Since its formation in February 2009, the shape of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency (RAT) Board has been steadily coming into focus. This week, INPUT received new information on how the RAT Board will be funded and administered. This information provides industry with early insight into both the administration of the RAT Board and the possibility that business opportunities surrounding staffing and Information Technology (IT) support may be available in the coming weeks and months.

• Earl E. Devaney, former Inspector General of the Department of the Interior and Chairman of the RAT Board, has been given responsibility for creating the Board's administrative structure. Devaney has asked five staffers at the DOI OIG to follow him to the White House in order to provide senior administrative staff. It remains to be seen if additional administrative staff will accompany the other ten inspectors general who have been named to the RAT Board.
• Government sources tell INPUT that the RAT Board is in the throes of becoming a new Federal agency that ultimately answers to Vice President Joe Biden, the coordinator of economic stimulus efforts across the federal government.
• According INPUT's analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (see Initiative 296301 of the INPUT Economic Stimulus Suite), the RAT Board will receive $84 million in operational funding through September 30, 2011.
• Government sources also state that the General Services Administration (GSA) is currently in the process of finding office space for RAT Board administrators. Preliminary indications are that the office will be located near, but not in, the White House.
• INPUT has also learned that the first stage of RAT Board operations will be to hire or select Information Technology (IT) staff to boost the content and scale of the Recovery.gov website. New websites related to stimulus spending may also be created, but this remains uncertain.

Key Takeaways

• Staffing Support. As the RAT Board settles in, business opportunities may become available for human resources and/or staffing support companies to supplement the skeletal administrative staff. Staffing and HR support companies are therefore advised to keep a look out for opportunities in this area.
• IT/Web Design Support. Initial IT efforts at the RAT Board will focus on web design and development, which may translate into contract opportunities. Future opportunities also could present themselves if further IT infrastructure support is required to build out the office IT capabilities of RAT Board staff.
• GSA Schedules, Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), and Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts. With pressure mounting on the Obama Administration to quickly get stimulus spending into the economy, INPUT believes the RAT Board will likely procure any of its future requirements as quick moving Task/Delivery Orders through GSA Schedules, Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts GWACs, and/or through Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. Companies with access to these contract vehicles therefore should remain vigilant for RAT Board related opportunities. Information regarding top prime contractors for these vehicles can be found within INPUT's Task Order Product.

INPUT's Line of Economic Stimulus-Related Products

• Organizational Chart - Recovery Accountability and Transparency (RAT) Board
• INPUT Economic Stimulus Portal (Details on 340 discretionary spending initiatives totaling $311 billion)
• INPUT Economic Stimulus Analysis (Comprehensive Federal and State & Local Economic Stimulus Analysis Guides explore the areas of potential market opportunity that exist within the economic stimulus legislation)
• INPUT Economic Stimulus Reports Series (The economic stimulus report series delivers the tactical, actionable information you need to develop pursuit strategies for the contracting opportunities resulting from the economic stimulus legislation)