GSA creates office to help agencies meet ID card deadline
Office will provide end-to-end identity management services to participating agencies.
The General Services Administration launched an acquisition center Tuesday for agencies seeking help complying with an Oct. 27 deadline for issuing high-tech identity cards to employees and contractors.
The managed service office within GSA's Federal Acquisition Service will provide "turn-key" services to agencies seeking ID systems compliant with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The office will be responsible for all project, acquisition and financial management services necessary to provide an end-to-end ID system that complies with the presidential mandate.
But it will not take care of agency-specific responsibilities, such as integrating the ID program into back-office systems including human resources and finances, said John Sindelar, acting head of the GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy and a member of the governmentwide ID card executive steering committee.
The office will provide agencies with "relief from the burden of contractor oversight, financial management" and other responsibilities when needing to meeting requirements by "implementing something fairly quickly," Sindelar said. "The more [agencies] that we have participate in this shared service … the lower the price we will get."
"There may be other agencies that may be interested in buying the service [themselves], but if we can aggregate the demand through one office, we can get the better price," Sindelar said.
According to a memorandum of understanding agreement from the HSPD 12 managed service office, agencies using the service will pay a share of the office's annual operating budget, and fees for the physical location of the enrollment services and for each credential issued.
A month ago, the Office of Management and Budget released a list of certified products and services that meet previously established requirements for HSPD 12. Sindelar said more than 40 approved products have been placed on the list.
Agencies that need assisted services through GSA have until Aug. 30 to order HSPD 12-related services through the Federal Acquisition Service and have until Sept. 22 to order supplies, according to OMB.
The list of approved products does not yet include one in each category necessary under HSPD 12, but Sindelar said 10 companies providing integrated HSPD-12 services have been approved. As of Wednesday, three of those integrators were available for purchase on GSA's Schedule 70. This number will grow, Sindelar said.