Implementing Acquisition Policy
Reform in the Face of the
Acquisition Workforce Deficit
Breakout Session #710
Christopher J. Zember
Deputy Director, DoD Information Analysis Centers
July 21, 2010
10:00 – 11:15
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Agenda
• Background
• 3 Interdependent Components
– Acquisition Policy Reform
– Acquisition Workforce Development
• Government
• Industry
– Program Execution
• Path Forward
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Background
• My background: an outside perspective
– Strategy, BPR, PgM, information sharing
(Intel Community)
– Intro to NCMA at 2009 WC
• This session
– Overview
– Why this topic?
• Chasing the pendulum
• Operational imperatives
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Three Interdependent
Components
• Acquisition Policy Reform
• Acquisition Workforce Development
• Program Execution
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Acquisition Policy Reform
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Impact of Recent Changes on
Interdependent Components
• January/February 2009: three pro-labor Executive
Orders affecting federal procurement processes
– IMPACT: deploy procurement resources to achieve policy
objectives (vice focus on workforce capabilities to meet
operational mission requirements)
• March 2009: memo on Government Contracting
– IMPACT (reduce outsourcing): affects skill mix, cost, and
workload across the board
– IMPACT (minimize cost-reimbursement contracting): new
skills required for contracting and program personnel
(requirements generation)
– IMPACT (increase competition): affects processes,
timelines, workload, required skills, and cost
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Impact of Recent Changes on
Interdependent Components
• July 2009: memos on implementing March guidance
– Added guidance on managing contractor performance data
• IMPACT: required skills, contractor behavior, cost
• October 2009: EO on green procurement
– IMPACT: required skills, timelines, acq strategy, cost
• November 2009: EO on improper payments
– IMPACT: required skills, processes, cost
• April 2010: inherently governmental defined
– IMPACT: workload distribution, skills, timelines
• BOTTOM LINE: policy changes have intentional and
unanticipated consequences for both acquisition
workforce and program execution
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Acquisition Workforce Development
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Statistics and Trends We All
Know by Heart
• 1980s: over 460,000
government acquisition
professionals
• Primary focus: MDAPs
• 2000s: reduced to 230,000
government (126,000 DoD)
acquisition professionals
• Shifting focus: from
MDAPs to IT and services
• 2015: projected increase to
147,000 DoD acquisition
professionals
• Primary focus: IT and
services contracting
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Acquisition Workforce
The Government Side
The government acquisition workforce is “overworked, under-trained, and
underappreciated.” Karen Manos, in Schooner & Berteau, Emerging Policy
and Practice Issues (2009)
• Existing legislation supports the development of the federal
acquisition workforce
– DAWIA, Special Projects Acquisition Team (FY2003 Authorization
Act), Workforce Development Fund (FY2008 Authorization Act),
Career Path (FY2009 Authorization Act, DAR Report), Human
Capital Plans
– DAU’s Rapid Deployment Training, agency-specific internship and
mentoring programs
• Recommendations and proposed legislation further seeks to
bolster the workforce
– DAR Report, IMPROVE Act, House Bills (Acquisition Workforce
Improvement Act & FAI Improvement Act)
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Acquisition Workforce
Contractor Support
“Without contractors, our military simply cannot project its technical superiority
abroad.” - Steve Schooner, Federal Contracting and Acquisition: Progress,
Challenges, and the Road Ahead
• Tracking new and proposed rules
– Numerous sources (White House, DoD, Congress, FAR/DFARS,
case law, GAO, agency guidance)
– Opportunity for preview and comment limited
– Difficult for Large Businesses; prohibitive for Small Business
• Impact: identified need to establish training programs that
teach staff to adapt (core technical competencies + agility,
critical thinking)
• Impact: increases risk, decreases innovation, increases cost
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Acquisition Workforce
Is It Just About the Numbers?
“Agencies must also have the right people with the right skills to successfully
meet the increasingly complex demands expected in the future.”
“When workforce reductions do not consider future needs… the result is a
workforce that is not balanced with regard to experience and skill sets.”
(GAO-03-443)
• Initial focus of the current Administration on
changing the rules, then increasing numbers
– Recent legislation redirects focus back to skills
development
• IMPROVE Act
• Sen Collins’ 2 bills: Master’s/Intern program and Federal
Acquisition Institute enhancement/realignment
• Impact on existing workforce and on policy/mission
execution of adding new acquisition staff
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How Will the Acquisition Workforce
React to Policy Changes?
• Performance-based service contracting established
performance measurements for contractors
• Recent studies recommend establishing
performance measures for acquisition workforce
– Steve Kelman suggests that “rather than transforming,
learning, and challenging themselves,” they may hunker
down and stay out of trouble
• Will the workforce be expected to adapt by simply
“working more hours,” as an internal memo
indicated in association with the Recovery Act?
• What will we measure?
– Achieving objectives/goals; or
– Achieving value (Schooner: “customer satisfaction”)
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How Will Policy Makers React to
Workforce Challenges?
“Initial rounds of downsizing were set in motion without
considering the longer term effects on agencies’ performance
capacity” (GAO-01-753T)
• What’s changed since 2001?
– IMPROVE Act
– Other legislation
• Role of Functional Leads / Functional IPTs
• What if we don’t succeed in developing the needed
skills to implement the latest policy changes?
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Workforce Development is
Linked to Policy Success
• GAO found that the lack of proper workforce
development led to increased risk, converse to the
intent of introducing such streamlined purchase
methods as GWACs, purchase cards, etc. (GAO-03443)
• Failed implementation leads to more change
(feedback loop… chasing the pendulum)
• We need to maintain an operational focus
– “Meeting the warfighter’s needs in a timely manner is a
primary task of the government” (Guy Ben-Ari, CSIS,
Addressing Concerns About US Foreign Policy
Outsourcing)
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Program Execution: A Case Study
DoD’s Information Analysis Centers
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IAC Role
Building on R&E for Immediate Impact
• IACs serve as a ready tool for strategic, operational and
tactical organizations within DoD and the broader
community
– Invest up-front in discovering and covering areas of strategic
and tactical importance (IAC Basic Centers of Operations)
• Scope of IACs represents current and emerging areas of DoD
interest
• Combat and enable strategic surprise by trend analysis and
capacity building
• Enable rapid response by proactive knowledge development
– Data: Scientific and Technical Information (STI) repository
– Information: IAC products / responses to technical inquiries
– Knowledge: access to SME network (govt, industry, academia)
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IAC Role
Building on R&E for Immediate Impact
– Customer-funded efforts build on knowledge to provide an
efficient vehicle for rapid response (IAC Technical Area Tasks)
• Builds on the work done by the Basic Centers of Operations
• Enables collaboration between researchers and operational staff
to provide timely and relevant support
• Promotes cutting-edge concepts to reduce cost and risk, and
increase the speed at which we deliver technical capabilities
– Integrate knowledge base and customer-funded work to
provide increased value in a time of shrinking budgets and
growing requirements
• Provide tactical relevance by responding to an immediate need
• Develop strategic capabilities by analyzing trends and
recommending improvements to the acquisition community
• IACs are a valuable resource for accessing evaluated
STI culled from efforts to solve new and historic
challenges
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IACs serve as a bridge between the
Warfighter and the Acquisition Community
IACs
Acquisition Community
Steering
Committees
Warfighter
IAC PMO
(DTIC)
• Trend analysis
• Recommendations
• Input to material
solutions, TTPs
• Data access
• Rapid solutions
• Tech data &
analysis
• STIPLs
• Tech Inquiries
• Data (e.g., aircraft
shoot down forensics)
• R&D objectives
• Emerging requirements
• Collaboration on solutions
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IAC Contract Construct
Significant Policy Changes
• Current contract structure
– Single Award
– ID/IQ
– 10-year length (3-year base / 4-year option / 3-year option)
• 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 843
– Limitations on single award contracts
– No single award IDIQ contracts exceeding $100M w/o Head of Agency written
approval
– IAC contracts will not be able to obtain exemption
– Enhanced competition for orders in excess of $5M
– Provide all offerors “fair opportunity” to be considered
• Verbal guidance from DPAP on additional limitations
– No more than 5-year length
– “Strong preference” for annual options
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IAC Program Way-Ahead
Revised Contract Construct
Current Structure
Single-award IDIQ contract for
all requirements for each IAC
AMMTIAC
Core & TATs
CBRNIAC
Core & TATs
CPIAC
Core & TATs
DACS
Core & TATs
IATAC
Core & TATs
MSIAC
Core & TATs
RIAC
Core & TATs
SENSIAC
Core & TATs
SURVIAC
Core & TATs
WSTIAC
Core & TATs
Single contracts covering Core functions in the following areas:
Way-Ahead
∙ Advanced Materials
∙ Advanced Energy Sources
∙ Biometrics
∙ CBRN Defense
∙ Chemical Propulsion
∙ Cultural Studies
∙ Data, Software
∙ Directed Energy
Single-award contract for the
IAC Core requirements
Multiple-award IDIQ
contracts for TATs
∙ Information Assurance
∙ Knowledge Management
∙ Medical
∙ Modeling & Simulation
∙ Reliability
∙ Sensor Technology
∙ Survivability/Vulnerability
∙ Weapons Systems Technology
Homeland Defense TATs
Software Analysis
Defense Systems
TATs
Homeland Security & Defense
Information Assurance
Weapons Systems
Critical Infrastructure Protection
Information Sharing
Survivability
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Knowledge Management
Vulnerability
CBRN Defense
Modeling & Simulation
RMQSI
Biometrics
Directed Energy
Medical
Non-kinetic Energy
Cultural Studies
Advanced Materials
Advanced Sources of Energy
SNIM TATs
Some existing coverage
New Area for IACs
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Challenges to Success
• New contract construct adds complexity
– Rapid succession of new contract awards
– Introduction of SBs into prime positions on IAC contracts
– Likely expansion of companies competing for IAC Task
Orders
– Acquisition reform: new rules, frequent changes, high
visibility
• Workforce not aligned with policy requirements
– Workforce shortages (#s and skillsets)
– Lack of experience with awarding and administering
Multiple Award Contracts
– Risk aversion due to increased scrutiny
• More time, less innovation…
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Overcoming Obstacles to
Achieve Policy Intent
• Partner with existing stakeholders in government,
industry, and academia to develop way ahead
• Identify and involve new stakeholders
– Both potential new customers and potential offerors on new
contracts
– Buy-in + new ideas / outside perspective
• Leverage operational focus: direct benefit to
warfighter
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Path Forward
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Utopia: Ideal Improvements
to the Process
• Imbed considerations of workforce
skills in policy making
– Consider time/effort/risk of developing
required skills
– Utilize recently proposed performance
measures to assess
• Ensure workforce development
happens before policy implementation
– Strengthen FL / FIPT
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Let’s Get Real
• Your thoughts on how this will play out
– DAR Panel recommendations?
– IMPROVE Act or other proposed
legislation?
• Measuring performance and reinforcing
accountability
• Acquisition curriculum, internships, SMEs,
mentorship, etc.
– Should we brace ourselves for another
262 studies over the next 24 years?
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What Skills Does our
Acquisition Workforce Need?
• Where does the pendulum swing next?
• How do we (or do we) ever catch it?
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What Skills Does our
Acquisition Workforce Need?
AT&L Human Capital Strategic Plan: top priority is maintaining
a “high performing, agile, and ethical workforce”
• How do we teach agility?
–
–
–
–
–
Mentorship
Operational focus
Forward planning
Soft skills
Transferrable competencies
• Let’s stop chasing the pendulum
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Contact Info
Christopher Zember
Deputy Director, DoD IACs
Email: czember@dtic.mil
Office: 703-767-9235
Mobile: 571-236-6135
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