New procurement data system to debut at end of month

General Services Administration officials said Wednesday that a revamped system for providing access to information on federal prime contracts will be available to the public by the end of the year, as scheduled.

The system, known as Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation, is being developed by Global Computer Enterprises of Reston, Va., under contract with GSA.

GSA and GCE officials introduced the system during a public forum Thursday at the agency's headquarters in Washington. But they were unable to demonstrate many of its key features, because of technical glitches. Company and agency officials said FPDS-NG would be fully operational by Jan. 1, 2005.

When FPDS-NG comes online, it will contain 13 million records of agency contracting actions, dating back to 1979. The system will feature a series of standardized reports, along with a tool allowing users to create customized reports.

Eventually, all agencies are expected to implement online systems to update their contracting information in FPDS-NG continually. Progress in implementing such systems has varied from agency to agency, a GCE official said.

FPDS-NG ran into criticism earlier this year from firms that rely on procurement data information (including Eagle Eye Publishers Inc. of Fairfax, Va., which compiles the data used in Government Executive's annual Top 200 Federal Contractors issue). The companies alleged that GCE had too much control over the data and wanted to charge for access to it.

In August, GSA announced that the system would be free to the public. Firms that seek to repackage and resell the data can pay a $2,500 fee to GCE for real-time access to FPDS-NG records.

GSA officials emphasized Thursday that the new system will be self-service, and that employees would no longer be able to generate customized reports on agencies' contracting activities, as they have in the past. But, they said, GSA will retain control over the data contained in the system.