Defense Department launches A-76 Web portal

The Defense Department has launched a new Web site to help its organizations deal with A-76 competitions.

The SHARE A-76! Web site is "one-stop shopping for A-76 information," said Annie L. Andrews, assistant director for competitive sourcing and privatization.

In A-76 competitions, in-house and the private sector compete to in order to be the selected service provider. The two factions have split competitions about 50-50 over the years, but the process continues to provide savings to DoD and the taxpayers regardless of who is selected as the service provider, Andrews said.

She called SHARE A-76! a 'Knowledge Management Site' that links to internal and external Web sites having anything to do with A-76. This is important for field technicians and employees involved in the cost comparison process, she said, because the process isn't easy to learn and most people go through it only once.

Andrews hopes the field will use the Web site as a means to share best practices. She said one force behind the Web site is to encourage technicians to submit good ideas about performing cost comparisons so technicians throughout DoD can learn from experience.

Prime contractor Arthur Andersen has been developing the site for the past year at a cost under $800,000.