FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2008
Contact: OMB Communications, 202-395-7254
AGENCIES ENCOURAGED TO INCREASE USE
OF EFFECTIVE COMPETITION PRACTICES
Memo from OFPP Administrator outlines additional steps for increasing competition
Washington, DC — Today, OMB released a memo describing effective practices agencies are using to remove impediments to competition. The memo also announces plans for a new competition working group as part of the Chief Acquisition Officer’s Council to facilitate greater collaboration as agencies work to increase competition.
While the percentage of dollars competed in fiscal year (FY) 2007 held steady with recent government-wide activity, at 64 percent, OFPP expects agencies to do more to promote competition. The new working group will analyze government-wide competition data for different commodities and services that agencies can then use to assess their own needs and achievements and determine the suitability of their individual competition goals.
“The analysis conducted by the working group will help individual agencies create more purposeful goals for their respective agencies and also help the acquisition community understand how individual agency buying patterns affect government-wide competition achievements,” said OFPP Administrator Paul Denett. “We must continue to do everything we can to help our agencies use competition whenever possible.”
The memo describes a variety of practices agencies are using to improve the competitive environment. These practices range from restricting the exercise of options that would extend the length of contracts awarded noncompetitively, to requiring all justifications for other than full and open competitions to be reviewed by the agency’s competition advocate.
The memo can be found at: /omb/procurement/index_memo.html.###
