GSA reaches out

As General Services Administration officials continue planning for a sweeping reorganization that they hope will make the procurement agency more efficient, they are meeting with customers to get a better feel for agency needs so that they can provide better service, said GSA Administrator Stephen Perry.

"The state of the agency is really strong and confident," he said, speaking at a press conference April 20. "We think we're up to the challenge."

Perry said that understanding agency missions more deeply is a key component of the ongoing effort to improve GSA.

"We think we're beginning to engage with our customers in a completely different way," he said. "There are certain expectations that customers have for us that we're not well-positioned to be able to address." That will change as the reorganization progresses, he said.

Perry held a meeting with GSA employees earlier in the day, and pointed out to them that GSA's work is critical to the functions of other agencies. He said while the agency maintains a low profile, it is a key component of national defense, environmental protection and other government missions.

"What we do is really important," he said. "To the degree which we do it well, we help the whole government operate more efficiently."