PRIVATE SECTOR COUNCIL CRE ATING MOMENTUM IN CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

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T H E PA RT N E R S H I P F O R PU B LIC S E RVICE | PR IVAT E S ECTO R COU NCI L
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Private Sector Council would like to thank the following participants of the Acquisition Innovation pilot project for their contributions, insights, and demonstrated commitment to strengthening federal contract management.
TH E ACQU I S IT ION I N NOVAT ION PI LOT H A N D B O O K
FOREWORD
Today’s acquisition workforce is understaffed and overtaxed. It is responsible for managing procurement activities that have shifted in nature and financial obligations that have grown exponentially. Addressing the country’s needs in this area requires immediate and long-term action. Many agencies have already launched reforms, and these efforts are making a difference. But more change is needed—change that will enable our government to enhance its procurement activities now, without reversing the important progress already made. In late 2005, the Partnership for Public Service’s Private Sector Council (PSC) approached me to discuss their concerns about this matter. After countless conversations with federal and corporate officials at all levels and across several agencies, PSC recognized that the more immediate needs of the government’s acquisition community—needs critical to our country’s health and security—were either being overlooked or improperly addressed. Due to the heavily politicized nature of the matter, reactionaries have tended to use every allegation of deficiency or scandal—whether real or imagined—as an excuse to call for “reform” by way of stricter guidelines and more narrow rules. Unfortunately, this practice of “legislation by anecdote” risks turning back the clock on the significant progress that has already been achieved. Given the stakes, I was eager to work with PSC to facilitate a more promising solution. The experts that PSC convened for this purpose represent more than 500 years of procurement experience. Even more extraordinary is their recognition of the importance of this initiative: despite the hectic schedules that each participant juggles as a top level executives in the federal or private sector, they remained—and still remain—committed to this project’s success.
F E D E R A L AG E N C Y PA RT I C I PA N TS
Shay Assad, Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Department of Defense (DOD) Darlene Bullock, Contracting Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Robert Burton, Associate Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Carol Chan, Contracting Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Paul Denett, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) David Drabkin, Acting Assistant Commissioner for Acquisition, Federal Technology Service, General Services Administration (GSA) Elaine Duke, Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Barbara English, Director, Small Business Programs, Defense Contracting Management Agency (DCMA) Keith Ernst, Acting Director, Defense Contracting Management Agency (DCMA) Terri Everett, Senior Procurement Executive, Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
It was important to the gathered participants that this effort be pragmatic. Accepting and appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of the current situation, and pledging to work with what we have—rather than what we would ideally have—is what has separated this effort from others. Recognizing the reality that many of today’s contracts are likely to lack optimal and comprehensive planning on the front end, the group chose to provide program and contracting officials with the tools they need to effectively manage service contracts post-award. In this risk-averse and politically divisive environment, I am proud to have partaken in a truly collaborative and substantive discussion resulting in the material herein. It has been a pleasure facilitating this process, and I am eager to continue working with PSC and project participants throughout the pilot phase of this project. The focus of this effort is to get useful tools into the hands of federal project and contract teams. It represents a solution set built from the perspective of top acquisition officials who are convinced of the need for strong collaborative partnerships. I am confident that the work of this group represents the first step in meeting the needs of today’s government, and enhancing our government’s ability to better serve its customers—the American people. I want to thank the Private Sector Council and the Partnership for Public Service of which it is a part. I especially want to thank Dr. Barbara Male and Beth Landes for the preparation of this document. Finally, a very sincere thank you to the federal and private sector participants, whose continued commitment to this process has been unwavering, and whose intellectual capital is represented in the following pages.