R -- CORE COMPETENCIES FOR GSA ACQUISITION WORKFORCE

Notice Date

November 30, 2001

Contracting Office

General Services Administration, Office of Government-wide Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, 1800 F Street NW Room 4012, Washington, DC, 20405

ZIP Code

20405

Description

This notice is a Request for Information only. The Government may or may not issue a solicitation as a result of this announcement. The Government will NOT pay for any information given in response to this call for information. BACKGROUND Pursuant to the authority established in the Clinger Cohen Act, the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) of the General Services Administration is interested in receiving information from industry, specifically education institutions and test development experts, on the feasibility of offering examinations to measure the ability of the GSA acquisition workforce to apply knowledge gained through classroom and on-the-job training. =20 Presently, there are nearly 3,000 associates that are considered to fall within the definition of GSA's acquisition workforce. The distribution by series is as follows: Job Title Number of Employees Contract Specialist -- 1,292 Property Disposal Specialist -- 174 Purchasing Agent -- 103 Procurement Clerk -- 84 OTHER -- 1354=20 TOTAL 2,957 Under current law, those in the contracting series, and those possessing a contracting officer?s warrant regardless of their series, are required to meet established educational requirements, depending on their grade. It is envisioned that competency testing can help management understand where to focus learning resources as well as to identify those associates who are fully qualified in all competencies, even if they lack some of the classroom hours. The goal of the SPE is to use a combination of competency testing and classroom instruction to fully qualify the entire acquisition workforce by 2005. The competencies as defined by the Acquisition Workforce Committee Competencies are detailed herein. Those institutions that are interested in partnering with GSA to develop a competency testing solution may submit a response in the format outlined below. More detailed statistical information is available at: www.gsa.gov/xxxxxx, or by contacting Kenneth J. Buck at 202-219-0311. Responses are due by January 21 and may be submitted electronically to: Ken.Buck@gsa.gov. The next step will be to hold face-to-face meetings with any respondent(s) to help refine the acquisition strategy. Depending on the information received in response to this announcement, GSA is open to making a single award for these services. Before making this determination, GSA will take into consideration the number of interested respondents, the estimated development costs and the number of GSA associates that need to take the test for the endeavor to be profitable for the industry partner. Be assured that all information submitted is deemed to be confidential and not releasable to anyone outside of the Government evaluation team. Please respond to the following statements and questions. 1) Discuss the pros and cons of using competency testing to measure the quality of the GSA acquisition workforce. 2) Discuss any known legal or regulatory barriers that might prohibit use of testing. 3) Discuss the historic precedence for using such testing in the acquisition or other disciplines. 4) It is envisioned that any test would include a combination of objective and subjective case studies to measure the capability of the GSA associate to apply knowledge in real life settings. Is it feasible to develop such a comprehensive test? If so, how would it be structured?=20 5) What program resources (number and qualifications) would GSA need to allocate to support industry partner(s) in any endeavor?=20 6) Given the potential pool of associates, would you consider a cost sharing arrangement where the development costs are borne by the industry partner and then recovered on a transaction basis through either preparatory classes and/or application of the test? 7) If a cost sharing scenario is acceptable, identify any potential risk factors and what GSA could do to help minimize risk. =20 8) Based on the breakdown of the GSA workforce (see website), how many associates would need to be tested in order for you to recover your costs and realize a reasonable profit? Please be as specific as possible. 9) Are your services available on a GSA Schedule or another multiple/single award IDIQ contract? Core Competencies for GSA Acquisition Workforce ALL EMPLOYEES WILL BE SKILLED IN THE COMPETENCIES LISTED IN=20 SECTIONS 1-3. COMPETENCY EXAMS WILL BE ADMINISTERED, COMMENSUATE WITH GRADE LEVEL, TO TEST ONE'S ABILITY TO APPLY THESE CONCEPTS IN ALL PHASES OF THE ACQUISITION CYCLE.=20 I. GENERAL SKILLS GSA Competencies GOAL: For all GSA acquisition professionals to demonstrate proficiency in these general business areas. It is envisioned that these skills will enable the acquisition specialist to operate horizontally (across Services) within GSA. ? Computer literacy? Word processing, spread sheet, presentation graphics? Procurement as a business function? Emerging Technologies (as appropriate)? E-procurement systems? Data Base Management (basic)? Business Writing? Human Behavior? Government Budgeting and Finance (basic)? Marketing and Sales ? Change Management Theories ? Problem Solving? Analytical skills? Public Speaking II. PRESOLICITATION=09 GOAL: For all GSA acquisition professionals to demonstrate proficiency in these program areas. Specifically, general knowledge is needed in the areas of Planning, Budget and Performance Linkage ? Business Process Re-engineering? Supply Chain Management? Budget Process? Activity Based Costing? Performance Based Statements of Work? Innovative Trends? Share in Savings? Award Term ? Reverse Auctioning? Risk Management? Appropriate Contract Types/Strategies? Service Contracts? GWACs/Schedules? Incentive ContractsForecasting Requirements, Acquisition Planning, Processing PRs, Funding, Market Research, Analyzing Specs and SOWs, Sources, Set-Asides, 8(a) considerations, Competition Requirements, Unsolicited Proposals, Determining Selection Factors ? price and other, Method of Procurement Horizontal Focus ? Computer Technology and the Internet? E-Commerce? Real Estate? Telecommunications? Commercial Services II. PREAWARD =09 GOAL: For all GSA acquisition professionals to demonstrate proficiency in these procurement areas. These competencies satisfy the GSA and OPM requirements. OPM STANDARD FOR 24 SEMESTER HOURS: Business, Finance, Accounting, Law, Contracts, Purchasing, Economics, Industrial Mngmt.Marketing, Quantitative Methods, Organization Management ? Negotiation? Financial Analysis in Source Selection ? Activity based cost management ? Contractor purchasing systems ? Contract manager role in commercial sales Contract types, Financing, Use of Govt Property, Need for Bonds, Solicitation Preparation, Publicizing Procurements, Preaward Inquiries, Preproposals conferences, Amending/Cancelling solicitations, Processing bids/proposals, Late offers, Responsiveness, Responsibility considerations, Technical evaluations, price objectives, C & P data, audits, cost analysis, competitive range, factfinding, negotiation strategy, mistakes in offers, subcontracting requirements, preparing awards, award, debriefing, handling protests, fraud and exclusion III. POST AWARD=09 Basic technical skills in the Administration phaseGOAL: For all GSA acquisition professionals to demonstrate proficiency in these contract management areas which include basic program management. These competencies satisfy the GSA and OPM requirements. ? Modifications and Changes? Disputes? Terminations? Suspension/Debarment? Alternate disputes resolution ? Cross-functional team development and use ? Business ethics Admin planning, post-award orientation, ordering against contracts/agreements, consent to subcontracts, moritoring-inspection-acceptance, delays, stop work orders, remedies, property administration, performance problems, limitation of costs, payments, unallowable costs, assignment of claims, debt collection, progress payments, price and fee adjustments, defective pricing, contract closeout, handling claims? Intellectual Property & Copyright Law? Essence of Global Sources, Sovereign acts? Export Controls ? Doing business with State & Local Governments? Emerging Business laws (i. e. E-sign).POST AWARD (cont.) Horizontal Focus ? Contract Management Issues in:- IT Contracting- Building and Leasing- Administration of Schedules? Financial issues associated with payments to industry

Web Link

Visit this URL for the latest information about this (http://www.eps.gov/spg/GSA/OGP/OAP/Reference-Number-RFI-001/listing .html)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20011204/SPMSC002.HTM (D-334 SN5141G4)