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April 3, 2020
Message from Dr. Wooten, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Colleagues,
Thank you for your hard work as you advance your agencies’ missions and fight shoulder to shoulder during this pandemic. You are fighting to remain safe and healthy, fighting the stress generated by waging this peculiar battle with an equally peculiar foe, and fighting the good fight to keep up with the all-important demands in your personal lives. You are balancing all of this with your responsibilities as stewards of taxpayer dollars. Again, thank you.
In addition to our thanks, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy is committed to doing its part to ensure that we win this fight. We will do our best to ensure that you have the information you need to make sound and timely decisions under these formidable demands. As one step, we have stood up two COVID-related websites for acquisition. One is an internal-facing website to provide easy access to information you may find helpful. The other site is public-facing so that you can point your industry partners to a place for information they may find helpful. Also, there are a few other resources listed below that might be helpful:
1) Category management resources,
2) OPM’s COVID-19 surge response program,
3) COVID-19 fraud and price gouging, and
4) Extension of continuous learning period.
Additional information on these sites is below.
The unprecedented nature of this response will require greater transparency and tracking and more guidance will come shortly. In the meantime, we encourage you to take an extra moment before finalizing your COVID-related award documents to ensure use of plain and clear language. This should help reduce additional after-action questions regarding the purpose or nature of the spend.
As you work to supply the goods and services needed for this fight, you can be sure that OFPP will be mindful of the old adage: “for want of a nail.” Today, that nail is information.
Please drop us a note if we can be of assistance. Stay well and be safe!
Michael E. Wooten
Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President
Websites
Public-facing website:
• This is a public-facing site on acquisition.gov that is designed to increase awareness and provide quick access to key COVID-19 documents of interest to the acquisition community.
• There are four tabs on the site right now: (1) OMB Guidance and Memorandums, (2) Additional Information (which primarily includes agency guidance to vendors), (3) links to sites comprising the Government response to coronavirus (such as CDC), and (4) a link to the OFPP mailbox to ask policy-related coronavirus-related questions.
Government-only website:
• This is an internal-facing site on MAX that is designed to promote increased awareness and rapid information-sharing within the acquisition workforce of agency generated artifacts (e.g., templates, best practices) related to COVID-19.
• The MAX page, which will be updated regularly, currently includes government-wide coronavirus guidance, FAQs and OFPP responses, contact information for questions, agency guidance, and agency-specific procurement information/documentation, such as class justifications and FAR deviations.
Category Management Resources
• A link to category management and COVID-19 acquisition resources and tools can be found on the main page of the Acquisition Gateway
• On-demand “CM 101” training on category management foundations is always available here
OPM’s COVID-19 Surge Response Program
In response to the National Emergency declared for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), federal agencies will have opportunities for federal employees to support the overall response to COVID-19. The COVID-19 Surge Response Program will use Open Opportunities, which is a government wide platform offering professional development opportunities to current federal employees, as a central location for federal agencies to post details, microdetails, and/or temporary rotational assignments. If your agency is interested in participating, please do the following:
1.) Email workforce@opm.gov so we can invite you to a virtual information session
2.) Post details, microdetails, and/or temporary rotational assignments to Open Opportunities
Note: You will need to create a user profile account on OpenOpportunities.gov in order to post a detail assignment.
If you have questions, email mary.robertson@opm.gov.
COVID-19 Fraud and Price Gouging
Please see this important information on COVID-19 Fraud and Price Gouging
Extension of Continuous Learning Period
The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) is extending the period for continuous learning due to challenges with earning continuous learning points (CLPs) during the pandemic. FAI will issue further guidance when normal processes return. FAI will allow enough time to complete the necessary training.
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