The ‘Pilot IRS’ program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.
The IRS — like all federal agencies — is under several mandates to incorporate new and emerging technologies to improve its day to day operations and its mission of administering the nation’s tax code.
But the IRS doesn’t have a research and development office nor special acquisition authorities such as other transaction authority or a commercial solutions opening program. The IRS doesn’t even have funds allocated for R&D.
Instead, a team in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer used parts 12 and 13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to create Pilot IRS, a phased, incremental funding procurement vehicle that will let the agency test new technologies on faster timelines without added risk. If a solution fails to meet expectations, it won’t proceed to the next phase of funding.
Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/08/irs-doesnt-have-rd-shop-so-it-built-7m-procurement-vehicle-instead/158952/
Michael Wooten, the newly confirmed administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), pledged to be a strong supporter of 
That’s according to Lori Ruderman, Buy Smarter initiative lead and senior adviser at the HHS Program Support Center. 
While DoD spends billions annually on these defense agencies and DoD field activities to maintain business functions, it “does not comprehensively or routinely assess the continuing need” for them, according to a 
Jeff Lau, the acting regional commissioner for the Northeast and Caribbean region of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, says robotic process automation (RPA) could save the acquisition workforce from having to waste time on administrative “cutting and pasting” tasks.
“I’ve seen the workforce shrink over the last five-to-10 years. When I first started my career at GSA, there was a lot more opportunity to do training. Now we’re heads-down, doing the work, because if they’re not doing the work, who else is? I think there’s an opportunity for us to provide training with their freed-up time, to develop them into a more well-rounded acquisition workforce,” Lau said last week at an event sponsored by the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC).
