The General Services Administration has announced changes
to its Networx procurement — designed to replace expiring
government-wide telecom contracts — in response to draft
request-for-proposal comments and other issues raised at a
March 3 hearing before the House Committee on Government
Reform.
“Interested parties raised some very good points at the
Networx hearing and we have moved forward to incorporate
many of their comments into the final RFPs,” said John C.
Johnson, GSA Federal Technology Service assistant commissioner
for service development and delivery.
GSA said it has reduced the requirements for plans, reports
and data to the minimum number necessary to evaluate
proposals, track contractor performance, and manage the
contracts; reduced billing elements to the minimum number
necessary to meet government requirements; reduced the number
of metrics and streamlined corresponding reporting
requirements; and, reduced requirements for the operational
support systems verification, while continuing to ensure an
efficient and effective transition process.
GSA said the changes would set back the release of the
program’s universal and enterprise procurements to the first
week of May, that industry proposals are due by early August,
and that data on location, type, quantity of services and so
on will be released in May along with the RFPs.
