“This week, GSA posted the signed Delegation of Authority/Assignment of Function agreement (the delegation) for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to continue its management and operation of the healthcare-related Federal Supply Schedules (FSS). The executed delegation addressed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report, VA Acquisition Management, Steps Need to Ensure Healthcare Federal Supply Schedules Remain Useful, (GAO-20-132). That report set forth 11 GAO recommendations to improve VA FSS program management, the timeliness of contract awards, understanding of the needs of users, and contracting staff training…”
“The Next Steps in the GSA-VA Partnership
The delegation strikes the right balance between GSA’s overall authority for the FSS program and the VA’s specific operational and management responsibilities for healthcare FSS. The delegation’s framework provides a strong foundation for collaboration between GSA and the VA. Significantly, GSA and the VA already are working together to bring improvements to the healthcare FSS. In fact, engagement between the two agencies is at the highest level in decades, with ongoing, periodic meetings focused on the FSS program and the Federal Acquisition Service’s (FAS’s) role in supporting VA operations.”
“GSA and the VA are in the process of establishing an interagency agreement (IA) that will allow the VA to leverage GSA’s electronic systems (e.g., e-offer, e-mod) for the healthcare FSS. The IA is timely. As GSA invests in, and implements, the next generation of electronic systems for the overall FSS program, the IA will ensure the VA will have access to, and can implement, the next generation electronic systems. Ideally, the IA will also allow the VA to request/include any specific system requirements it may need to support management of healthcare FSS contracts…” Read the full article here.
Source: The GSA-VA Partnership and Opportunities for Success – February 18, 2022. The Coalition for Government Procurement.
