Competitive sourcing to be used for annual reports
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With agency competitive sourcing reports for fiscal 2006 due to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy by Nov. 15, the administration hopes to use its new database to provide Congress an even more detailed picture.
With agency competitive sourcing reports for fiscal 2006 due to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy by Nov. 15, the administration hopes to use its new database to provide Congress an even more detailed picture of the effort to compete federal jobs that are considered commercial with the private sector.
In a guidance to agency heads released yesterday, OFPP administrator Paul Denett said his office will use the Competitive Sourcing Tracking System to produce the consolidated report that is due to the Hill by Jan. 2.
"Agencies shall input the requested data into OMB's Competitive Sourcing Tracking System and prepare a draft report. '' Denett said. 'Once all agency data is inputted and verified, the agency CSTS administrator shall certify and submit the data to OMB.'
OFPP yesterday also sent the CSTS guidebook to agency competitive sourcing officials that are members of the President's Management Council.
OFPP hired InfoReliance Corp. of Fairfax, Va., to build the database last October under a one-year contract with four one-year options worth $300,000 for the first year.
The administration claims competitive sourcing will save about $1.4 billion over the next three to five years. The database, OFPP officials hope, will provide a clearer picture of how the initiative is working.
OFPP officials formerly depended on spreadsheets sent by e-mail. OFPP staff and contractors then compile the information manually.
The rest of the guidance is very similar to 2004 and 2005, the new directive said.
Agencies are to provide OFPP with:
- The total number of public-private competitions completed last year, including whether it was streamlined or a full competition
- The total number of competitions announced together with a list of activities covered by them
- The total number of employees studied under the completed and announced competitions
- The incremental costs directly attributable to conducting the competitions, including costs attributable to paying outside consultants and contractors
- An estimate of the anticipated savings or a quantifiable description of improvements in service or performance, derived from completed competitions
- Actual savings, or quantifiable description of improvements in service or performance, derived from the implementation of completed competitions
- The fixed costs associated with the agency's competitive sourcing efforts last year
- The total projected number of employees that are to be covered by competitions scheduled to be announced in 2007
- A general description of how the competitive sourcing decision-making processes are aligned with the strategic work plan.
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