GSA Partners With ATARC For Virtual Summit

July 16, 2020

GSA partnered with the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) and private industry to host the IT Acquisition Virtual Summit July 14, through July 16, 2020. The event included GSA led trainings as well as one-on-ones with GSA CO's, ACO's and IOA's. The summit focused on best practices and information on IT Management.

Former New England Regional Administrator (RA), Chris Averill, kicked off day two and recapped the event by stating, "After seeing the successful collaboration between GSA and ATARC for their ITC Summit in Fort Worth, Texas last summer, I immediately reached out to our FAS ITC leadership at GSA Central Office to inquire about the possibility of holding a similar event in The New England region. New England is home to more than 250 post secondary educational institutions and a vast network of innovative and cutting-edge private sector firms that have so much to offer the government. What better place could there be to hold the next installation of these forums than right here in Boston?"

As the summit planning was underway, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. GSA and ATARC made accommodations to hold the summit virtually rather than in person. Former RA Averill said, "It is my hope that sometime in the future the New England Region can hold an ITC summit in person."

The summit included the following trainings and one-on-one sessions:

Training Sessions:

- Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Consolidation and Policy Updates
- Small Business Panels and Set-Asides
- Modernization, Cloud and Cybersecurity
- E-Tools
- Contract Administration and Compliance
- How to Order From GSA Schedules

One-On-One Sessions: 

- Cloud and Infrastructure
- How To Get On Schedule
- How To Submit An Electronic Modification
- Submitting An Offer: Keys To Success
- Small Business Concerns
- Understanding 'Best In Class'