Industry creates coalition on GSA restructuring

Four national trade associations have formed a coalition to voice industry's views on the General Services Administration's planned reorganization.

The Coalition for Government Procurement, Contract Services Association, Information Technology Association of America and Professional Services Council have banded together to create the One GSA Coalition. Collectively, these groups represent thousands of GSA schedule and multiple-award contract holders.

GSA wants to merge its Federal Supply Service and the Federal Technology Service into one entity. Together, the two divisions handle more than $34 billion in products and services that agencies buy.

GSA also wants to revamp the administrative functions of its chief information officer and chief financial officer divisions.

The One GSA Coalition has organized four working groups to mirror GSA's main working groups for the reorganization: acquisitions issues, IT management, financial management and fiscal law issues.

"Outreach to all stakeholder organizations is essential in this process," said Stephanie Starkey, vice president of communications at the Professional Services Council. "The One GSA Coalition was formed to facilitate vendor communications with GSA by providing the agency with a simple, collective point of contact with industry through which our input can be provided."

Elaine Dauphin, a vice president at Computer Sciences Corp., testified today on behalf of the One GSA Coalition at GSA's public industry day to get vendor feedback on its evolving restructuring. Dauphin oversees CSC's GSA and governmentwide contracts.

"Restructuring is essentially a tactical exercise that must be based on careful, overarching strategic considerations," Dauphin said. "This includes establishing a common set of end-state goals, agreed to by all stakeholders, and measuring business models against them."

Representatives from the groups comprising the GSA One Coalition each testified March 16 before the House Government Reform Committee on GSA's upcoming restructuring. They called for both industry and GSA's customers to actively participate in the agency's reorganizations discussions.