Contracting overhaul for social services sector |
The Government is radically reshaping how it contracts services to social sector groups, says the Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett. |
Beginning with a trial, the new High Trust Model will create a new and simpler way of funding and contracting. |
“I’ve heard horror stories about providers with multiple contracts which have had to go through a ridiculous number of audits each year - all while continuing to deliver a trusted service. In many cases they are burdened with days and days of admin for contracts with just one agency - imagine how hard it is for those groups trying to work with multiple agencies. It’s a wonder they have any time to help families! |
“I’ve always said to the sector that we would back what works. Under this new contracting model - which I believe could be extended well beyond this trial - we will combine multiple contracts into a single, simple contract. Read more at www.beehive.govt.nz |
Transparency meets skepticism |
Industry, government reluctant to reveal much |
Many federal acquisition employees are at first ready to spread their work on the table for all to see, but the thought of the criticism that is certain to follow stops them from following through on the impulse, said Mary Davie, assistant commissioner for assisted acquisition services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service. She was speaking as part of a panel discussion July 21 at the Open Government and Innovations Conference in Washington. |
“If you put something out there, somebody can say, ‘Good lord, why did you do it that way?’” Davie said. |
Many officials don’t want to face that question. Contracting officers have said they would prefer to do their work far away from the limelight, she said. Read more at fcw.com |
Kundra: System will give agencies easier access to new technology |
A new storefront for the federal government will let agencies acquire cloud computing technology as easily as consumers can sign up for Gmail accounts, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra said today.
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Under current rules, it can take an agency 18 months to two years to acquire technology that is available instantly to consumers, Kundra said at the Cloud Computing Symposium held at the National Defense University in Washington. The experience of acquiring technology for personal use and buying it for the government should be the same, he said.
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The storefront will provide that access to cloud computing technology, he said. “We will abstract all the complexity for agencies so they do not have to worry about federal compliance, certifications and accreditations. So literally, you’ll be able to go in as an agency and provision technology on a real-time basis.”
Read more at fcw.com |
Transparency initiatives bolstered by chief performance officer, official says |
Government acquisition and Web 2.0 are converging, a top procurement official has said. She also said there’s a bonding agent: Jeffrey Zients. |
Those functional neighborhoods are being connected in new ways, Field added. There’s more emphasis on transparency and following the money and more attention to government procurement, even from President Barack Obama. |
Also, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 requires agencies to supply more information on spending, and it essentially created USAspending.gov. The law’s emphasis on transparency demands new technologies so agencies can provide spending information to the public in an understandable form. Read more at fcw.com |
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Contracting overhaul for social services sector
