3) New GSA Administrator Doan Promises Schedules in 30 Days

Lurita Alexis Doan, new Administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), outlined four ambitious goals when giving her first speech before U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and GSA employees.

The first of these included a “return to President Truman’s vision for GSA – a clean, honest, and responsive purchasing agency, utilizing best practices in government contracting and serving as an example and resource to other agencies.” Part of this vision includes reworking the process of getting a GSA Schedule “until it’s possible for a business to get a basic GSA Schedule within 30 days.”

Secondly, Ms. Doan wishes to make the administration as well as the procurement processes more transparent by “establish[ing] quantitative performance metrics to show how GSA services stack up – transparency in tracking of time to contract, cost, and compliance with procurement regulations.” Ms. Doan continued by discussing the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) reorganization, which emerged from the consolidation of GSA’s Federal Supply Service (FSS) and the Federal Technology Service (FTS). (See our February 2006 GSC Article “Reorganization of GSA”) She stated, “Regardless of size, reorganizations are not easy for they strike at the core of what constitutes the mission, the position, and the stability of each employee. The reorganization [of FAS], properly executed, can result in a stronger GSA, able to offer faster contracting services at a lower cost and yet fully compliant with existing procurement regulations.”

The third goal concerns improving GSA’s services and response in emergencies. “I believe that GSA can provide services quantifiably better, faster, and save taxpayers’ dollars. GSA must do a better job of proving this and thus enable government agencies to refocus scarce management and contracting resources on their core issues.” As a native of New Orleans’s 9th ward, Ms. Doan saw the destruction of hurricane Katrina on her childhood home and surrounding areas and understood that Katrina created challenges for many agencies, including GSA. “GSA’s ability to leverage the power of the private sector and quickly contract for goods and services can make an enormous difference for people in distress during national emergencies.”

Ms. Doan’s fourth and last goal is to make GSA one of the best places to work in government. She remarked, “I have been concerned in recent weeks that GSA employees have not always had clear guidance in what those shared goals are, and what is expected of them in order to succeed at achieving those goals.” Ms. Doan vowed to create a culture of excellence at GSA and reminded everyone that GSA and its employees have a proud history, and can forge an important future as well.

Although it has been a full two months since Ms. Doan took office, it is difficult to measure her progress toward achieving the ambitious goals in the above speech. Her first goal especially would delight hundreds of businesses keen on entering the government marketplace. However, many wonder how realistic it is given that the current average time to award from time of submission is six to eight months.

The next few months will undoubtedly prove important in the transformation of GSA and its new Administrator. For more information on Lurita Doans, go to www.gsa.gov.