GSA sets up HSPD-12 managed service office, releases guidances
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The General Services Administration opened a Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 managed services office and released two documents for agencies that want to work with the office.
The General Services Administration opened a Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 managed services office and released two documents for agencies that want to work with the office.
The office will 'provide turn-key services to produce compliant Personal Identity Verification II credentials to assist federal agencies in satisfying' the mandate. GSA's office, led by Michel Kareis, will be 'responsible for all project, acquisition and financial management necessary to provide this end-to-end service to contributing agencies,' according to the agency's IDManagement.gov Web site.
Agencies are required under the presidential directive to issue at least one PIV II compliant card by Oct. 27. Many agencies have yet to begin establishing the infrastructure to issue cards, and the Office of Management and Budget's Executive Steering Committee is leading the effort to set up shared-services providers.
To help agencies, GSA released a memorandum of agreement template and a financial addendum for the agreement document.
The agreement template 'defines the MSO services, specifies managing partner and contributing partner's responsibilities, defines funding requirements and allows the payment of funds, describes the period of performance, and provides approvals to bind the parties together'' according to the document.
'The HSPD-12 Managed Service Office will seek to reduce the costs to participating agencies associated with procuring FIPS 201-compliant equipment, software and services by leveraging the collective buying power of the government through a shared-services approach,' the document said.
GSA said they will not help agencies with physical and logical access interfaces because they are the agency's responsibility. The MSO also will not provide interfaces to agency legacy systems. The ESC's Architectural Working Group is developing standardized interface specifications.
All funding must go through the IT Fund or General Supply Fund, which GSA hopes to merge into the OneFund as soon as they receive congressional approval.
The financial addendum details where and how the money should be transferred.
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