GPO releases final RFP for FDsys

The Government Printing Office has formally released its solicitation for a chief integrator to lead and incorporate all aspects of the agency's massive content management and data storage project.

GPO hopes to award the contract this summer, said director of public relations Veronica Meter.

In a notice yesterday, GPO said the master integrator will be responsible for the heavy lifting of the Future Digital System (FDsys), a project that will transform the way it collects, authenticates, stores and shares federal documents.

FDsys is a $29 million project that will digitize nearly every federal document published since the birth of the nation, starting with the 1787 Federalist Papers.

"The proposed future system will refocus GPO's systems and business practices from print-centered to a focus on content," the RFP said. "FDsys is envisioned as a comprehensive, systematic and dynamic means for preserving electronic content free from dependence on specific hardware and/or software. The system will automate many of the electronic content lifecycle processes and make it easier to deliver content in formats suited to customers' needs."

GPO was targeting early March to release the RFP but, after holding a second industry day in January, the agency incorporated more stakeholder comments into the solicitation before putting out the final version, Meter said.

The agency also hoped to award the contract in mid-April, but Meter said GPO is now aiming for summer to give the agency ample time to review the responses.

FDsys will be developed by GPO and the master integrator, with the integrator making "all decisions as to system design, integration of various components, technology and applications that support" the new system, according to the RFP.

The integrator should develop the system "with the potential to expand the scope beyond the FDsys domain to include content located throughout multiple federal agency data repositories," the RFP said.

Rob Thormeyer is a staff writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.