1) GSA Leading International Collaboration

Nobody embraces the world’s new global economy quite like the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA has been striving to increase communication and collaboration with procurement agencies from other countries in order to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and new insights, increase best practices, and foster global relationships.

The first meeting between GSA and its Canadian counterpart agency, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), took place in 2003 when former GSA Administrator Stephen Perry and PWGSC Deputy Minister I. David Marshall signed a memorandum of understanding calling for ongoing communications between the two agencies and stipulating the group meet at least biannually. After the initial meeting, the Canadians stated that “a strong network of officials at all levels” was being developed by each country’s agencies and that this would result “in a valuable knowledge partnership where experiences and best practices are exchanged and lessons are shared.”

In a further demonstration of support for this collaborative effort, GSA recently participated in another discussion with PWGSC officials in Ottawa, Canada. The topics discussed during the June 23rd meeting included public buildings operations, acquisition management, e-government, e-infrastructure, human capital, and customer service. GSA Deputy Administrator David L. Bibb led the U.S. delegation. Also attending: the Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service, David Winstead; Acting Commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, G. Martin Wagner; Acting Associate Administrator of GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy, John Sindelar; and GSA’s Chief Acquisition Officer, Emily Murphy.

Earlier this summer, GSA also coordinated U.S. participation in “North American Day,” a discussion among the senior IT officials of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Karen Evans, the Office of Management and Budget’s Associate Administrator for E-Government and Information, led the U.S. Delegation. Officials from all three nations focused on ways to institutionalize e-government programs, capture savings, improve performance through shared services, improve recruitment and retention policies for IT professionals, and collaborate across borders. Will these collaborations require contractor assistance in the future? Stay tuned.