Library of Congress’ Copyright Office Taps Centers of Excellence to Improve Contact Centers

The General Services Administration’s Centers of Excellence program inked its 10th deal last week, with the Library of Congress signing up to work with the government’s internal IT modernization consulting service.

The Office of Public Information and Education within the Library-run U.S. Copyright Office will be working with the Contact Center CoE to improve its customer relations and related technology. As the public relations arm of the Copyright Office, the Public Information and Education Office, known as PIO, is the front line for answering questions about the copyright process and handling public requests.

The CoE program launched in 2017 with five centers—the contact center CoE, cloud adoption, infrastructure optimization, data analytics and customer experience—all focused on working with federal agencies to identify issues in process and technology and find a contractor to help improve those areas. Since its inception, the CoE program has added an additional center for artificial intelligence, among more systemic changes.

The latest effort will focus on identifying “current gaps in contact center service delivery and technology, while looking for opportunities to streamline efforts,” according to a GSA announcement.

“By focusing on experience, agencies can improve satisfaction, trust and efficiency, and avoid lost opportunities,” Bob De Luca, acting director of the Technology Transformation Service, which houses the CoE program, said in the announcement. “This Contact Center modernization effort reflects our partner’s commitment to their customers as the Contact Center CoE prioritizes access to consistent and accurate information in a timely manner.”

The agreement marks the 10th interagency team-up with the CoE program, and the fifth in 2020. Earlier this year, CoEs signed agreements with multiple public health-focused agencies to help in the fight against COVID-19.

“The modernization of the federal government’s IT infrastructure and applications is an important priority for GSA,” Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Julie Dunne said. “The Centers of Excellence are a cornerstone in our IT modernization work at the Federal Acquisition Service.”