Defense Contracting: Improvements Needed in Procurement Technical Assistance Program
NSIAD-91-243
Published: Sep 20, 1991. Publicly Released: Oct 21, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Procurement Technical Assistance (PTA) Cooperative Agreement Program, focusing on: (1) the types of services that PTA centers provide; (2) whether PTA centers duplicate other organizations' work; and (3) whether PTA centers effectively provide assistance to prospective DOD contractors.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Logistics Agency | The Director, DLA, should re-emphasize to the centers the need for submitting complete and accurate data. |
Closed – Implemented
DLA will continuously reemphasize the requirement for submission of complete and accurate data during annual pre-proposal and post award conferences. The requirement was included as an agenda item in the Post Award Conference for the fiscal year (FY) 1991 cooperative agreement award recipients. DLA issued a letter to its small business personnel reemphasizing the need for accurate reporting.
|
| Defense Logistics Agency | The Director, DLA, should require all centers to obtain information from their clients on the assistance provided so that all DLA reviewers will have some way of verifying the accuracy of PTA center performance reports. |
Closed – Implemented
On March 11, 1992, DLA issued the FY 1992 solicitation for cooperative agreement proposals and included a requirement for recipients to obtain information from their clients to verify assistance provided.
|
| Defense Logistics Agency | The Director, DLA, should improve its training program for DLA reviewers responsible for evaluating PTA center performance which would re-emphasize the need for accurate PTA center reporting and facilitate through, uniform reviews. |
Closed – Implemented
DLA held a 1-week training conference in January 1992 for its small business personnel. The training program provided a forum for in-depth discussions of the PTA program administration. In addition, DLA will conduct training workshops in each of its field offices and will reevaluate the need for additional training on a continuous basis.
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