How to Work with the Government** for Fun and Profit

Today’s Talk An snapshot of where open source is being used in government today

Why government needs your skills (or is just about to find out they do)

Government government procurement systems nutshell including culture

A brief introduction to Hoops (as in the ones you’ll need to jump through)

Ideas that can get you working on government projects

Extra Stuff (no-cost options)

What’s Happing in Washington D.C.

What Big Federal Agency will be the first to do significant collaborative development

About the SpeakerDay Job: Public Sector Communities Manager / www.goscon.org director

Recovering TechnocratFormer State Deputy CIO

Independent Consultant to Ways & Means

Hopelessly Optimisticwww.democracylab.org

www.osdv.org

Your Volunteer Mentors* Public University System CIO

State of California Agency CIO

State of Oregon Agency CIO

Oregon State Infrastructure Manager

Virginia City IT Director

Oregon County CIO*Advise they would give anyone, open source or not.

Where is OSS in Gov 2Day?

Infrastructure - extensive

Database & back office systems, GIS, CMS,

Increasingly replacing legacy systems

Collaboration tools, wiki, blogs ( most in intranet) + vertical app dev

Why Government Work?

Once established, can provide a long term source of income.

Projects tend to move slower, provide greater workload flexibility.

Government agencies always pay their bills (even if eventually).

Add credibility to your client portfolio.

Why Not Government Work?

Long ramp to establish oneself as a contender

Formal RFPs can be challenging to respond to

Cost of doing business with may exceed your threshold

Procurements can be pulled back at any time

ProcurementGovernment is not monolithic.

Oregon Example:

135 agencies, boards and commissions

35 counties

250 Cities

Plus myriad special districts.

All Government Shares Common Values

Public, Open and Competitive

Equal access for all vendors to information

Equal consideration based on Objective Criteria

Increasing formality as costs increase

Most have no local preference by policy

Can prefer a minority business

Oregon Procurement System

http://orpin.oregon.gov/open.dll/welcome

Common Procurement Strategies

Personal Services Agreement

Low threshold (5K), limited use.

Competitive Pricing

Call around for three prices

Requests for Information (RFI)Trolling for better info to develop an RFP

Master Services / Regional Collaborative Contracts

Get Started Strategies Sign up for (fill in the blank) procurement notices

Go talk to someone who works for government

Get on approved vendor lists

Identify companies winning IT bids today and partner with them

If you have more money than time, hire a professional to get you started.

RFPs: What to Expect Merciless deadlines.

Ruthless rule-following.

Information Holes large enough to drive a motor-pool car through (but you get to ask questions).

No dickering with terms and conditions.

Safety Tips Read Solicitations Carefully

Read Solicitations Carefully.

Did I mention, Read Solicitations Carefully?

If you can’t stand reading long documents, pay a smart person to do it for you.

If you’re lucky enuf

Be flexible in your business model

Don’t let the scope creep

All the usual best practices to ensure you’re on track

Leave the organization behind you stronger

Wisdom from an Oregon State Agency CIO

“The best advice I can give to an independent contractor or small business ...is: sign up with the state's Managed Services Program.”https://oregon.nextsource.com

County CIO Wisdom1. Working with government agencies  is built on providing good  service and maintaining good personal relationships.

2. Establish a "flexible business model" and stay within your  parameters so you provide your clients good service within your  areas of expertise.

3. When contracting, develop clear project plans and stick to them to avoid scope creep and ensure that you get paid for your work.  But, provide a clear understandable process so that clients can  expand your project if needed.

Wisdom from a City IT Director

In my region, we have a collaborative procurement contract, about 10 localities participated in the RFP and we selected about 15 vendors to provide services at pre-negotiated rates in multiple disciplines.  Once that hurdle is overcome, the rest is relatively easy:  as baby boomers retire, some of their old skills we back-fill with contractors from the pre-negotiated list.

Deb wisdom - relationshipsBe respectful - could YOU do their job?

Be transparent

Ask for advice

Be helpful

Don’t buy lunch

Don’t spam, or contact during an official procurement process

Always deliver what you promise.

Crystal Ball: OpportunitiesLocal gov wants: Training!

OSS-savvy Project Management

Writing RFPs or grant requests intended to encourage OSS

Health IT, esp. Electronic Health Records

Public Safety/First Responders

data interop, GIS

Make us Proud!

Thanks!

Questions?

More info...Deborah BryantOregon State University Open Source Labemail: deb@osuosl.orgphone: 971.533.8050blog: www.bryantsblog.comOSL: www.osuosl.orgConference: www.goscon.org