efficiency | The Contracting Education Academy

October 28, 2019 By cs

How ‘night court’ will impact the Pentagon’s acquisition office

When U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper launched a review this summer of the departmentwide offices known as the “fourth estate,” he made it clear that everything, including cuts to programs and personnel, were on the table.

Two months into that review, clear themes have emerged, according to Pentagon acquisition head Ellen Lord: Esper isn’t looking to cut just to cut, and if offices aren’t tied directly into war-fighting needs, they may no longer belong in the Department of Defense.

Speaking on a panel at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference last Monday, Lord said several of her offices, including the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Defense Acquisition University, have gone through the review process.

“What we’ve seen there is more, perhaps, a pushing back of certain functions to either services or to intel,” Lord said. “Where I’ve seen a question of actually cutting the workforce is non-true DoD missions. As we’ve gone through a lot of the different areas, if it isn’t war fighting, if it’s something that one of the other agencies or the other departments across government has asked us to do, or if it’s something that should be a function of another department because it’s not about lethality, it will get cut.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2019/10/15/how-night-court-will-impact-the-pentagons-acquisition-office

September 24, 2019 By cs

Trump’s top acquisition official outlines priorities

Michael Wooten, the new administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), wants contracting professionals to meet 21st-century tech challenges head-on.

**Dr. Michael Wooten was confirmed by the Senate as Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy on Aug. 1, 2019.**

Confirmed by the Senate in August, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Michael Wooten laid out a set of tech-heavy priorities Monday as he prepares to shape the way agencies buy goods and services.

In remarks made at a conference hosted by the Professional Services Council, Wooten said modernizing the policies that govern approximately $550 billion in annual spending represents a “huge opportunity,” but one government cannot undertake on its own.

Rather, it will require an educated, empowered acquisition workforce partnering with industry to provide an abundance of commercial technologies to a rapidly-changing federal government, Wooten said.

“The technological promise of the future is unparalleled and the acquisition world needs to be ready,” Wooten said. “I see modernizing the system as a huge opportunity, and one I need [industry’s] help in doing.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2019/09/trumps-top-acquisition-official-outlines-priorities/159910/

August 12, 2019 By AMK

IRS doesn’t have an R&D shop, so it built a $7 million procurement vehicle instead

The ‘Pilot IRS’ program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.

The IRS — like all federal agencies — is under several mandates to incorporate new and emerging technologies to improve its day to day operations and its mission of administering the nation’s tax code.

But the IRS doesn’t have a research and development office nor special acquisition authorities such as other transaction authority or a commercial solutions opening program. The IRS doesn’t even have funds allocated for R&D.

Instead, a team in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer used parts 12 and 13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to create Pilot IRS, a phased, incremental funding procurement vehicle that will let the agency test new technologies on faster timelines without added risk. If a solution fails to meet expectations, it won’t proceed to the next phase of funding.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/08/irs-doesnt-have-rd-shop-so-it-built-7m-procurement-vehicle-instead/158952/

August 9, 2019 By AMK

Trump Administration finally has a top procurement administrator

Innovation, cost efficiency, cybersecurity protections, small business partnerships and category management are all on Michael Wooten’s agenda.

Michael Wooten, the newly confirmed administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), pledged to be a strong supporter of President Trump’s management agenda as he sets the procurement policies and priorities for the federal government.

He is the first confirmed OFPP head since the departure of Anne Rung in September 2016. Wooten said he plans to focus on innovation, cost efficiency, cybersecurity protections, small business partnerships and category management, among other things.

During his confirmation hearing on May 7, Wooten laid out his vision for the role: “I believe that acquisition goodness can be best achieved by supporting the president’s management agenda.”

Wooten said he will work to institutionalize category management, support small business partners, improve major acquisitions, spark innovation and lead the acquisition workforce. His three-plus decade career has mainly been in procurement and acquisitions.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/08/trump-administration-finally-has-top-procurement-administrator/159014/

February 8, 2019 By AMK

HHS is transforming acquisition with automation

The Health and Human Services Department is looking to improve its acquisition processes and redundancies in departmentwide contracting by putting emerging technologies behind its data and the $24 billion it spends in goods and services each year.

That’s according to Lori Ruderman, Buy Smarter initiative lead and senior adviser at the HHS Program Support Center. Buy Smarter is how HHS is reimagining and transforming purchasing by adopting tech like artificial intelligence and analyzing department requirements on spend data to achieve lower prices and consolidate contract vehicles and requirements with HHS and, eventually, across the government.

“Buy Smarter is an innovative opportunity for HHS to … look at our category management, break down some stovepipes and consolidate our requirements across the board,” Ruderman said at the Jan. 29 AFCEA Health IT Summit in Bethesda, Maryland. Because within HHS, all its different operational and staff divisions buy many of the same items on separate contracts, duplicating efforts.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.governmentciomedia.com/hhs-transforming-acquisition-automation

When U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper launched a review this summer of the departmentwide offices known as the “fourth estate,” he made it clear that everything, including cuts to programs and personnel, were on the table.

Michael Wooten, the new administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), wants contracting professionals to meet 21st-century tech challenges head-on.

The ‘Pilot IRS’ program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.

Innovation, cost efficiency, cybersecurity protections, small business partnerships and category management are all on Michael Wooten’s agenda.

The Health and Human Services Department is looking to improve its acquisition processes and redundancies in departmentwide contracting by putting emerging technologies behind its data and the $24 billion it spends in goods and services each year.

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