GSA extends and expands contractor debriefing pilot

NOTE: This story first appeared on FCW.com.

This spring, federal contractors will see a second larger iteration of the General Services Administration's in-depth debriefing pilot program to give winners and losers of federal contracts a more full explanation of procurement decisions. The agency will kick off a second phase of its IN-depth Feedback through Open Reporting Methods (INFORM) program in April, Jeff Koses, GSA's senior procurement executive, Office of Government-wide Policy announced in a recent blog post.

The extension, he said, was made after the initial INFORM pilot launched in October 2018 with 50 test acquisitions garnered positive feedback from vendors involved. The program provides more upfront, detailed insight into the agency's selection process and why a vendor may or may not have won a contract. The program pushes that information out to vendors, instead waiting for vendor requests for it.

The extension will involve up to 300 test acquisitions, which will allow the agency to test the process at scale.

"It's a welcome next step," Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council, told FCW on Feb. 13. Chvotkin elaborated in a statement issued by PSC, saying that "the INFORM pilot and similar initiatives demonstrate the value of a more meaningful dialogue between the government and industry, reduce the instances of protests, and provide contractors with necessary information to improve future offers."