News
Press Releases: Government to Citizen
May 2, 2006
Contact Center Services Procurement Tool Kit, Unveiled
Washington D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) USA Services today unveiled the Emergency Procurement Tool Kit, a comprehensive user friendly guide on FirstContact, an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle allowing federal agencies to obtain immediate vendor support to respond to citizen inquiries during disasters and emergencies. GSA’s USA Services, a Presidential E-Gov initiative, manages FirstContact.
The Tool Kit provides value by delivering all necessary documents customized to FirstContact in a centralized facility. With FirstContact, agencies can quickly establish contact center(s) to provide citizens with information on a variety of issues, including where to locate relief in emergency situations. For example, during the Katrina response and recovery period in the Fall of 2005, FEMA used FirstContact to respond to 1.5 million calls and emails from hurricane victims.
"President Bush’s Management Agenda calls for a more efficient, citizen-centric Federal government," said M.J. Pizzella, Associate Administrator of GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications. "The FirstContact Emergency Procurement Took Kit reflects GSA’s commitment to offering services that make government agencies more responsive and accessible to citizens."
The Tool Kit includes, among other documents, examples of an Interagency Agreement, Statement of Work, Source Selection Plan and two FirstContact case studies. It can be viewed online at www.usaservices.gov/emergency.htm. The Tool Kit and recently released Cost Calculator (www.usaservices.gov/calculator.htm) fulfill USA Services’ mandate to provide government-wide leadership to improve agency response to public inquiries.
