PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
July 2014
593
U.S. General Services Administration
(GSA) Procurement Vehicle
The GSA provides a purchasing vehicle, the
Federal Supply Schedule, for the procure-
ment of CGMP from providers registered
under the program. These CGMP may
include COTS software, data, and prod-
uct support as defined within the sched-
ule. These CGMP can be procured under
standard, agreed and structured Terms
and Conditions provided under GSA. In
addition, the GSA procurement vehicle
provides a pre-approved rate structure be-
tween GSA and the provider, to ensure a
consistent CGMP price to the federal user
agency or authorized federal contractor.
Caution must be exercised in the acqui-
sition of contracted professional geospatial
services as such professional services are
prohibited by law from being offered or
sold through GSA schedule contracts. The
GSA may be used for products such COTS
CGMP and product support items only.
Contractors Authorized to Use GSA
Federal employees, agencies, or authorized
federal contractors have access to the GSA
procurement vehicle for federal projects. AS-
PRS recommends that contracting officers
refer to FAR 51.101 regarding the authori-
zation for contractors to use Federal Supply
Schedule contracts in the performance of
government cost-reimbursement contracts.
VI. Summary: Procurement of
CGMP
This section outlines definitions related to,
and examples of, Commercial Geospatial
Mapping Products (CGMP). Federal, state
and local government agencies, research-
ers, private entities and other organizations
can use this information to help determine
the best approach and methodology for pro-
curing CGMP. The intent of the informa-
tion in this section is to characterize CGMP
deliverables and criteria to consider when
evaluating the procurement of geospatial
products. Not addressed in this section
are procurement of geospatial professional
services, hardware, software, or technical
services with the exception of their mention
in order to distinguish them from the items
covered herein.
Appendix 1: Comparison of Professional Services, Products
and Product Support
Comparison of Services, Products and Product Support Services (Adapted from
MAPPS Products vs. Service Matrix,
)
OFFERING
CHACTERISTICS
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PRODUCT
PRODUCT SUPPORT
Level of
Standardization
Dynamic
In consultation with
the Client, Provider
exercises professional
judgment in developing
the appropriate level
of standards needed to
meet the Clients’ project
specific requirements and
expectations.
Static
Product standards are
solely determined and
defined by the Provider
and are not subject to
change by the Customer.
Static
Product support standards
are solely determined
by the Provider and
documented in a license
agreement.
Specifications
Established by Client
with critical input from
a professional service
Provider. Specifications
are clearly defined in
contract documents.
Established solely by
Provider and are not
subject to change by the
Customer. Specifications
may not be clearly
defined.
Established solely by
Provider.
Ownership
Client owns the
contracted project
deliverables while
Provider may retain
ownership of resulting
work documents such
as notes, computations,
and records related
to the development of
the contracted project
deliverables.
Provider retains
ownership of the data
that is offered under a
non-exclusive license
to individuals, private
organizations, and
government agency
Customers.
Product support may be
offered by the Provider to
fulfill Product warranties
and are defined in
licensing agreements.
Non-computational data
reformatting requested
by a Customer, may or
may not be owned by
Customer.
Certification/
Warranty
Must meet clearly defined
contractual accuracy
requirements and sealed
by a licensed or certified
professional.
Provider is not required certify that the Product will
meet the Customer’s needs. Customer is solely
responsible for quality control and for verifying that
the product will meet the Customer’s specifications
and expectations. Product warranties are documented
in the Providers’ license.
Protection of Public
Welfare
Professional liability
applies. Licensed
professionals have meet
the qualifications criteria
as defined by professional
licensing boards who’s
primary mission is to
protect the public’s
health, safety, and well
fare by only licensing
qualified individuals.
Product liability applies. Provider is responsible for
ensuring product(s) meet Provider’s documented
specifications. Customer is responsible for identifying
and evaluating the risk to the publics’ health, safety
and welfare that may result directly or indirectly from
the use of commercially available products.
Procurement
Method
Qualification-Based
Selection Competitive
procurement process
established by the US
Congress as part of the
Brooks Act. Procuring
entity evaluates submitted
qualifications and selects
most highly qualified firm.
Scope of work, schedule,
budget, and fee are
negotiated.
Best Value
Price and other key
factors can be considered
in the evaluation and
selection process.
Best Value
Price and other key factors
can be considered in the
evaluation and selection
process.
Price
Negotiated between
Provider and client
based on the level of
effort required to prepare
the deliverables to be
provided using pre-
approved rates. May be
contracted as fixed price
or as cost plus fixed fee.
Published unit pricing.
Total price is determined
by multiplying the
number of units to be
purchased by the catalog
price per unit.
Based on published
catalog or market prices.
