U.S. General Services Administration
How GSA and the DAU Worked Together to Make Federal Buying Easier
Post filed in: Technology
After 20 years in federal acquisition, it is encouraging to see how our workforce, technology and policies continue to drive positive change in government and ultimately, for the American public.
These promising changes are happening in fascinating ways from using robotic process automation to transform federal buying to our latest collaboration with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU).
The Acquisition.gov team and the DAU have recently united on a project to create a new acquisition regulation comparator (ARC). The ARC provides Acquisition.gov users the ability to compare up to three acquisition regulations side by side.
DAU first saw the ability to compare Acquisition Regulations as a benefit in their training scenarios. In total there are 32 regulations integrated into the ARC. These regulations include the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which is the primary acquisition regulation for use by all executive agencies. It made perfect sense to expand to include all civilian agency acquisition regulations and host it on Acquisition.gov, which is already a repository for all regulations including the Department of Defense regulations.
Prior to the ARC, the acquisition workforce was required to have multiple tabs open and navigate each regulation individually. Now we can search multiple regulations with side-by-side panels that scroll through by section. The resulting tool compares multiple regulations in an efficient manner with fewer steps and quicker results. Analysts can now compare specific sections of any other agency's regulations and review how those agencies implement their supplemental regulations. It is also a valuable tool to find examples and terminology to guide other analysts in implementing their regulations.
It is one of our fundamental strategies and part of the GSA Strategic Plan to promote interagency collaboration, centralized services, and shared solutions that improve management practices and operations across government. The acquisition workforce and American taxpayers benefit when agencies work together to reach a common goal. The ARC is a perfect example of this. This project could not have been successful without the collaborative effort between DAU and GSA.
DAU hosts a modern learning platform delivering continuous learning and support tailored to the needs of the Defense Acquisition Workforce. GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy manages Acquisition.gov, which is the definitive electronic version of the FAR and the General Services Administration Acquisition Manual. External agency acquisition regulations from across the government can also be accessed and compared at Acquisition.gov.
To access the ARC and a user guide visit: