The federal government is in the process of replacing two icons of federal procurement. The Commerce Business Daily (CBD), the federal government's sole source for contracting notices for decades, is now joined by www.fedbizopps.gov. And the standard forms 254/255 for identifying a design team and proposing for a specific project are being consolidated into Standard Form 330, which may be released for review as early as August.

In other news, the General Services Administration, which is responsible for $16 billion in annual business volume, has a new administrator, Stephen A. Perry. In turn Perry has appointed F. Joseph Moravec as GSA Public Buildings Service commissioner.

Say hello to fedbizopps.gov
Starting October 1, 2001, all federal agencies will be required to post notices of contracting opportunities of $25,000 or more on a single government Web site, www.fedbizopps.gov. To allow for a smooth transition, agencies must also post notices in the CBD until January 1, 2002. After January 1, though, agencies may stop posting notices in the CBD and use the new Web site only.

FedBizOpps will allow prospective contractors to target their searches better by allowing them to receive electronic notice automatically of procurement opportunities. The targeted notices go to vendors by solicitation numbers, selected organizations, and product service classifications. Architecture firms can also use the Web site to search procurements for active or archived solicitations by solicitation number, date, procurement classification code, and agency.

Use of the new technology also allows agencies to enhance their official contracting notices with supplemental information that may assist prospects in preparing their responses.

GSA is seeking private-sector comments on the new Web site regarding its organization and usability. (If you send comment to GSA, please copy Stan L. Bowman, sbowman@aia.org.)

SF 330 to consolidate 254/255
For the past three years, a federal interdepartmental task force has been working to develop a new single form to streamline the process of procuring private-sector services. The new form, SF 330, which will serve in place of both SF 254 and SF 255, is close to being released for review.

GSA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced at the AIA national convention in Denver that a draft should be published by August 2001 in the Federal Register for public comment. The final version of SF 330 should be available in early 2002, with agencies starting to use the form by the end of 2002.

Information the new form asks for will be similar to that in the existing forms, except for the elimination of duplicative information. The most obvious change is that the form will be printed in "portrait" instead of "landscape" format on a standard business-size sheet. The new structure is intended to facilitate electronic submissions of qualifications and credentials.

In addition, the new structure seeks to level the playing field between single-discipline firms, multidiscipline firms, and multifirm teams responding to the same solicitation. The form highlights the working relationship between the team members regardless of whether they are in the same firm or in separate firms responding jointly. This is in keeping with federal agencies' increased use of bundled and indefinite-delivery contracts.

Revenue history will be simplified (average amount of revenue for the last three years instead of revenue information for each year for the last five years). Moreover, firms will no longer have to provide detailed information on all of their branch offices. Instead, the new form focuses only on the specific office that will be working on the project.

The AIA Government Acquisition Policy Council is coordinating the AIA's review of SF 330 and developing comments for submission to GSA. When the new form is released, the council will announce it to the membership and begin gathering comments for the GSA review.

New Leadership at GSA
Stephen A. Perry became the 17th GSA administrator on May 31, 2001. He directed the Ohio Department of Administrative Service under Governor George Voinovich (now a Republican U.S. senator from Ohio). In that capacity, Perry conducted a statewide audit to improve the efficiency of every department and agency of state government. Perry has 37 years of experience with The Timken Company.

Perry promptly appointed F. Joseph Moravec as the PBS commissioner, who will oversee the design, construction, and operation of the enormous stock of federal buildings under GSA administration. Moravec was a Washington regional partner of Faison Associates, headquartered in Charlotte; president of Barnes, Morris, Pardoe & Foster, Washington, D.C.; president, eastern division, of Grubb & Ellis Co., Chicago; and partner of Leggat McCall Cos., of Boston and Washington, D.C. Among his many professional and civic activities, he was president of the Washington, D.C., Association of REALTORS, a director of the D.C. Building Industry Association, and president of The Real Estate Group of Washington.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.