GSA Blog

As more tools and resources are added to the Acquisition Gateway that continue to enhance the market research process, we see the number of federal users in the Gateway growing too. In February 2018, the Gateway reached 18,000 federal users, which exceeded an FY18 Agency Performance Goal seven months ahead of schedule! We, and I truly do mean all of us, see this goal as an indication of the value of the tools and resources available within the Gateway, and how they can contribute to efficient and effective procurement.

When GSA launched it in 2014, the Acquisition Gateway was a workspace with just three governmentwide category hallways and a handful of contracts. What a difference to where we stand today: In four short years, the Gateway matured into an established and proven tool for federal acquisition professionals with ten governmentwide category hallways and over 250 federal contracts! The Gateway has an ever expanding list of resources that contracting officers, contract specialists, and program managers rely upon to complete their daily acquisition responsibilities.

What is it about the Gateway that brings so much value to acquisition professionals? First and foremost, it gives them what they need to do their jobs easier and faster, especially within the market research process. Today, the acquisition community is able to access transactional data, governmentwide contract solutions, best practice templates, an Independent Government Cost Estimate builder tool, innovative acquisition examples, and more in one location. That just wasn’t possible before the Gateway.

Let’s take a look at current Gateway stats and the top tools and resources that users are accessing:

• 8,000+ visits a month to the Contract Awarded Labor Category (CALC) tool (labor rates), 700+ to Prices Paid Portal (transactional) and 500+ to Solutions Finder (governmentwide contract solutions)
• Over 400 submissions in the last year to Document Library, bringing the total to 733 sample templates and best practice documents
• Research across 307,000 searchable RFIs/RFQs in eBuy Open
• 1,900 pieces of product and service category content (expert articles, resources)

The Gateway has also become a regular training space for nearly 2,000 acquisition professionals. Through quarterly Acquisition Gateway University sessions, we provide Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) for training on topics ranging from Best-in-Class and Spend Under Management to tips for using our newest Gateway tools such as the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) builder and hubs.

Where do we go from here?

We will continue to make sure that users are at the forefront when prioritizing updates and new tools on the Gateway. The popular IGCE builder tool will continue to see enhancements, with the ability to add additional Other Direct Cost items, as well as more complete export options. Users of Solutions Finder will be able to filter solutions to see those that are directly managed by their agency for the purposes of market research. Gateway hubs are being used as a new way to feature content by agency or topic area, with new content coming to support the small business community, as well as agency-specific needs for the Department of Treasury and others. Also, users will be able to start earning badges in their profile as they fully utilize all the Gateway’s available tools and resources. And, last but not least, category management data dashboards and Best-in-Class resources will continue to see enhancements in an effort to meet user needs.

I want to thank everyone in the Gateway community for your very important contributions and all that you have done to make this a valued resource for market research across the federal government. I’m excited to see the results of our continued evolution to meet the needs of you, the acquisition professional.

Be on the lookout for details about our next series Acquisition Gateway University sessions scheduled from April 23 to May 4, 2018!