BetterBuy Project 

BRINGING INNOVATION TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION PROCESS

ACT-IAC, GSA and NAPA Collaborate on Project

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council has teamed with the General Services Administration (GSA) and National Academy for Public Administration (NAPA) on a collaborative project to improve the Federal acquisition process through incorporation of collaborative technologies.  The “BetterBuy” project invites those interested in the government’s acquisition process to suggest ways to improve that process through the use of new collaborative technologies such as Web 2.0.  Instead of just producing a report with recommendations, the  “BetterBuy” project will take the most promising and innovative ideas and test them on actual acquisitions.  The ultimate goal is to improve and streamline how the government buys goods and services.

The federal government spends approximately $530B annually on the acquisition of a wide range of goods and services to meet mission needs.  As the demand for these goods and services increases, the acquisition process has become more complex and less efficient.  The costs of this complexity and inefficiency are borne by the government, the private sector and ultimately the public.  Another problem is that government has been unable to keep the Federal acquisition workforce growing at the same pace as the growth in acquisitions.  As a result, government acquisition officials are being asked to do more with fewer resources.  New and innovative technologies offer opportunities to address these issues.  One objective of the BetterBuy project is to identify those opportunities.

“The goal of the BetterBuy Project is to try to bring some clarity around and reduce the complexity and potentially the cost of the process for both government and the private sector enabling the government to deliver more value,” said GSA’s Mary Davie, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Assisted Acquisition Services, Federal Acquisition Services.

Persons interested in the Federal acquisition process are invited to suggest opportunities to improve that process through innovative technologies.  Ideas and suggestions are now being accepted through an online collaborative forum  (www.betterbuyproject.com) hosted by NAPA.  Comments are being requested in three specific issue areas:

• Market research and definitions
• Pre-solicitation phase
• Solicitation phase

The project team will continuously review the submitted ideas and match those ideas with potential applications.

Within ACT-IAC the Acquisition Management Shared Interest Group has the lead.  For further information on this project and other acquisition projects, visit the SIG's web site.