News for the Federal Acquisition Workforce

February 19, 2020

Solicitation Date is a Mandatory Field in FPDS-NG To measure and publicly report procurement action lead time (PALT) per section 878 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019, OFPP coordinated with the CAO Council, SPEs, and GSA to leverage publicly available data in the Federal Procurement Data System—Next Generation (FPDS-NG). The June 2019 GSA Integrated Award Environment enhancement to FPDS-NG added the “solicitation date” data field as a mandatory reporting requirement for all contracts or orders valued above the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT). This change consolidates data about such contracts, permitting agencies and the public to obtain PALT information for any contract or order issued by the federal government that is valued above the SAT. For more information on the proposed government-wide definition of PALT and the plan for publicly reporting this data, visit the Federal Register.

Learn All About Open Opportunities Today! Have you heard about Open Opportunities, but you’re not sure what it’s all about? The Acquisition portal on the Open Opportunities platform allows acquisition professionals to share knowledge and expertise and gain hands-on learning opportunities without leaving their current job. Please join OPM TODAY from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET for a short online demo of the Open Opportunities site and a Q&A session. (The time has changed from the previous announcement.) Learn how this tool can help you and your organization. No sign up is required, just join Zoom for audio and video.

Federal Marketplace Strategy Winter 2020 Release GSA’s Federal Marketplace Strategy Winter 2020 Release delivers a mix of policy, process, and technology project updates and improvements to modernize and simplify your buying and selling experience. Check it out and share your feedback by joining the FMP Community of Practice.

Save the Date: BIC Fair Get ready to join your acquisition colleagues in the second Best in Class (BIC) Fair, sponsored by the Government-wide Category Management Program Management Office and NASA’s BIC Solutions for Enterprise-wide Procurement (SEWP). The BIC Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 18, at the GSA atrium 1800 F Street NW, Washington, from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET.  Registration is through FAITAS and attendees will earn 3 CLPs. For more information email BIC@gsa.gov.

Register for FAST 2020 — Earn up to 20 Free CLPs Registration is open for the Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) Conference occurring April 14–16 in Atlanta, GA. Participate in live acquisition focused training and earn up to 20 CLPs for free! Visit gsa.gov/FAST to register today.

Changes Coming to Product Service Codes On March 16, GSA’s Integrated Award Environment will deploy 11 new Product Service Codes (PSCs) to describe government-purchased services in the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). There are 10 new PSCs for Ship Husbanding Services, and one new PSC for Aseptic Housekeeping Services. The revised “hardcopy” version of the PSC Manual and other supporting documentation will be posted on FPDS and elsewhere on the “go-live” date of March 17. All questions regarding the PSCs can be sent to PSC-Codes@gsa.gov.

Planned Maintenance Impacts Acquisition.gov Planned maintenance for Acquisition.gov is scheduled  Friday, February 21st at 8:00 p.m. through Saturday, February 22nd at 11:00 p.m. ET. During this maintenance period, Acquisition.gov will be temporarily unavailable. GSA appreciates your patience as we complete these activities. If you continue to experience service disruptions after the planned maintenance window, please contact acquisition_gov.systemadmin@gsa.gov.

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