Sometimes, government speak is almost unbelievable. Take, for example, the below e-mail that was recently sent to applicants to the Grant.gov system, a central application system for all federal government grantees.
Dear CCR Registrant:
Beginning on December 21, 2008 through July 01, 2009, all Central Contractor Registration (CCR) Primary and Alternate Points of Contact (POC) updating their CCR registrations will be instructed to convert their Trading Partner Identification Number (TPIN) login to a self-assigned User ID and Password.
This enhancement (i.e., Release 4.08.2.3) includes the option to invite or assign multiple Maintenance POCs. Maintenance POCs will also have the ability to access and update the registration. The CCR Primary and Alternate POCs may remove Maintenance POCs at anytime. NOTE: All email notifications generated by CCR will continue to be sent to the CCR Primary and Alternate POCs. No emails will be sent to the Maintenance
POCs.CCR Primary and Alternate POCs who manage multiple DUNS registrations will be able to associate those registrations to one User ID and Password.
CCR Primary and/or Alternate POCs must complete this action prior to July, 1, 2009. After July 1, 2009, you must contact the CCR Helpdesk at 1-888-227-2423. Dial 269-961-5757 for international calls for assistance or by internet at http://www.ccr.gov/contactccr.aspx.
Effective December 21, 2008, detailed instructions on how to change the DUNS/TPIN registration access to User ID and Password can be found at http://www.ccr.gov/FAQ.aspx#accounts.
Thank you,
The CCR Group
But perhaps more troubling is what government speak represents – a federal bureaucracy that is obsessed with process at the expense of product. While I believe that the next administration hopes and plans to improve this culture, it is a monumental task.