PMC NEWS ON-LINE, (Issue 07-02, February 7, 2007)
ACQUISITION NEWS FOR DOT
This is designed for electronic distribution to all DOT acquisition personnel. Most of the information included will not be distributed in hard copy.
Please forward to other DOT acquisition personnel.
Check out our net site for the PMC News and other information at: http://www.dot.gov/ost/m60/
Items for Review
|
Increase in Opportunities
for Service-Disabled Veterans (SDVOSB) |
|
Implementation of the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) |
|
Training Updates – PBSA
Workshop for Teams |
|
Acquisition Workforce
Training |
|
Call for Applications – ACT-IAC Voyagers Program |
|
Shine Initiative Awards |
Increase in
Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veterans
Since the signing of Executive Order 13360 on October 20, 2004, progress has been made in significantly increasing contracting opportunities for Service-Disabled Veterans. As of January 2007 more than 12,500 small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans (SDVOSBs) are now registered in the CCR, in June 2006 SBA announced that Federal contracting with SDVOSB increased 58%, and the progress continues. In order to increase opportunities for these businesses SBA will announce targeted actions in the coming weeks. All are called upon to work closely with the SBA offices to continue administration, coordination, and outreach to make this happen. For more information and OFPP support of the Service-Disabled Veterans click on the following link:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2007/m07-08.pdf
If you have any questions or concerns regarding initiative within DOT, please contact Jerry Franco on (202) 366-5334 or via e-mail at jerry.franco@dot.gov or Lenita Ahmadi on (202) 366-4974 or via e-mail at lenita.ahmadi@dot.gov
Implementation of
the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA)
Attached for your immediate review is a memorandum signed by Deputy Secretary Cino on February 1, 2007, providing DOT specific implementation information on the FFATA and the associated Statute. Implementation of the acquisition component is being managed through the OFPP as discussed in the PMC News dated 01/12/2007, which is consistent with the Deputy Secretary’s memo. The acquisition fulfillment of this requirement will be accomplished through the FAR via FAR Case 2006-029, Reporting Requirement of Subcontractor Award Data. Currently our role is to ensure the reliability of our FPDS-NG data, since the performance elements of this statute are to be achieved through FPDS-NG. The technology issues are being worked out by OFPP and GSA. More information will be forthcoming as we continue to increase the data reliability rate within DOT FPDS-NG data stream.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the acquisition component of this initiative within DOT, please contact Lenita Ahmadi on (202) 366-4974 or via e-mail at lenita.ahmadi@dot.gov or Jerry Franco on (202) 366-5334 or via e-mail at jerry.franco@dot.gov
PBSA Workshops for
Teams
This is a re-issuance of the free training sponsored by the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) offering yet another opportunity to obtain required continuing education units for FAC-C certification in addition to developing team based understanding and expertise in PBSA. A special incentive to the teams completing this training will result in wide recognition among their peers.
Remember:
Ø
Teams
must include between three and six members from DOT -- no more than six.
Ø
No
more than two teams in a given course can be from DOT.
Ø
There
is a maximum of five teams (and 24 people) in a course.
Note- The electronic system might indicate that
there are "seats" available in some courses that are closed, e.g.,
when the five teams that have registered do not add up to 24 participants. Therefore verify registration.
The following attachments provide specific information on the Performance Based Service Acquisition – Workshop for Teams.
Ø Dates and cities for the 24 offerings of the course in FY07;
Ø Instructions for the registration process; and
Ø Indication of team membership with first and second choice dates and important contact information.
Please provide
all requested information on the worksheets in order to expedite processing of
the team applications. The earliest
course offering is in
For your
convenience, the course schedule will be updated as additional information is
provided by FAI. For further
information, please contact Cassandra Wells at 202-366-4960 or via e-mail at cassandra.wells@dot.gov
Acquisition
Workforce Training
Registration-
March dates for CON 202 in the
There have been reports of difficulty in registering for FAI classes. Several have registered for classes showing available seats only to later receive notification of being "wait listed" or "disapproved" because the class is full. As a result of our discussions with FAI, we were advised that there is a current back-log in registrations which is impacting the real-time available number of class seats reflected in the FAI Registration System; thus creating system errors. We are told that the FAI Registration Team is working to get through the back-log as expeditiously as possible. In order to diminish the back-log on course registration, everyone is advised to continue to apply for the courses scheduled at later dates. Information on registration updates will be made as soon as it becomes available.
As a reminder, DAU courses were established for the acquisition workforce within the Defense Department. Civilian agency employees should select FAI when applying for core training classes (CON 100 and CON 200 series courses). Any employee that selects DAU as the provider for core courses may be disapproved or placed on a long wait-list. The exception is DAU's online continuous learning training courses which is open to personnel from all agencies as well as private industry.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Cassandra Wells on (202) 366-4960 or via-e-mail at cassandra.wells@dot.gov
Course Offering-
Online course now available for civilian acquisition workforce members – SYS 101, Fundamentals of Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering (SPRDE). Register on-line at www.fai.gov
CON 353 Course Update – FAI expects to be able to conduct CON 353 classes within FY 2007 as soon as a contractor is available. We will update you on FAI’s progress.
For questions or concerns, please contact Cassandra Wells on (202) 366-4960 or via e-mail at cassandra.wells@dot.gov
Call for
Applications
Now accepting applications for the second class of the ACT/IAC Voyagers program, an exciting professional development opportunity designed especially for GS-11 to GS-13 and newly-minted GS-14 government IT acquisition professionals and their industry counterparts. Competition is steep. The ACT/ IAC Voyagers Program is a mid-level cooperative program between the Information Technology (IT) industry and Federal Government executives. This program seeks to break down barriers between government and industry in a safe, mutually-beneficial environment so that both sides can work within ethical boundaries. For more information and the application please click on www.actgov.org/VoyagersProgram
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Darren Ash on (202) 366-8973 or via e-mail at darren.ash@dot.gov
The Shine Initiative Awards is designed to enhance the visibility of acquisition awards and improve the sharing of successful practices. Over the past month or so you have seen a number of award initiatives posted within the PMC News. Notwithstanding, the SHINE initiative will increase the visibility of existing and new award programs that recognize federal employees or teams that demonstrate acquisition excellence. Additionally, through the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) Web site, award-winning and nominated practices will be indexed and described to ensure that these practices are disseminated widely for use by other organizations. Previous award winners and descriptions of their successful practices will be available on the FAI Web site shortly. Through this initiative, we are seeking an increase in the quantity of quality nominations for awards so that we can recognize, as a community, our excellence in supporting the government’s many critical missions. Please review the attached information and reference it against previous PMC News, then nominate individuals or teams, as appropriate, for recognition.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Denise P. Wright on (202) 366-4272 or via e-mail denise.p.wright@dot.gov