Press Release-99-053, NRC Receives Two Awards for Procurement Reform Efforts
| ML003709559 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/17/1999 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
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| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-99-053 | |
| Download: ML003709559 (1) | |
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United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Public Affairs Washington, DC 20555 Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234 Internet:opa@nrc.gov No. 99-53 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)
NRC RECEIVES TWO AWARDS FOR PROCUREMENT REFORM EFFORTS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received two Hammer Awards from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government for its procurement reform initiatives.
Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson will present the awards to the staff at a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on April 8 in the auditorium of the agencys Two White Flint North Building, 11545 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland.
The first award recognizes the agencys overhaul of its entire procurement award process, which allows wide latitude in applying good business sense for the agency. For instance, certain technical assistance work is now specifically solicited from the relatively small body of qualified contractors who have been identified as capable of providing support for NRCs unique technical mission, rather than being subject to general advertising requirements.
NRC also established a BankCard program for employees to purchase goods up to certain dollar amounts, and created a link on its webpage for those wishing to do business with the agency.
The second award focuses on the agencys initiative allowing companies wishing to do business with the NRC to describe their qualifications through brief oral presentations, as opposed to submitting lengthy and costly written proposals. Use of oral presentations has virtually eliminated time and effort spent by businesses in preparing detailed written proposals, and allows quicker feedback on evaluations.
In its summary, the NPR noted,... By substituting oral presentation for written proposals, the [NRC] has saved both the taxpayer and private industry thousands of dollars in materials and staff hours needed to prepare and evaluate proposals. Not only has this process shortened procurement lead times, it also has allowed proposers to gain a better understanding of the agencys needs and allowed NRC evaluators to gain a better understanding of the proposers capabilities.
The NRC has been a pioneer in the use of oral presentations, helping to institutionalize this process both within the agency, and government-wide. By sharing best practices with other federal agencies, NRC has helped to make oral presentations an integral part of the way in which the federal government procures goods and services.