GSA signs share-in-savings sextet

General Services Administration officials have signed six blanket purchase agreements that will let agencies use share-in-savings contracts without having to sort through the details on their own. The BPAs comprise a one-stop shop" for share-in-savings contracts, said Ken Buck, director of the share-in-savings program office at GSA.

"This is a governmentwide effort to put standard terms for share-in-savings together, along with prequalified contractors," he said. "We think that's a major step."

Share-in-savings contracts require contractors to shoulder much of the financial risk of a project, because agencies only pay contractors a share of the money that the project saves. Although the E-Government Act of 2002 created statutory authority for share-in-savings contracts, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation was published just this month. Agencies have been slow to embrace the concept.

Now that the interim rule has been published, which creates a specific framework spelling out the procedures for such contracts, agencies are expressing more interest, Buck added.

"The question is no longer 'How do we do this?' " he said. "They have the how-to."

The six contracts are worth up to $500 million each, and are derived from the GSA schedule contracts held by the six vendors involved, Buck said. Only information technology projects are eligible, he added.

The contracts expire on Sept. 30, 2005, when the statutory authority ends. If Congress should pass new legislation extending or expanding the authority, the contracts may be renewed, he said.

The six BPAs are with:

Accenture LLP of Hamilton, Bermuda.

American Management Systems (AMS) Inc. (Now CGI-AMS) of Fairfax, Va.

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) of Chantilly, Va.

International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. of Bethesda, Md.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of Falls Church, Va.

SRA International Inc. of Fairfax, Va.