It’s a win-win: Small technology companies get easier access to the Federal Government’s nearly $77 billion information technology supply chain, providing a potentially critical revenue stream as they build their operations. And government agencies get to work with innovative small firms with solutions that can help make government agencies more efficient and streamlined.

The catalyst for these connections is an exciting new pilot project called RFP-EZ. And the results we are seeing from this program highlight what is possible when you unleash the power of American entrepreneurs.

RFP-EZ is a new and easy way for companies to learn about and compete for government contracts – in particular, small companies that lack the experience or administrative support generally needed to take full advantage of the Government’s Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the means by which many government contract offerings are presented to the business community. The RFP-EZ platform was developed jointly by Federal innovators working in the SBA and private-sector entrepreneurs serving temporary stints in the Federal Government through the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, launched by the U.S Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer team last year. Sharing their private- and public-sector insights, the team developed RFP-EZ as a simplified platform aimed at opening up the Government marketplace to a wider range of companies and saving taxpayer money.

Applying agile development principles, the Fellows team designed RFP-EZ over a six-month period, publishing the platform’s code openly on GitHub. The team then launched the pilot by posting five relatively simple website development and database contract offerings, four of which were also announced via the standard government portal, FedBizOps. On a per-project basis, bids received through RFP-EZ were consistently lower than those received through FedBizOps—19% to 41% lower, and over 30% lower on average. Bids made through RFP-EZ also showed less overall variation. In addition, during the pilot period, RFP-EZ attracted more than 270 businesses that until now had never approached the world of Federal contracting.

According to Office of Management and Budget’s IT Dashboard, the Federal Government will spend more than $1.4 billion on Web Infrastructure and Web Content Management Systems in FY 2014. Based on 2011 and 2012 results, we can expect about half of these projects to be under the $150,000 “Simplified Acquisition Threshold” that would make them eligible for contracting through RFP-EZ.

As we refine and expand the use of RFP-EZ, we are confident that its success will grow, delivering better value for taxpayers and opening new opportunities for small businesses.

Leveraging feedback we received from entrepreneurs and Federal contracting officers, the next class of Presidential Innovation Fellows will begin work on version 2.0 of RFP-EZ, which will focus on improving the platform, scaling its initial results across the Federal Government, and adding innovative new capabilities. If your business would like to participate, we encourage you to get started by setting up a profile on RFP-EZ today. To all the businesses that submitted proposals through RFP-EZ and everyone who has given us feedback on the project, thank you for helping to bring this new capability to life – and we very much look forward to the path ahead.

Thanks,

Todd

Todd Park
Chief Technology Officer
Office of Science and Technology Policy
The White House

Related articles

• RFP-EZ: A Case for Better Procurement (codeforamerica.org)

Infographic by Veracode Application Security

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• Matt’s Favorites: FIRST Robotics On DPTV, MTAM Director Published, And Lots More (detroit.cbslocal.com)

Take the new Developer Economics 10-minute survey and win prizes! Deadline to enter is November 5, 2012. http://www.visionmobile.com/DE13GoMobileMichigan.  Take 10 minutes to fill out the survey and enter a draw for great prizes including:  an iPhone 5, a Samsung Galaxy SIII, a Galaxy Tab 2, 2 x Nokia Lumia 920, Blackberry Dev Alpha and a 4G LTE Blackberry PlayBook.

Related articles

• Make Your Voice Heard – VisionMobile Developer Economics Survey 2013 (devblog.blackberry.com)
• [Survey] Developer Economics 2013: Best practices for app development & marketing (visionmobile.com)

“Top of mind for every business is increasing effectiveness of employees and especially increasing impact while in front of customers,” notes Coil Group co-founder Jim Brown. “Our sessions on mobile security and mobile application strategy are positioned to help organizations jumpstart their mobile initiatives to better compete and leverage smartphones and tablets in the workplace.”

IT leaders from mid to large firms are encouraged to attend the sessions. To register for Coil Group’s sessions please visit http://www.thecoilgroup.com/events/ or call Coil Group at 248-270-2645

About Coil Group: Coil Group is a professional services firm specializing in the design, build, adoption and management of enterprise-class tablet, smartphone and mobile web solutions. Coil transforms organizations looking to innovate and drive stakeholder value through the adoption of mobile and post PC solutions and work styles. Follow us online at www.thecoilgroup.com or on Twitter @CoilGroup.

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The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) today launched the App Privacy Icons – the newest feature of its App Trust Project.  These icons are part of a broad campaign to provide developers with resources to demonstrate easy-to-understand transparency about the privacy settings and features of their apps.

In the increasingly competitive world of mobile apps, savvy consumers are making purchasing decisions that include whether and how an app collects or shares information about them.  This industry-led measure – an eight-month collaborative effort by developer groups, designers, parents, and policymakers – provides consumers the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.  The icons provide simple yet informative transparency into the data collection and sharing practices of mobile apps, so that customers can quickly assess the apps they want to buy.

http://AppTrustProject.com

In addition to continuing the development of the privacy icons, ACT will be developing open-source code for developers to use in their apps and will be leading a campaign to promote these tools through social media, developer events, and advertising.

“Developers need a simple way to communicate to customers about data collection and sharing practices,” said ACT Executive Director Morgan Reed. “The App Privacy Icons help convey that information in an easy-to-read display customized for the small screens of mobile devices. Ultimately, this is about communicating trust and value to customers in a manner that embraces the massive shift underway to smartphones and tablets.”

Related articles

• Mobile privacy concerns spawn the App Trust Project (fiercedeveloper.com)
• Mobile privacy fears spawn App Trust Project (fiercemobilecontent.com)
• Lawmaker pushes mobile privacy legislation (techworld.com.au)
• Mobile privacy concerns spawn the App Trust Project (fiercewireless.com)
• Survey: How Mobile Device Users Protect Their Privacy With Mobile Apps (ivebeenmugged.typepad.com)
• Feds probe mobile app privacy safeguards (computerworld.co.nz)

When:  Tuesday, November 13, 2012; 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where:  Schoolcraft College, VisTaTech Center; 18600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI  48152
Fee:  $25
Corporate Sponsor:  Huntington Bank

Buyers Invited to Attend:

• Department of Veterans Affairs
• GSA
• MDOT
• Michigan Department of Technology Management and Budget
• NASA Glenn Research Center
• NAVAIR
• Oakland County
• Selfridge Air National Guard Base
• TACOM
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Wayne County Airport

Other Resources Available at the Event:

• SBA
• PTAC
• MI-SBTDC
• SCORE
• VetBizCentral
• MEDC
• CEED
• Plante Moran

To Register:

Go to https://webadvisor.schoolcraft.edu
Click on Continuing Education (non-credit)
Click on “Register and Pay for Continuing Education Classes”
Insert appropriate CES (CES 1568) or Section Number (940737)

Credit card payment is required when registering on the Web. Call 734-462-4426 with any registration questions.

Seal of the United States Federal Trade Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carl Franzen, TPM IdeaLab, September 5, 2012

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is concerned that amid the booming industry of mobile device applications, some app makers could be leaving consumers confused or in the dark when it comes to app privacy options, or worse, deliberately misleading customers.

So on Wednesday, the FTC released a new six-page set of guidelines for apps developers called “Marketing Your Mobile App,” which the agency says is designed to help them “comply with truth-in-advertising standards and basic privacy principles.”

In the document, the FTC threatens app makers with fines for violating existing privacy and truth-in-advertising laws: “Laws that apply to established businesses apply to you, too, and violations can be costly,” it reads.

The FTC goes on to note: “Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Every app is different. Still, there are some general guidelines that all app developers should consider.”

The FTC proceeds to list nine specific provisions for what it wants app makers to begin doing, if they aren’t already. The provisions are broken up into “Privacy” and “Truthful Advertising” categories. They read as follows:

Truthful Advertising

1. Tell the truth about what your app can do.

2. Disclose key information clearly and conspicuously.

Privacy

3. Build privacy considerations in from the start.

4. Be transparent about your data practices.

5. Offer choices that are easy to find and easy to use.

6. Honor your privacy promises.

7. Protect kids’ privacy.

8. Collect sensitive information only with consent.

9. Keep user data secure.

The last two items are timely, given that on Monday, someone claiming to be affiliated with the hacker collective Anonymous published what appear to be authentic identifying numbers of one million Apple mobile devices, which the self-described hackers said came from a hacked FBI laptop.

Apple, the FBI and an app maker all denied that the numbers were leaked by their hands, though the FBI’s denial specifically said “we have no evidence” to believe that the agency was involved.

The FTC’s new guide book is timely for another reason: The Pew Research Center’s Pew Internet Project on Wednesday published the findings of a new study it undertook this past Spring of a group of 2,254 adults cell phone users it said represented 38 percent of the adult population.

Of the sample group, Pew said that “54 percent of app users have decided to not install a cell phone app when they discovered how much personal information they would need to share in order to use it,” and another 30 percent uninstalled apps they had downloaded before after becoming uneasy about the personal information said apps were collecting and sharing about the phone owners.

Clearly, American phone users are concerned about their privacy when using apps, as is the FTC. The question is: Will app makers get the message? And even if they do, what will they do about it?

CTIA, a lobbying organization that represents the nation’s large wireless carriers and other communications infrastructure companies, gave the following statement to TPM regarding the FTC’s new guidelines:

“CTIA supports the FTC’s ‘Marketing Your Mobile App’ Guidelines. These Guidelines are based on the FTC’s well-established Fair Information Practices, which have also been covered for several years in CTIA’s Wireless Consumer Code and Location Based Service Guidelines. Whether it’s around consumers’ privacy, including kids and COPPA to disclosing information clearly and conspicuously, CTIA has been and will continue to be strong advocates and supporters of these practices.”

A CTIA spokesperson also told TPM that CTIA and some of its members had been in touch with the FTC about mobile industry practices in general.

“The FTC has included CTIA and its members in its workshops and other activities involving mobile applications, and CTIA has shared the wireless industry’s consumer best practices with the FTC,” CTIA’s spokesperson said.

It’s also worth noting the FTC, which recently fined Google $22.5 million over breaching a privacy agreement in the largest ever single fine of its kind from the agency, has also recently been accused of lacking the tools and will to effectively penalize companies that infringe user privacy. For example, in the case of Google, the company paid the fine but did not admit to any violation. Still, the FTC adamantly denies that it is toothless.

Late update: An FTC spokesperson told TPM that the guidelines were drafted by the agency’s bureau of consumer protection and although the CTIA has been in contact with the agency generally, they did not have direct input onto these specific guidelines. The story has been updated to clarify this.

The FTC’s spokesperson also pointed out that the agency could levy a $16,000 fine for every violation of COPPA, or the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act committed by any company or app-maker (the FTC also recently opened its proposed revisions for COPPA up to public comment), and larger fines for misbegotten gains from sales of deceptive apps.

“When we consider any app that’s part of an ecosystem, we look at all the players,” the spokesperson told TPM. “Just because you’re small or your entity is new doesn’t mean you’re not part of the same system and subject to the same legal standards as everyone else.”

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Carl Franzen is TPM Idea Lab’s tech reporter. He used to work for The Daily, AOL and The Atlantic Wire. He’s never met a button that didn’t need to be pressed. He can be reached at carl@talkingpointsmemo.com.

Related articles

• FTC Publishes Guide to Help Mobile App Developers Observe Truth-in-Advertising, Privacy Principles (bespacific.com)
• The Federal Trade Commission has published a guide to help mobile application developers observe truth-in-advertising and basic privacy principles when marketing new mobile apps. (ftc.gov)