IRS seeks tool to help automate solicitation evaluation
The IRS wants an automated tool for evaluating solicitations to improve the efficiency of its procurement teams, according to a request for information.
Vendors are encouraged to submit their technical capabilities and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program-certified, commercial-off-the-shelf offerings — especially cloud solutions.
The IRS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer maintains three contract-writing systems: Procurement for Public Sector (PPS), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and Procurement Request Information System Management (PRISM) for the Treasury Department. The agency’s RFI is the latest to attempt to learn how automation might help its procurement teams adhere to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and further standardize vendor evaluation and selection.
Ideal solicitation evaluation tools will handle document management, auditing with analytics and performance metrics, and intelligent automation scoring while supporting ratings that indicate the degree to which proposals meet the customer agency’s standards with adjectives like excellent or acceptable. The IRS uses General Services Administration vehicles, governmentwide acquisition contracts and federal supply schedules to procure IT for customer agencies, and any tool would need to evaluate solicitations based on requirements within them.
The RFI further asks vendors to provide their timelines for implementing such a solution and examples of three customers receiving similar services. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. eastern time.
