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eNewsletter Series
August 2009

Purchase Card Online System (PCOLS) Training has been scheduled for August 2009. The training sessions are on a first-come first-served basis. To review the schedule and obtain additional details, click here.

Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) is the authoritative data source for vendor representations and certifications (see FAR 4.12 ). As a reminder, contracting officers are required to use ORCA for the collection of most provisions in solicitations. To learn more about ORCA, please visit the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website and search for the continuous learning module CLE043.

eBusiness Awards are distributed during the Defense Procurement eBusiness Conference. To nominate an individual or team for consideration please complete the nomination form and submit to the eBusiness Policy Support Center.

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Welcome to the Official eBusiness eNewsletter

The Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) Program Development and Implementation (PDI) eBusiness Office wants to welcome you to the inaugural eNewsletter! This eBusiness eNewsletter will keep you up to date on the latest policy news, data and system standards, major system upgrades and changes, and other areas of interests such as events and training.

We encourage you to distribute this eNewsletter to your procurement community and spread the eBusiness goodness. If there's a topic you'd like addressed in a future issue, please let us know by contacting the eBusiness Policy Support Center (eBPSC)!
 

 

Procurement Data Standard (PDS)

Version 2 of the Procurement Data Standard was recently published for viewing on the DPAP website.

What exactly is the PDS?
The PDS is a data structure or “schema” that defines all the data that should be present in a contract action. It comes with a separate document of business rules and enumerations that tell you when and how to apply each bit of data. It was created to provide standardization of contract output, to help enforce FAR-based contracting laws, and to support interoperability.

How can I see the PDS?
The current version of the PDS is available for viewing on the DPAP website, along with the business rules, policy memo, and CONOPs. You can view it using HTML, but it’s easier to navigate if you have a viewer like XML Spy. Instructions for viewing can be found on the website as well.

What sadistic genius created this? Was my service/agency consulted?
The PDS was created by DPAP in close coordination with the services and agencies. The final version was sent out for coordination with all the services and agencies.

What am I supposed to do with it?
Per the DUSD A&T Memo published July 21, 2008, if you own or operate a system that performs FAR-based procurement, your system must be able to produce an output that conforms to this standard. So, if you run a contract writing system, you will either need to map from your legacy format to the XML schema provided, or update your system so that it can natively produce this format.

Who will use it?
Anyone who needs contract data could use the PDS. DPAP is in process of working with Electronic Document Access (EDA) to capture and display the PDS format so that it can be used for a variety of downstream systems and uses.

I still don’t get it. Who can I talk to for more information?
The Action Officer for PDS is Bruce Propert who can be reached at bruce.propert@osd.mil. He’d be happy to answer your questions!
 

 

The Enterprise Perspective of Contract Reporting in Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS)

As of the end of July 2009, DoD has executed 2 million contracting actions, obligating $256 billion. The breakout among the Military Services and Agencies is shown in the graphic below.

Recovery Act Reporting

Don’t forget – if you are awarding contract actions that are funded in whole or in part using Recovery Act funds, you need to identify the treasury account symbol in the Description of Requirement field on your contract action report. Specific instructions are available on the FPDS website. 

Upcoming Changes - Competition

At the end of October 2009, FPDS will implement a special service pack modifying many things about the way federal agencies report competition. There are a few changes DoD contracting officers need to know. The first is that ‘simplified acquisition procedures’ will now be an available choice under ‘Solicitation Procedures’. ‘Extent Competed’ values will now also include ‘Competed under Simplified Acquisition Procedures’ and ‘Not Competed under Simplified Acquisition Procedures.’ Finally, there will be a new standard report on competition available on the FPDS website that incorporates all of the changes being deployed.

To review the detailed changes, please visit the FPDS-NG Project website and review the “Competition Procedures Change Summary”, as well as the release notes posted online. For any questions related to these changes please contact Ms. Lisa Romney, lisa.romney@osd.mil.
 

The Enterprise Perspective of Contract Reporting in Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS)

 

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DPAP, 3060 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301
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