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Competitive Sourcing: Implementation Will Be Key to Success of New Circular A-76

GAO-03-943T Published: Jun 26, 2003. Publicly Released: Jun 26, 2003.
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Highlights

In May 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a new Circular A-76--which sets forth the government's competitive sourcing process. Determining whether to obtain services in-house or through commercial contracts is an important economic and strategic decision for agencies, and the use of A-76 is expected to grow throughout the federal government. In the past, however, the A-76 process has been difficult to implement, and the impact on the morale of the federal workforce has been profound. Moreover, there have been concerns in both the public and private sectors about the timeliness and fairness of the process and the extent to which there is a "level playing field" for conducting public-private competitions. It was against this backdrop that the Congress enacted legislation mandating a study of the government's competitive sourcing process, which was carried out by the Commercial Activities Panel, which was chaired by the Comptroller General of the United States. This testimony focuses on how the new Circular addresses the Panel's recommendations with regard to providing a better foundation for competitive sourcing decisions, and the challenges agencies may face in implementing the new A-76.

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Best practicesCompetitive procurementCost controlFederal procurementFederal procurement policyProcurement planningStrategic planningCompetitive sourcingBid evaluation protestsLessons learned