General Services Administration Seeks Ideas On AI’s Role In Procurement Overhaul

“WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY” By Ross Wilkers

“GSA requests hearing from suppliers and industry associations, highlighting input from small businesses and startups. Included is a five-stage draft systems design that GSA wants to act as a foundation for responses in the form of white papers.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

“The General Services Administration’s work to lead the overhaul of how federal agencies acquire goods and services has included much discussion around the role of artificial intelligence in that effort.

For example, GSA has created its own AI chatbot to help employees in its Federal Acquisition Service and Public Building Service organizations automate research tasks such as finding regulatory information.

GSA is expanding its efforts on the AI front with its release of a broad request for information issued, which seeks feedback from suppliers and industry associations on how to bring AI into efforts to update the entire procurement ecosystem.

In the RFI, GSA is asking respondents for ideas on how AI and automation tools could help the agency get a better handle on its existing structured and unstructured data.

The notice also includes a five-stage draft systems design that GSA wants to act as a foundation for responses in the form of white papers, which should not exceed 10 pages.

Unstructured data is the first stage and includes repositories of contract documents for scraping, while the final stage of data analysis will involve an upgraded analytical environment.

As the RFI explains, federal acquisition workers and companies alike both lack access to standardized information and systems on all things government procurement.

Tools to help agencies with market research and acquisition planning are not centralized or integrated, which then leads to companies not having a consistent source for answers to questions they may have.

GSA is particularly interested in gathering responses from organizations with experience in IT, data architecture and storage, AI and machine learning, data analytics, and user experience design.

GSA highlighted small businesses and startups as among those it wants to hear from.”

GSA seeks ideas on AI’s role in procurement overhaul

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ross Wilkers covers the business of government contracting, companies and trends that shape the market. He joined WT in 2017 and works with Editor-in-Chief Nick Wakeman to host and produce our WT 360 podcast that features discussions with the market’s leading executives and voices. Ross is a native of Northern Virginia and is an alumnus of George Mason University.