18F unveils first pilot app
FBOpen is designed to make it easier for small businesses to search for contracting opportunities.
The General Services Administration's new digital incubator has launched its first pilot application, which seeks to make it easier for small businesses to search the vast content of the government's Federal Business Opportunities site.
In a post on the software developer website GitHub, Presidential Innovation Fellow Aaron Snow said FBOpen is a joint project of the PIF program, GSA's Integrated Award Environment and the agency's new 18F program, which is home to a team of tech experts and developers who will build Web services for agencies, prototypes for projects and tools that can be reused across government.
Snow also described FBOpen's development process and noted that 18F is designed to foster collaboration and speedy processes.
Snow and Presidential Innovation Fellow Robert Read worked on the RFP-EZ Marketplace last year, which allows first-time government contractors to bid more quickly on a variety of tech contracts -- including video transcription, Web design and Web application development -- without initially contending with government purchasing schedules or registration processes.
The FBOpen package includes an open-API server, data import tools and sample apps. Snow said a simple API also allows users to build their own query tools.
"Then someone realized we didn't have to limit this server to FBO data," he said. "There's a second sample data loader that can be used to load data nightly from Grants.gov, and the API allows you to post opportunities, too."
The agency's 18F digital technology incubator, announced March 19, taps Presidential Innovation Fellows and GSA's own digital delivery team to build public-facing websites for agencies or consult with them on what to build or buy.