Acquisition 360- Improving the Acquisition Process through Timely Feedback from External and Internal Stakeholders

REVISED Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0990-0379)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Acquisition 360- Improving the Acquisition Process through Timely Feedback from External and Internal Stakeholders

PURPOSE: OFPP via memorandum signed by Anne Rung, the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) on March 18, 2015 requested that all Chief Financial Officer Act agencies, of which HHS is one, take steps to improve how they receive and use industry feedback to strengthen acquisition functions.   This office been tasked by OFPP to administer a survey to contractors, contracting professionals and program staff inquiring about their experiences with the acquisition process.

The need for this type effort came about from information obtained by OFPP from earlier industry engagements.    OFPP was made aware that a lack of communication between the government and industry during the pre-award stage was creating inefficiencies in the acquisition process.  To ensure that agencies continually consider and improve their performance in early vendor engagements and internal acquisition practices, they have developed surveys to acquire feedback from key stakeholders attached. 

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Contracting Officers, Program Staff and contractors who have responded to a select group of information technology (IT) solicitations (see below).

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: __Mary Young_([email protected])____________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hrs.
Contractor’s responding to HHS solicitations, Contracting Officer’s and Program Staff	156	10	1,560
Totals			1,560

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $0.00.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Target Respondents are Contracting Officers, Program Staff and contractors responding to solicitations.

Initially we have been asked to identify at least two of the largest contracts or orders for complex IT development, systems, or services awarded within the past six months and conduct the external survey and two internal surveys retroactively for each of these awards.   A summary of data at the aggregate-level from these initial retroactive surveys is due to OFPP by July 2015.   Additionally we have been asked to implement the surveys for the lesser of 50 or 5% of new awards for complex IT development, systems, or services by the end of Fiscal Year 2015.  We intend to issue them on a total of 52 contracts.

There are three surveys involved, and are included at the attachment entitled, Acquisition 360 surveys.   The individual surveys are as follows:  Attachment A - Rate the Agency Survey (Contractor Feedback), Attachment B- Evaluation of the Contracting Operation (Program Office Feedback) and Attachment C - Evaluation of the Program Office’s Participation in the Procurement Process (Contracting Office Feedback).

The surveys do not ask for names nor ask respondents to evaluate personnel, but rather asks if offices were responsive and provided adequate resources and time.  Responses are intended to help agencies identify and share best practices as well as areas for improvement.   Additionally, OFPP and the agencies are interested in the feedback of all parties on the usefulness of the questions, survey method, and any other ideas for improvement going forward. 

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ X ] Other, Explain- Surveys may be administered by email

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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