GAO Reports Most Agencies Will Reduce Office Space in Coming Years
In a recent analysis, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the General Services Administration (GSA) intends to use the pandemic's impact on office space requirements to reevaluate the size and scope of the federal government's real estate portfolio. Through this juncture, GSA officials hope to make cost-effective decisions by tracking how frequently federal employees report to their office space and which parts of the facility employees utilize.
Among the 24 agencies that the GAO surveyed, 13 viewed the potentials data as helpful to their planning, as all expressed concern about the costs of collecting this data on their own, and 20 agencies noted that officials had little or no experience gathering space utilization data.
GAO pointed out that while GSA does not plan to disclose costs or benefits of the intended space utilization data, providing that information would be beneficial.
Additionally, GAO recommended that GSA create a plan for sharing data collected from its data collection efforts with federal agencies, regardless of whether they use GSA services. GSA agreed with the recommendation and said it would share what it had learned from gathering data.
GAO’s report follows a July directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to agency heads instructing them start thinking more concretely about how much and what kind of property will be necessary considering how work will be done in the future.
All federal agencies must develop and submit their office workspace plan to OMB and to GSA's Federal Real Property Council (FRPC) by December 16, 2022. The plans must cover fiscal years (FYs) 2024 through 2028.
OMB also referenced the President's Management Agenda (PMA), which emphasizes strengthening and empowering the federal workforce. The goal is to implement agencies' ideas for future work plans, while also positioning the federal government as a model employer and competitive with the private sector.
“For some agencies, on-site work will continue to be essential to mission,” GSA wrote. “Others will move toward a more distributed model, redirecting real estate costs toward technologies and services that empower the workforce.”
