GSA Taking Quotes for IT Modernization Centers of Excellence
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By
Frank Konkel
It's the next step in the White House's plan to update government tech.
The federal government released requests for quotations Wednesday seeking industry partners to begin staffing several centers of excellence teams outlined by White House officials last week.
The RFQ was released to industry through the General Services Administration’s eBuy tool with a response deadline of Jan. 8. Awards could be made by the end of January, with periods of performance for CoE contracts at one year with two one-year options.
The CoE teams will be structured around cloud adoption, IT infrastructure optimization, customer experience, contact centers and service delivery analytics. The RFQ defines the scope of each CoE and outlines possible activities and deliverables for each, and calls for an aggressive 60 work-day stand-up period.
“The CoEs will work with customer agencies directly to identify their needs, recommend a solution, identify the best contract vehicle to procure support, and oversee implementation of the solution,” the RFQ states.
The aforementioned RFQ pertains to the first phase of CoE initiative, which could extend to the summer, GSA’s Al Munoz said last week at a White House briefing. A second phase, wherein the government hires out and implements the technology and services it decides it needs during the planning process in phase one, could last two to three years. Phase II will be bid out separately.
CoE teams, which will be housed within GSA, will be made up of personnel from winning vendors, the White House and customer agencies. The first customer agency will be the Agriculture Department.
The RFQ also makes good on a promise by Chris Liddell, assistant to the president and director of strategic initiatives, that solutions derived under CoEs will be shareable across government.
“All documented processes, procedures, tools and applications, developed under” the CoE, including all text, digital files, source code and other products, “become the property of the government.” Contracted personnel selected to work in CoEs must also sign non-disclosure agreements.