition Jumpstation (http://procure.msfc.nasa.gov/fedproc/home.html) provides links to dozens of other Federal acquisition and procurement sites, Federal streamlining and reform efforts including "Acquisition Reform Net" (http://www.arnet.gov), and sites containing information on electronic commerce and electronic data interchange.
GovCon, Inc. (www.govcon.com) provides a resource center for access to the Commerce Business Daily, government regulations including FAR and DFAR data bases, and discussion forums involving government contracting.
GovCon, Inc.
2400 Research Blvd
Suite 250
Rockville, MD 20850
301/258-8292
301/921-4700 (fax)

Best Practices

The Acquisition Reform Network (ARNet) (http://www.arnet.gov/NTindex.html) is a Federal enterprise created to foster and propagate measurable breakthrough improvements in the way that government obtains goods and services. ARNet provides valuable information on best practices, benchmarking, and frequently asked questions across the government. You also can browse their electronic forum and comment on proposed revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
The Defense Systems Management College (www.dsmc.dsm.mil/linksll.htm) provides links to several agency (civilian and military) best practices and lessons learned sites. They also offer numerous training and consulting services on procurement and acquisition issues.
The Department of Transportation Best Practices Clearinghouse (http://www.dot.gov/ost/m60/measure.html)

Authorities, Flexibilities, and Guidance

The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) can be obtained at (www.gsa.gov/far/current)
The NASA Procurement Reference Library (http://procure.msfc.nasa.gov/procref.html) provides numerous helpful links including to;
- Commerce Business Daily
- Federal Market Place
- Bid Protest and Investigations on Record at GAO
- OMB Library
- Congressional Record
The Electronic College of Process Innovation (http://www.dtic.mil/cei/bpred/6020.htm) has created a website which contains a compilation of Federal policies issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
1995-1996 "Acquisition Review" articles .... free download using Adobe Acrobat. (http://apollo.dsmc.dsm.mil/pdfarq.htm)
Additional Executive Orders and Procurement Policy Letters can be obtained through the National Performance Review Library at (http://www.npr.gov/library/index.html)

Federal Supply Services

GSA's Advantage program (http://www.fss.gsa.gov/cgi-bins/advwel) has cut the red tape facing agencies wishing to obtain services from Federal supply schedules by creating an on-line purchasing facility. At their website, you can also obtain current pricing and product availability information by geographic location.

Small Business Contracting

SBA provides Government contracting assistance related to small, disadvantaged, minority- or women-owned firms. (www.sbaonline.sba.gov)

IT Procurement Policy

GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy outlines governmentwide IT procurement policies in its IT Policy OnRamp page (www.gsa.gov/ims/ka/home)