80 FR 17438 - National Dialogue and Pilot To Reduce Reporting Compliance Costs for Federal Contractors and Grantees

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 62 (April 1, 2015)

The Chief Acquisition Officers Council, Department of Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration (GSA) are conducting a national dialogue to discuss ideas on how to reduce the costs (compliance and other) associated with reporting compliance under Federal awards (contracts, subcontracts, grants, subgrants, and cooperative agreements). This dialogue is part of an effort to improve the economy and efficiency of the federal award system by identifying impactful steps that can be taken to streamline, reporting, reduce burden, and reduce costs.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17438-17439]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07441]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-MVC-2015-01, Docket No. 2015-0054, Sequence 1]


National Dialogue and Pilot To Reduce Reporting Compliance Costs 
for Federal Contractors and Grantees

AGENCY: General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Chief Acquisition Officers Council, Department of Health 
and Human Services, and the General Services Administration (GSA) are 
conducting a national dialogue to discuss ideas on how to reduce the 
costs (compliance and other) associated with reporting compliance under 
Federal awards (contracts, subcontracts, grants, subgrants, and 
cooperative agreements). This dialogue is part of an effort to improve 
the economy and efficiency of the federal award system by identifying 
impactful steps that can be taken to streamline, reporting, reduce 
burden, and reduce costs.

DATES: Interested parties may participate in the national dialogue 
through an online platform by reviewing the information and 
participation dates posted at www.cao.gov. The dialogue will open on 
May 30, 2015 and close on May 30, 2017.

[[Page 17439]]


ADDRESSES: Interested parties may participate in the dialogue through 
the online platform by reviewing the information and participation 
dates posted at www.cao.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Zeleznik at 
[email protected] or 202-205-3514 or Emily Gartland at 
[email protected] or 703-605-2532.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    This notice announces a dialogue to explore opportunities to 
streamline processes and reduce or eliminate burden in federal 
procurement and grants processes. This dialogue furthers the goals of 
the President's Management Agenda, which lays the foundation for 
creating a 21st century government that delivers better results to the 
American people, and addresses requirements in the Digital 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-101) to 
gain a better understanding of the costs of compliance with Federal 
contracting and grants awards as well as recommendations to standardize 
data, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and reduce compliance costs.
    During last year's Open Dialogue on Federal Procurement, published 
in the Federal Register at 79 FR 22682, on April 23, 2014, many 
commenters pointed to the potential reduction of redundant reporting 
and related processes as one way to improve the efficiency and 
effectiveness of the government's acquisition practices. This feedback 
is helping to support ongoing efforts to modernize the IT 
infrastructure supporting Federal procurement data collection and 
display, which will include development of a single Web site for 
Federal contractors to use for federal contract reporting requirements.
    Management of federal contract and grant business arrangements 
requires multiple layers of reporting across multiple agencies. In some 
cases, lack of standardization results in slight (or significant) 
variations in reports that create additional administrative and 
burdensome requirements for awardees that could be readily rectified. 
This dialogue is intended to continue the conversation begun last year 
in the context of federal procurement and expand it to cover federal 
grants by identifying opportunities for reducing burden, discussing 
ideas for standardizing processes and forms, and identifying 
recommended actions to reduce costs and eliminate duplication for 
awardees. The open dialogue focuses on three topics (campaigns). Each 
campaign focuses on a unique aspect of the Federal contracting and 
grants process for which we welcome your insight, ideas, and feedback.
     Campaign 1--Reporting compliance requirements shared by 
prime and sub-awardees of Federal procurements and grants.
     Campaign 2--Procurement practices, processes, and 
reporting.
     Campaign 3--Grants practices and processes.
    Note--We are looking for ideas to reduce your burden through data 
standards and changes to reporting procedures. We are interested in 
hearing about proposed changes that can be accomplished through 
executive (regulatory, administrative, or management) action, as well 
as potential legislative proposals where requirements are based in 
statute.
    To facilitate a national dialogue, an online platform will be 
launched in May 2015 so that interested parties may submit ideas, 
comment on others, respond to questions posed by moderators, and vote 
to indicate which ideas they think are most promising and impactful. 
Information on the platform, and the dates for participating in the 
dialogue, will be posted at www.cao.gov. A separate notice will 
beposted to address additional dialogue topics on federal procurement 
for conversation later in the spring and summer.

    Dated: March 27, 2015.
William Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-07441 Filed 3-31-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P