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How 5 federal agencies fostered innovation

New report showcases initiatives including a procurement lab and virtual internship program. 
In “Risk and Reward: A Framework for Federal Innovation,” the Partnership for Public Service, in collaboration with Slalom Consulting, investigated innovative federal organizations and what made them successful.

Change can be difficult in the federal government, but some agencies are making headway on fostering innovation in the workplace and could serve as a model for others, according to a new report.

The nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Slalom Consulting, a firm that focuses on technology and business transformation, released a report on federal innovation at their first-ever federal innovation summit on Friday. They conducted interviews across 16 agencies and analyzed federal employee survey data to identify 10 characteristics that best foster innovation. Their report profiled five agencies that have used many of the characteristics to implement successful innovation initiatives.

“While innovative ideas are often stifled by a lack of leadership support, bureaucratic barriers and the absence of incentives and resources, there are many bright spots across the federal landscape,” the report stated. “There are agencies rising to the challenge — creating environments where new ideas are encouraged and are flourishing in areas dealing with national security, global development, health care, federal procurement and space exploration, among others.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2019/11/how-five-federal-agencies-fostered-innovation/161036/

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How a new acquisition approach is changing — and challenging — HHS

The Department of Health and Human Services has adjusted its approach to technology acquisition in order to keep pace in innovation.

In a moment when agencies across the government are grappling with how to adjust their acquisition framework to ensure they have the most advanced technology, HHS CIO Jose Arrieta said his agency has decided to approach acquisition by laying out its objectives first.

“We establish the way we want to interact and work with the contractor,” Arrieta said Oct. 30 at the Data Coalition’s GovDATAx conference.

Another key to the HHS approach has been taking “price off the table” and setting maximum awards ceilings for contractors. Then, the contractors can compete for the work.

HHS has been a leader in federal government in deployment of emerging technologies.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/cloud/2019/10/30/how-a-new-acquisition-approach-is-changing-and-challenging-hhs

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Army’s acquisition boss on artificial intelligence and the evolving procurement process

As the U.S. Army begins to replace its existing fleet with fresh platforms that will form a force capable of countering adversaries across multiple domains and theaters, the acquisition side of the house will face tough choices.
Army acquisitions chief Bruce Jette, center, receives a briefing on product improvements for cannon systems. (Photo credit: John Snyder, U.S. Army)

Defense News posed a variety of questions to Bruce Jette — Army acquisition chief — ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference to see what he’s thinking about when it comes to the evolution of the service’s procurement approach, including its relationship with Army Futures Command, which is tasked with modernizing the service.

A year ago you were developing a framework for how you, as the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, would interface with Army Futures Command. How has the framework evolved?

The framework for interfacing with Army Futures Command has evolved as we’ve identified unique, shared or overlapping responsibilities among stakeholders as well as sole responsibilities for each stakeholder.

The major muscle movements are: AFC has lead responsibility in the space between concepts creation and requirements definition, bringing “unity of command” to modernization organizations previously scattered across the Army. Unique to AFC is the responsibility to create concepts for how the Army will fight, and creation of the initial materiel requirement. AFC transitions to a critical supporting role after the concept and requirement refinement milestones, and is essential in collaborative efforts during acquisition activities leading to production. There are overlapping roles of capabilities to requirements throughout the development and procurement processes.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/ausa/2019/10/14/us-armys-acquisition-boss-on-artificial-intelligence-and-the-evolving-procurement-process/

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Make plans now for your professional development in 2020

By attending Georgia Tech’s hands-on, practical training, you will gain new expertise you can apply the day you return from class.

Staying up-to-date in the field of government acquisition is a challenge.  You can make a positive impact on your career by planning to attend courses now scheduled at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s world-class Global Learning Center in the coming year.  Course registration for 2020 is now open.

Featured courses include:

(Click on course titles for dates and registration details.)

  • Students attending Georgia Tech’s classes work in teams to tackle real-life contracting problems.

    FCN 190: FAR Fundamentals – Designed for both GS-1102 contracting personnel as well as aspiring government contractors, this 10-day course conveys basic knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), including how to apply the rules in order to make appropriate decisions at each step of the contracting process.  Curriculum supports the latest revisions to the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program.

  • CON 090-1: Contracting Overview of the FAR – Covers the identification of the basic principles of federal government contracting, including the structure and content of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency supplements.  Students learn how to locate, cite, and interpret regulations.
  • CON 090-2: Contract Planning in the FAR – Covers acquisition planning, market research, describing agency needs, the preference for commercial and non-developmental items, contract types, special contracting techniques, socioeconomic programs, special terms and conditions, contractor qualifications, and advertising requirements.
  • Our instructors are experienced acquisition professionals who share practical advice.

    CON 090-3: Contract Formation in the FAR – Covers policies and procedures for simplified acquisitions, sealed bidding as well as negotiated acquisitions, cost accounting standards, special contracting methods and emergency acquisitions, and the filing and handling of protests.

  • CON 090-4: Contract Administration in the FAR – Covers the fundamental concepts of contract administration including the handling of untimely or non-compliant performance, interpretation of clauses, contract modifications, payments, contract disputes and appeals, and complete or partial contract terminations.
  • CON 170: Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis – Conveys fundamental quantitative pricing skills, including seller pricing strategies, the Truth in Negotiations Act and how it mitigates government risk, application of Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) rules to negotiated contracts and subcontracts, and contract cost principles and procedures.  Covers cost-volume-profit analysis, contribution margin estimates, and cost estimating relationships.
  • Our students tell us our courses go far beyond check-the-box requirements.

    CON 243: Architect-Engineer Contracting – Focuses on contracting for architectural-engineering services, including acquisition planning, source selection, proposal analysis, contract award and work, and contract management. Specific topics and practical exercises convey knowledge of the Selection of Architects and Engineers statue, SF-330, the slate and selection process, the review of government estimates, liability, Title II services, modifications, and contracting officer’s technical representative responsibilities. 

  • CON 244: Construction Contracting – Focuses on contracting issues unique to construction, including acquisition planning, contract performance management, funding, environmental concerns, construction contract language, construction contracting in a commercial setting, the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute, design/build methodology, basic schedule delay analysis, constructive changes, acceleration, construction contract quality management, and more.
  • Government contracting officials and business executives sit side-by-side to learn acquisition practices.

    COR 206/222: Contracting Officer Representative and the Contingency Contracting Environment – Covers the role and responsibilities of the COR in contract administration, including contract planning support, contract awards, contract changes and modifications, monitoring performance, expenditures and schedules, and ethical situations and cultural differences a COR may experience while deployed in a contingency operation. 

Explanation of Certification Programs

Each Academy course title that contains the designation “CON” or “COR” is DAU-equivalent and satisfies both the FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs.  Coursework with the “FCN” designation is approved by the Federal Acquisition Institute and satisfies the latest FAC-C certification requirements. In addition, continuing education units (CEUs) are granted for these courses by the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Courses Available at Your Location

All Academy courses and workshops are available for instructor-led on-site engagements at your location. To discuss arrangements for your group, please email us at info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu.  We’ll be happy to provide you with details.

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New OFPP administrator seeks to reduce risks of federal contracting through AI, robotics

Michael Wooten became the 15th administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy about six weeks ago. More importantly, he became the first permanent head of federal procurement during the Trump administration.

In his first two public speeches last week, Wooten hit all the expected notes that an OFPP administrator is supposed to reach — building on existing efforts like category management, upskilling the workforce, unlocking technology to create innovation and harnessing acquisition data to turn it into business intelligence.

“There is a considerable alignment that supports what we are doing. This is a good time to be the administrator. There are a lot of people who are cheerleading, saying ‘go, go go and do things for us.’ It’s a good time to cut regulations that get in our way and I’m happy about that,” Wooten said at the Tech Trends conference sponsored by the Professional Services Council in Washington, D.C. “This is a good time to skill up the workforce. I have a mindset that we need to help the workforce shift to the right or use those human judgement skills as opposed to the rote stuff that software can do.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/09/new-ofpp-administrator-seeks-to-reduce-risks-of-federal-contracting-through-ai-robotics/

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