Mega Deal: Day 2
If only because of the size -- $50 billion -- and the number of companies in on the deal -- 29 were announced as winners yesterday -- it seems appropriate to devote a little more virtual ink to the GSA's Alliant contract announcement yesterday.
Known as a governmentwide acquisition contract, or GWAC, Alliant will enable the Defense Department and other government agencies to buy "any and all components of an integrated Information Technology solution" in support of national security, according to the GSA.
The companies announced yesterday (I listed them in an earlier posting, and my colleague Renae Merle writes about the contract in today), just under half of the 66 bidding for the work, will now be able to enter bake-offs for actual work, a.k.a. task orders, over the next 10 years.
It's an exciting prospect for some agencies and contractors.
In an AP story yesterday, Ray Bjorklund, a senior vice president at Federal Sources Inc., predicted agencies will likely get good prices due to the number of companies on the contract. "If you're looking for competition you want to have all the best players available at your fingertips," he said.
That sounded pretty good. But then I remembered a recent report about interagency contracts, as a GWAC is otherwise known. A little noodling -- ok, I Googled for it -- turned up this quote from a GAO report several months ago:
"Although interagency contracts can provide the advantages of timeliness and efficiency, use of these types of vehicles can also pose risks if they are not properly managed. GAO designated
management of interagency contracting a governmentwide high-risk area in 2005," the report said.
"A number of factors make these types of contracts high risk, including their rapid growth in popularity along with their administration and use by some agencies that have limited expertise with this contracting method, and their contribution to a much more complex procurement
environment in which accountability has not always been clearly established."
I guess somebody is going to have to keep an eye out to make sure that the federal government gets all the competition here that taxpayers expect.
By Robert O'Harrow |
August 1, 2007; 5:31 AM ET
alliant
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Posted by: Kate | August 1, 2007 11:53 AM
I think that Government program managers lack the experience that some the contractors have. Therefore, contractors get the better end of the deal. Everyone blames slimy contractors, but who is advocating that Government program managers, at every level, get better training on how to do the acquisition/procurement parts of their jobs?
Posted by: Kate | August 1, 2007 11:53 AM
Let's all write our elected Representatives in Congress and advocate that Government program managers, at every level, get more indepth training on how to do the acquisition and procurement parts of their jobs? Now folks, Now!
Posted by: Patriot | August 6, 2007 8:36 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
I think that Government program managers lack the experience that some the contractors have. Therefore, contractors get the better end of the deal. Everyone blames slimy contractors, but who is advocating that Government program managers, at every level, get better training on how to do the acquisition/procurement parts of their jobs?