The President's Council on Management Improvement initiated the CASU Program in 1985. The primary purpose was to cut administrative costs by reducing duplication of administrative support functions in field offices. The original focus was on multi-tenant federal buildings that had as many as 50 agencies operating separate mailrooms, copy centers, procurement offices, supply rooms, etc. Federal agencies voluntarily formed cooperatives to share many of these common administrative functions. A local Board of participating agencies set policy, agreed on services to be provided, approved the budget and charges for services, and provided general oversight for the CASU. A lead agency hosted the CASU staff and provided personnel, financial, and procurement support to the CASU. Developed during a period when government employees provided most of these administrative functions in-house, CASU savings were first achieved by consolidating mailrooms, combining labor and moving staffs, and centralizing high-volume photocopying into copy centers.
An increase in demand for new services led CASUs to expand their scope of operations. CASUs grew from serving single buildings to groups of buildings in a downtown location, then entire metropolitan areas, whole states, and even entire regions of the country. Meanwhile, economies of scale were achieved by combining customer requirements and shifting emphasis from providing services with in-house staff to a mixture of contracts and dedicated FTE. Federal downsizing accelerated the trend toward contract services. CASUs adjusted to market conditions and responded to trends.
As more CASU services are provided through the use of contracts, CASUs are able to extend their business reach beyond initial geographic areas. Partnering and other arrangements make it possible for CASUs to offer their services nationwide and overseas. Indeed, meeting a customer's needs often means providing services to a regional office and all of its posts of duty using a single agreement even though the customer may have specialized requirements at one or more sites. The customer may wish to utilize one contract for some locations, another contract for others. CASUs can and do give their customers this flexibility under one service agreement.
The range of services offered by CASUs continues to expand. They now have contracts and strategic partnerships that enable individual CASUs and consortia of CASUs to supply agencies with broad and varied product lines. CASUs provide these services with existing contracts or in partnership with other reimbursable government organizations. It has grown from a small, shared service network to a nationwide operation.