Office of Government-wide Policy
In December 1995, GSA created the Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) to consolidate its policy functions into a single organization. OGP's policymaking authority covers the areas of personal and real property, travel and transportation, information technology, regulatory information and use of federal advisory committees. OGP's strategic direction is to ensure that government-wide policies encourage agencies to develop and utilize the best, most cost effective management practices for the conduct of their specific programs.
To reach the goal of improving government-wide management of property, technology, and administrative services, OGP builds and maintains a policy framework, by (1) incorporating the requirements of federal laws, Executive Orders, and other regulatory material into policies and guidelines, (2) facilitating government-wide reform to provide federal managers with business-like incentives and tools and flexibility to prudently manage their assets, and (3) identifying, evaluating, and promoting best practices to improve efficiency of management processes.
Guided by the principles of the President's Management Agenda and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), some of OGP's recent efforts have been devoted to providing leadership in the development of a policy environment and key enablers for electronic government, and supporting OMB in the implementation of various E-Gov initiatives to standardize and streamline government processes. The new model calls for involvement of other federal agencies, the private sector, interested parties, and other stakeholders from the very onset of policy review and/or formulation. Such collaborative efforts are seen to offer numerous advantages, not least of which is to ensure "buy-in" from the policy customers.
OGP's six business lines are below.
OFFICE OF ACQUISITION POLICY
Acquisition management is carried out by the Office of Acquisition Policy (OAP) under the guidance of the Chief Acquisition Officer and the Senior Procurement Executive. The office mission is to strengthen GSA’s acquisition policy and operations and to provide federal agency customers with acquisition policy that enhances their missions. OAP supports the GSA acquisition workforce through attention to their training, certification, and warrant needs. OAP also provides timely acquisition regulation, policy, and reporting for internal and external stakeholders, oversees acquisition integrity functions for GSA, including suspension and debarment of contractors or participants in non-procurement programs, agency level acquisition protests, agency task/delivery order ombudsman functions, internal procurement management reviews, and agency competition advocate functions.
OFFICE OF ASSET AND TRANSPORTATION POLICY
The Office of Asset and Transportation Policy develops government-wide policies and guidance to provide a structured framework for agencies to achieve economical and effective management processes for government assets Policy program areas include aircraft and motor vehicles, personal property, real property, transportation, mail, passenger travel, and relocation allowances and entitlements. This office also oversees agencies' adherence to established policies for these programs. The office maintains liaisons with state and local governments, industry, and professional organizations and participates in the work of boards, committees, and groups related to the responsibilities of the office. The office promotes the government-wide use of alternative workplace arrangements to increase space utilization efficiency and reduce carbon footprint. The office also manages the Federal Real Property Database of all Federal Government real property assets and supports the Federal Real Property Management Council in its efforts to promote effective asset management government-wide. The office operates a Center of Policy Evaluation to assess OGP’s impact on formulating policies, programs, and tools to ensure that policies are useful to government customers and achieve desired results.
OFFICE OF INFORMATION, INTEGRITY, AND ACCESS
The Office of Information, Integrity, and Access (I2A) develops coordinates, and defines information technology business strategies allowing federal agencies to improve services to the citizens. The office has a broad reach into many federal agencies and collaborates closely with OMB. The team provides guidance, assistance and policy for the following:
- Data and acquisition management
- Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC)
- Identity credentialing and access management
- Information management and improvements of analysis capability and architecture development efforts on cross-agency priorities, developing enterprise data management strategies
- Dot Gov domain registration and management
- Section 508 accessibility management Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) and System for Award Management (SAM). The mission of SAM is to standardize, integrate, and streamline Federal procurement data management.
OFFICE OF FEDERAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS
The Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings strives to reduce the economic and environmental footprint of Federal buildings through evidence-based guidance and best practices identified through collaborative research and expert convenings. The focus is on identifying and implementing technologies and strategies to create transformative change across the building life cycle. Many of its projects are driven by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) mandates. Experts from the office assist GSA and customer agencies in developing strategies and practices to:
- Reduce energy and water use and their associated operating costs
- Increase operational effectiveness by making work spaces healthier and more productive , while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts
- Identify key leverage points to trigger systematic change
- Transform the culture of the Federal government toward more sustainable building practices data management.
OFFICE OF COMMITTEE AND REGULATORY MANAGEMENT
The Office of Committee and Regulatory Management comprises complementary divisions. The Committee Management Secretariat develops government-wide policies, guidance, performance measures, regulations, and training on the management and operation of Federal advisory committees. The Regulatory Information Service Center (RISC) gathers and publishes information about Federal regulations and their effect on society. In addition, RISC provides a uniform information system that helps agencies comply with planning and review requirements under Executive Order 12866 – Regulatory Planning and Review. The principal publication of the Center is the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which is published in the Federal Register every spring and fall and is available online at www.reginfo.gov.
OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE COUNCILS
The Office of Executive Councils collaborates with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and federal management councils to identify government-wide performance improvement initiatives to pursue across agencies, leads working groups to drive these initiatives, establishes performance goals, and facilitates adoption of new processes by Federal agencies. The office analyzes data and diagnoses challenges, identifies best practices and documents the benefits delivered by the improvement initiatives. The Office of Executive Councils provides both technical and management services to the following Federal management councils:
- Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAOC)
- Chief Financial Officers Council (CFOC)
- Chief Information Officers Council (CIOC)
- Performance Improvement Council (PIC)
- President’s Management Council (PMC)
The shortcut to this page is www.gsa.gov/ogp
