SSA workers win A-76 competitive sourcing

A team of 36 Social Security Administration managers, programmers and analysts has underbid several private-sector competitors in the agency's first competitive-sourcing round under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76.

"The government had to submit costing just as the private sector did, and they were evaluated the same," SSA spokeswoman Jean Venable said. "The evaluation started in January and finished this month." The final decision was made by the contracting officer in the Office of Acquisition and Grants, she said.

Venable declined to reveal the names of the private-sector bidders or the amount the SSA team bid, but she said the government's winning bid was about one-third less than the lowest contractor bid.

The 36 SSA employees work in the Division of Configuration Management and Validation Technology. There are several other competitive-sourcing competitions now under way at SSA, Venable said, but this "was the first to reach a decision."

Susan M. Menke writes for Government Computer News