Input opens contract library to the public
Input has opened its electronic contracts library to the public.
The research firm obtains contract documents from federal, state and local governments through the Freedom of Information Act and has more than 3,000 of them in its library, said Ashlea Higgs, senior manager of Input Network.
“Government FOIA offices are overloaded and requests often take several months to complete," he said. "By making our library available, we hope to offload some of the volume of requests to FOIA offices and provide immediate access to these documents to citizens and organizations that have a need.”
Input is charging fees to access the documents.
The database might be especially useful to contractors trying to prepare for an anticipated request for proposals, he said. If the contractors can see the requirements on similar contracts already awarded, they can better determine if they have the needed capabilities to compete for a new one.
Agencies also might benefit by being able to see how other agencies have dealt with needs and structured their contracts to provide solutions.
“We see lots of different agencies procuring similar services,” Higgs said. “When agencies produce an RFP or statement of work for an upcoming requirement, they can learn a lot and save time by looking at contracts that other agencies have let for similar requirements.”
About the Author
Michael Hardy is the news editor of Federal Computer Week. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelHardyFCW.