The Northern Virginia Technology Council, an industry group, presented its ideas for improving GSA.

The Council’s GSA Working Group offered a series of recommendations in a meeting with Administrator Lurita Doan and senior agency officials.

Administrator Doan expressed interest in the recommendations to establish a GSA website to provide information about procurement regulations and pending legislation; and for GSA to take the lead in promoting new technologies, including helping federal agencies adapt and align with new technology and establishing an acquisition center of excellence.

The Working Group leader is Stephanie Ambrose, Vice President of CGI.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is conducting a survey on the government’s use of reverse auctions.

OFPP chief Paul Denett urged acquisition officials to encourage participation in the survey. Congress ordered the office to determine what products are suitable for reverse auctions or other online procurements.

Agencies may award no-cost contracts for conference planning in cases where the contractor collects fees from sponsors, exhibitors and attendees, the Government Accountability Office ruled.

The Antideficiency Act prohibits generally prohibits federal agencies from accepting voluntary services, but GAO said the conference-planning arrangement is not a violation.

GAO pointed out that such no-cost contracts have been used since 1928, when the Federal Trade Commission allowed a stenography service to report its proceedings at no charge, and sell copies of the reports to the public.

GSA currently has no-cost contracts with real estate brokers who arrange office space for federal agencies and collect commissions from the landlords.

More than 4 million businesses are due to receive Economic Census forms this month. The census is conducted every five years to gather basic data about business activity. For details, go to www.census.gov/econ/census07/.

Claude Bolton, Army assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, has submitted his resignation, Army Times reported. He plans to leave Jan. 2 after six years on the job.

Molly Wilkinson, GSA’s chief acquisition officer, will become SBA’s chief of staff in January, the two agencies announced. Wilkinson stayed only eight months at GSA.