It’s difficult to keep track of all of the news published that impacts the public sector market every day. That’s why the Public Spend Forum Newswire captures and synthesizes the new policies, regulations, thought leadership and legislation that is changing and influencing your job. Here are a few highlights from today’s Newswire.Subscribe today to receive all of the stories from this edition.
GSA Launching Turnkey, Cloud-Based Contract Writing and Administration System
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Common Acquisition Platform (CAP) is launching a new cloud-based, shared-service contract writing and administration system, expected to be available in fiscal 2017. The CAP Contract Writing System-as-a-Service (CWSS) is designed to be a “turnkey, comprehensive solution,” that will offer “a kickoff-to-closeout process guide and provide progress and metrics notifications throughout the acquisition’s life cycle,” according to the Federal Times. “Benefits touted include tiered volume discounts based on usage levels; an established fee structure to develop interfaces around customized business process workflows and individual agency financial systems; a firm, fixed-price SaaS model; and compatibility with financial management guidelines, integration with Integrated Award Environment systems and compliance with emerging federal procurement data standards.”
DoD’s $58 Billion in TRICARE Contracts Sail by Protests
The Department of Defense’s massive TRICARE managed healthcare system will be able to move forward after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied nine protests related to the $58 billion in contract awards. The last round of awards for TRICARE were upended when GAO sustained three protests. DoD had spent months trying to make the contracts “protest proof.” “We retained the best parts of prior contracts and incorporated new best practices to improve access, quality and safety,” said Dr. Karen Guice, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
NY Governor to Appoint Chief Procurement Officer with “Investigative and Prosecutorial Experience”
Following a number of scandals and controversies, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he will hire a chief procurement officer for executive office, and appoint special inspector generals for the sate’s public college and university systems. A state inspector general report recently found that nonprofits affiliated with the City University of New York misappropriated state funds. In a memo, Cuomo said the CPO “will be charged with reviewing all state contracts, with an eye towards eliminating any wrongdoing, conflicts of interest or collusion. And just so there is no confusion, I do mean all contracts. Any contract or agreement that entails the disbursement of state funds will be subject to review….The Chief Procurement Officer will have investigative and prosecutorial experience, and will be authorized to refer problematic issues directly to law enforcement for further action.”
GAO Sustains Protest over Technical Approach Discrepancy
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has sustained a protest brought by Glacier Technical Solutions, LLC, which challenged the Army’s awarding of a contract to SAWTST, LLC. GAO agreed with Glacier that the Army awarded the contract to SAWTST even though the company’s staffing approach was rejected by the agency. “That is, the agency has not explained why SAWTST was rated as good under the mission capability factor despite the [technical evaluation team’s] decision to reject one aspect of the firm’s staffing plan.”
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