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Prepared for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the public by the General Services Administration (GSA), per the requirements of Section 3(d) of Public Law 115-336.
Section 3(d) of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA) requires the head of each Federal executive branch agency to report annually (through 2023) to the Director of OMB and the public on the agency’s progress to implement the requirements of the Act and to modernize its websites and digital services. This report details GSA’s efforts to modernize our websites and digital services in 2023.
Building on the work we’ve done over the past 4 years, GSA continues to modernize our websites, improve usability and accessibility of digital products and services, and streamline our digital portfolio. We’ve rationalized websites and content, established a digital governance structure to coordinate across business lines, and trained our website managers to ensure they’re equipped with the knowledge they need to perform the important work of managing a GSA website. The release of OMB Memorandum M-23-22 Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience brings reinforced focus to our efforts.
As this is our last annual report, we begin with a high-level assessment of our overall progress to adopt the ideals of 21st Century IDEA. We’ll then move on to stories showcasing specific accomplishments from this past year.
Here’s a sampling of specific successes and accomplishments in 2023, to illustrate the high- level progress noted above.
In 2023, all senior leaders at GSA were assigned digital experience performance goals, to improve accountability for management of their digital properties. In support of these goals, all our website managers attended a three-module orientation training program covering roles and responsibilities of GSA website managers, an introduction to service design, and an overview of Federal web policy requirements. Web manager position descriptions were also reviewed and updated to ensure web management duties were properly documented.
We continued to mature our Digital Lifecycle Program (DLP) and require all web teams to complete an annual self-assessment of their website against Federal requirements. This exercise provided each team with clear direction on how to bring their sites into compliance with 21st Century IDEA and other Federal web requirements. Our Enterprise Digital Experience (EDX) team identified six key performance indicators (USWDS implementation, mobile performance, accessibility, customer-centricity, presence of required links, and non-duplication with related sites), and evaluated 80 websites against these criteria in 2023. This is part of our 3-year effort to evaluate every GSA website, and provide teams with customized qualitative and quantitative analysis and recommendations. Many web teams have already taken action based on these evaluations.
We published several articles on Digital.gov sharing our experiences to improve digital service delivery. EDX and the Digital.gov team also collaborated to publish resources on how to deliver modern digital services. These resources include the aforementioned Human- Centered Design Guides series, and curated topic collections and introductory resources for key policy areas such as accessibility, content, design, security, privacy, and trust, as required by M-23-22. We are also developing a version of our Digital Lifecycle Program for publication on Digital.gov, to share our processes and tools for assessing website compliance. Digital.gov also hosts seven governmentwide communities of practice for over 11,200 members to collaborate and share resources with others who are focused on building better digital-first public experiences.
We built capacity by training our web teams on key facets of website management, including how to conduct a content audit, how to manage a website backlog, and how to assess accessibility using our agency standard 508 testing tool. We leverage our internal digital community of practice to share regular communications, articles, and guidance on website management and modernization. Digital.gov also provides free events for partner agencies to build practitioners’ knowledge, skills, and abilities across Government web teams.
The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) continued to mature digital governance with a new UX strategy that sets common goals and coordinates efforts to improve the user experience for citizens, customers, suppliers, and FAS employees. FAS also established a central content management office, hired two new content designers, and launched a user-centered content strategy, supported by a stakeholder governance committee, to make it easier for buyers and sellers to do business in the Federal marketplace. These strategies established a framework for improving acquisition services by better understanding user priorities, making information easier to find, and connecting teams across the organization to streamline decision-making and collaborate on content management and delivery.
We piloted a new User Experience (UX) team to help GSA deliver exceptional services and products to customers by improving the user experience and usability of our digital products. The team partnered with several GSA teams to embed UX practices into the product development process, refine project requirements through user research customers, and support acquisitions and contract evaluations.
Here are some examples of ways we’ve improved the experience of our customers.
The GSA Center for Charge Card Management (CCCM) administers the Government charge card program, GSA SmartPay. CCCM modernized their websites and launched the 889 Representations search tool to help procurement professionals and purchase card holders abide by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act - Section 889, and secure the Federal supply chain. Originally developed by NASA, the tool shaves 95 percent off search time, or 2 minutes and 25 seconds on average, and is being used 7,500 times each business day—with a burden reduction of 75,000 hours annually. The new SmartPay program and training sites embody the goals of 21st Century IDEA—accessible to all, leveraging the USWDS, and building with and for users. We eliminated 500+ pages of content (75 percent) on the program site to ease user experience and provide a more intuitive information architecture.
The Center of Fine Arts (CFA) administers the nation’s oldest and largest public arts collection, with over 26,000 artworks. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Art in Architecture program, GSA launched a new website that is easier for users to navigate and engage with GSA’s art collection, and easier for CFA to maintain. Site performance has increased and accessibility is 100 percent. More people are enjoying the collection—views increased from 5,694/month to 13,875/month.
GSA’s new Leasing Portal provides a modern interface to all of our lease acquisition and administration tools. It consolidated three stand-alone tools (the Automated Advanced Acquisition Platform (AAAP), the Requirement Specific Acquisition Platform (RSAP), and the Tax Tool), bringing them into compliance with USWDS, and providing a contemporary, user-friendly interface. The migration enabled us to implement the high priority workflow improvements most requested by customers.
The Public Buildings Service (PBS) recognized that the Federal workplace is changing as agencies lean into increased flexibility. To help agencies right-size their real estate footprint to reflect new distributed work patterns, and optimize their space for mission needs, PBS developed new offerings to showcase best practices for space consolidations, improved utilization, and physical space cost avoidance.
OMB M-23-22 recommends that agencies “apply the requirements of the memo to internal- facing websites and digital services.” This year, several GSA teams updated hundreds of pages on InSite, GSA’s official internal website. In particular, our IT shop completed a massive content audit of 400 pages, removed over 130 pages as part of the review, and redesigned over 100 pages, incorporating web design best practices to improve internal user experience. The team leveraged web analytics to identify topics to keep or eliminate, and followed accessibility best practices as they rebuilt pages, improving site navigation and readability for assistive technology. It’s now easier for GSA employees to find the content they need for IT solutions and services.
Getting support contracts “right” leads to much better outcomes.
We conducted an internal review of IT support contracts to identify best practices and challenges, and to address a challenge identified in this review, as well as challenges noted in GSA’s FY22 report, CCCM piloted an agile acquisition contracting approach for GSA leveraging the approach advocated in the 18F de-risking guides. This contract used a Statement of Objectives, which described the work to be done, but not how to do it, which supports agile development. It included a strong Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) that GSA engineers use to ensure code quality. We awarded a contract to a small business based on evaluation criteria that included past project code and user research plan reviews. This procurement was a success, and the contracting approach is now being used by other GSA teams.
The Federal Coworking initiative, launched by the Public Buildings Service (PBS) in FY23 allows Federal employees to work in shared spaces, and is available in six prototype locations nationwide. The team needed a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) desk / conference room reservation system to allow Federal employees to reserve space. The procurement included user experience as an evaluation criteria of the COTS products. GSA provided sandbox access to 12 users and asked them to complete common tasks, such as finding a room and booking it, and rate their experience. The end-user feedback was instrumental in evaluating and awarding the contract to the winning vendor.
When OMB released M-23-22 in September 2023, we had already fulfilled (or were making great progress on) several required agency actions called out in the new guidance.
We had already identified GSA’s public-facing websites. For several years, GSA has maintained our agency’s website inventory in the Digital Registry in Touchpoints, and GSA website managers reviewed and validated the data in September 2023. We’d also identified our top websites and inventoried public-facing services. The Digital.gov team and GSA web policy experts had already begun developing expanded resources in anticipation of the release of the new OMB guidance.
As of the publication of this report, we’re working to meet the additional requirements laid out for GSA in the OMB guidance, including updating the website standards, publishing updated plain language guidelines, facilitating industry collaboration, making it easier to buy, identifying opportunities to enhance shared digital offerings, and developing and maintaining a Federal Services Index.
We’ve identified the following key challenges to delivering a better digital experience.
GSA has made great progress in the past five years. The release of guidance from OMB offers clarity on the work ahead of us, and re-emphasizes GSA’s role to in turn provide guidance and direction to other Federal agencies.
So we will continue to lead by example and embody the goals of 21st Century IDEA in GSA’s websites and digital services. We will tell our stories and share our successes and lessons learned, so our colleagues across the Government can learn from our work. As technology and policy evolve, we will continue to focus on the needs of our customers as our north star, to rebuild trust in Government, meet our mission, and serve our fellow Americans to the best of our ability.
You can read past reports on GSA’s progress to meet 21st Century IDEA on our digital strategy page on GSA.gov.
/s/
____________________________
Robin Carnahan
Administrator
U.S. General Services Administration
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Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense.
Rates for foreign countries are set by the Department of State.
Rates are available between 10/1/2022 and 09/30/2025.
The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.
Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.
Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."
Per diem localities with county definitions shall include"all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."
When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.
An SBA program that helps provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Part 124 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
From 5 USC 5701(6), "continental United States" means the several states and the District of Columbia, but does not include Alaska or Hawaii.
A multiple-award IDIQ governmentwide acquisition contract offering complete and flexible IT solutions worldwide. A best-in-class GWAC and preferred governmentwide solution, Alliant 2 offers:
It provides best-value IT solutions to federal agencies, while strengthening chances in federal contracting for small businesses through subcontracting.
An agreement established by a government buyer with a Multiple Award Schedule contractor to fill repetitive needs for supplies or services.
Types of funds to use on specific expenses.
The work done to make a structure or system ready for use or to bring a construction or development project to a completed state.
Negotiated firm-fixed pricing on airline seats for official government travel. The locked-in ticket prices for the fiscal year save federal agencies time and money. Federal employees enjoy flexibility to change their plans without incurring penalties or additional costs. All negotiated rates have:
Use the CPP search tool to find current fares.
A space where individuals work independently or co-work collaboratively in a shared office. The work environment is similar to a typical office, usually inclusive of office equipment and amenities. Typical features of co-working facilities include work spaces, wireless internet, communal printer/copier/fax, shared kitchens, restrooms and open seating areas. May also be referred to as a “shared office.”
A system that is bought from a commercial vendor to solve a particular problem, as opposed to one that a vendor custom builds.
An employee who negotiates and awards contracts with vendors and who has the sole authority to change, alter or modify a contract.
An employee whose duties are to develop proper requirements and ensure contractors meet the commitments during contract administration, including the timeliness and delivery of quality goods and services as required by the contract.
A request of GSA where a federal agency retains and manages all aspects of the procurement process and is able to work with the selected vendor after award.
An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
The primary regulation for federal agencies to use when buying supplies and services with funds from Congress.
Use acquisition.gov to browse FAR parts or subparts or download the full FAR in various formats.
The travel and relocation policy for all federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at government expense.
A program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment.
A GSA business line that provides safe, reliable, low-cost vehicle solutions for federal agency customers and eligible entities. Offerings include:
A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for fuel and maintenance of GSA Fleet vehicles. Find out where the Fleet card is accepted, how to use it and more.
A Department of Homeland Security program that allows members to use expedited lanes at U.S. airports and when crossing international borders by air, land and sea.
A charge card for certain U.S. Government employees to use when buying mission-related supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, when applicable, and when the total cost does not exceed micro-purchase thresholds.
A charge card for U.S. government personnel to use when paying for reimbursable expenses while on official travel. Visit smartpay.gsa.gov for more.
A vehicle used to perform an agency’s mission(s), as authorized by the agency.
A pre-competed, multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that agencies can use to buy total IT solutions more efficiently and economically.
A ceremony marking the official start of a new construction project, typically involving driving shovels into ground at the site.
An online shopping and ordering system at gsaadvantage.gov that provides access for federal government employees and in some cases, state and local entities, to purchase from thousands of contractors offering millions of supplies and services.
An online auction site at gsaauctions.gov that allows the general public to bid on and buy excess federal personal property assets such as:
Real property for which GSA is responsible. It can be either federally owned or leased from a public or private property owner.
An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
A type of contract when the quantity of supplies or services, above a specified minimum, the government will require is not known. IDIQs help streamline the contract process and speed service delivery.
A fee paid by businesses who are awarded contracts under Multiple Award Schedule to cover GSA’s cost of operating the program. The fee is a fixed percentage of reported sales under MAS contracts that contractors pay within 30 calendar days following the completion of each quarter.
A law that provides $3.375 billion for us to:
This includes $2.15 billion for low embodied carbon materials in construction projects, $975 million to support emerging and sustainable technologies, and $250 million for measures to convert more buildings into High Performance Buildings.
An investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. The law provides funding for LPOE modernization projects that will create new good-paying jobs, bolster safety and security, and make our economy more resilient to supply chain challenges.
A written agreement entered into between two federal agencies, or major organizational units within an agency, which specifies the goods to be furnished or tasks to be accomplished by one agency (the servicing agency) in support of the other (the requesting agency).
A facility, also known as a border station, that provides controlled entry into or departure from the United States for persons or materials. It houses the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal inspection agencies responsible for the enforcement of federal laws related to entering into or departing from the U.S.
An employee who is responsible for preparing, negotiating, awarding and monitoring compliance of lease agreements.
Criteria used to select the technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price. Solicitations must specify that award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors.
The rate of reimbursement for driving a privately owned vehicle when your agency authorizes it. Current rates are at gsa.gov/mileage.
Long-term governmentwide contracts with commercial firms providing federal, state, and local government buyers access to more than 11 million commercial products and services at volume discount pricing. Also called Schedules or Federal Supply Schedules.
The standard federal agencies use to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
A family of six separate governmentwide multiple award, IDIQ contracts for management and advisory, facilities, technical and engineering, logistics, intelligence services, research and development, environmental, and enterprise solutions.
A formal, signed agreement between GSA’s Public Buildings Service and a federal agency for a specific space assignment.
Services performed under a contract with a federal agency that include:
The per day rates for the lower 48 continental United States, which federal employees are reimbursed for expenses incurred while on official travel. Per diem includes three allowances:
An identification card that allows credentialed government personal to access facilities, computers, or information systems. May also be referred to as HSPD-12 card, LincPass, Smart Card, or CAC.
Furniture and equipment such as appliances, wall hangings, technological devices, and the relocation expenses for such property.
Information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. Get our agency's privacy policies and practices as they apply to our employees, contractors, and clients.
You should only drive a privately owned vehicle for official travel after your agency evaluates the use of:
When your agency has determined a POV to be the most advantageous method of transportation, you are authorized reimbursement for mileage and some additional allowances (parking, bridge, road and tunnel fees, etc.).
Approvals from GSA’s congressional authorizing committees, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for proposed capital and leasing projects that require funding over an annually established threshold.
Region 1 (New England): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Region 2 (Northeast and Caribbean): Northern New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware, parts of Maryland, Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, parts of Virginia, West Virginia
Region 4 (Southeast Sunbelt): Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Region 5 (Great Lakes): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Region 6 (Heartland): Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Region 7 (Greater Southwest): Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region 8 (Rocky Mountain): Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Region 9 (Pacific Rim): Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada
Region 10 (Northwest Arctic): Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Region 11 (National Capital): Washington, D.C., area including parts of Maryland and Virginia
Formal agreements between GSA and a federal agency customer where GSA agrees to provide goods, services, or both, and the federal agency agrees to reimburse GSA’s direct and indirect costs. The customer portal for RWA information is called eRETA at extportal.pbs.gsa.gov.
A document used in negotiated procurements to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors (firms holding Multiple Award Schedule contracts) and to solicit proposals (offers) from them.
A document used to communicate government requirements, but which do not solicit binding offers. Quotations submitted in response are not offers. The Multiple Award Schedule order is the offer, and then the contractor can do something to show acceptance, like ordering supplies or contacting subcontractors.
An SBA program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Part 128 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
An SBA designation for businesses that meet size standards set for each NAICS code. Most manufacturing companies with 500 employees or fewer, and most non-manufacturing businesses with average annual receipts under $7.5 million, will qualify as a small business.
See Title 13 Part 121.201 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
To improve and stimulate small business utilization, we award contracts to businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. We have contracting assistance for:
A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to business that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Section 124.1001 of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
The basis for the lease negotiation process, which becomes part of the lease. SFOs include the information necessary to enable prospective offerors to prepare proposals. See SFO minimum requirements.
Specific supply and service subcategories within our Multiple Award Schedule. For the Information Technology Category, a SIN might be new equipment or cloud services.
An online system at sam.gov, which the U.S. Government uses to consolidate acquisition and award systems for use by contractors wishing to do business with the federal government. Formerly known as FBO.gov, all contracting opportunities valued over $25,000 are posted at sam.gov.
When you use a government purchase card, such as the "GSA SmartPay" travel card for business travel, your lodging and rental car costs may be exempt from state sales tax. Individually billed account travel cards are not tax exempt in all states. Search for exemption status, forms and important information.
The finishes and fixtures federal agency tenants select that take a space from a shell condition to a finished, usable condition and compliant with all applicable building codes and standards.
A statute that applies to all Multiple Award Schedule contracts, unless otherwise stated in the solicitation or contract, which requires contractors to sell to the U.S. Government only products that are manufactured or “substantially transformed” in the U.S. or a TAA-designated country.
An option for vendors to report transactional data — information generated when the government purchases goods or services from a vendor — to help us make federal government buying more effective.
See our TDR page for which SINs are eligible and which line-item data to submit.
A unique number required to do business with the federal government.
An indicator of how efficiently a federal agency is currently using space, it is traditionally calculated by dividing the usable square feet of the space, by the number of personnel who occupy the space.
A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:
A governmentwide acquisition contract exclusively for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to sell IT services such as:
The amount of solid waste, such as trash or garbage, construction and demolition waste, and hazardous waste, that is reused, recycled or composted instead of being put in a landfill or burned.
A GSA program designed to promote recycling and reuse of solid waste.
A Small Business Administration program that gives preferential consideration for certain government contracts to businesses that meet the following eligibility requirements:
See Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations for more information.
U.S. General Services Administration