myth-busting | The Contracting Education Academy

September 18, 2017 By AMK

How DHS is thawing the industry-government deep freeze

The thaw in industry-government collaboration for acquisitions has yet to fully materialize. Even after more than six years since the first mythbusters memo from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the freeze at many agencies remains deep into the permafrost.

OFPP is planning a third mythbusters memo as part of its continuing effort to improve communication around acquisition.

But there are signs that the sheet of ice is starting to crack.

In 2017 alone, four agencies held reverse industry days — the IRS, the General Services Administration, the Homeland Security Department and the Defense Department — where they bring in contracting officers and other acquisition professionals to learn from industry.

DHS will host a third reverse industry day in October.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/09/how-dhs-is-thawing-the-industry-government-deep-freeze/

July 12, 2017 By AMK

4 agencies try to reverse years of industry-government communication tartar

Three memos trying to bust contracting myths weren’t enough. Neither was a proposed rule in the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

But maybe, just maybe, the Homeland Security Department has found a break in the wire that has stopped the government and industry from effectively talking about, sharing and solving problems.

DHS held its fourth Reverse Industry Day on June 28 in Washington, D.C. as part of its Acquisition Innovation in Motion (AIiM) initiative.

“I wanted to get the government in the audience and industry up [on stage] sharing their perspective. What drives them? What motivates them? How do they view our solicitations? Not for the purposes of critiquing, but for our learning, so we could understand their perspective, we could put ourselves in industry’s shoes and have a better conversation. We are making that progress,” said Soraya Correa, the chief procurement officer at DHS, during the recent ACT-IAC Management of Change conference. “I now have program managers who pick up the phone and say, ‘I’m not real sure. I think we should talk to industry, but I don’t have a solicitation. Can we do that?’ That’s a great question. I’m like, ‘Yes, let’s go. Let’s have a conversation.’ You don’t need a piece of paper, and in fact, you are better off, because there is nothing to protest.”

The concept of holding a reverse industry day slowly is becoming a popular way to break down these barriers in a way no other idea has before.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/06/4-agencies-try-to-reverse-years-of-industry-government-communication-tartar/

January 27, 2017 By AMK

OMB memo count: 31 over last 12 months, including 2 new ones

Government management never sleeps.

Even as the management side of the administration of President Donald Trump still is far from coming together, the Office of Management and Budget isn’t taking it easy awaiting the new political appointees.

OMB issued two significant memos last week — one addressing challenges around agency-vendor communications and the other updating agency requirements for how they respond to breaches of personal information.

These two are among a boatload of memos coming from OMB over the last year. In fiscal 2017, OMB has issued 12 memos. Over the last 12 months, the administration sent out 31 memos ranging from the mundane, like apportionment requirements for the continuing resolution, to those trying to make major changes, like to how the government buys technology and pays senior executives.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/01/omb-memo-count-31-last-12-months-including-2-new-ones/

January 11, 2017 By AMK

Why procurement officials shouldn’t fear debriefings

The White House has a strong message for the government’s buying officials: Talk to the companies that bid on a contract about why they did or didn’t win the award.

The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) recently released a “myth-buster” memo clearing up misconceptions about debriefing meetings, the post-award discussions often requested by unsuccessful vendors curious about why they weren’t selected.

Among common practices OFPP tried to bust: “If a company brings a lawyer, cut the discussion short.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/01/why-procurement-officials-shouldnt-fear-debriefings/134375

Read the OFPP’s Jan. 5, 2017 “myth busting” memo at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/procurement/memo/myth-busting_3_further_improving_industry_communications_with_effectiv….pdf

December 15, 2014 By AMK

Acquisition reform? Who says?

There is a lot of talk about the next generation of reforms and changes to the regimes of government acquisition policies, practices and culture.

But two stark examples emerged almost simultaneously in recent weeks that highlight just how far we have to go to create a federal acquisition system that is effective, efficient, responsive to the needs of customers, and enables access to the full array of capabilities the private sector can offer.

One example speaks directly to continued cultural challenges and the other to the mindset that drives far too much current policy and practice.

Let’s start with the culture. In a Nov. 7 article in Government Executive magazine, Kimberly McCabe, the CEO of ASI Government and Dan Chenok, the head of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, made a strong, thoughtful, and articulate case for thinking about acquisition in a holistic manner with an eye toward the realities of today and a very different future.

Moreover, their article outlined a new framework designed to describe and help measure organizational acquisition capabilities and maturity. And, perhaps most significantly, recognizing that the pressure for real, sustainable change has to come from within, the framework they outlined was largely the work of a group of federal acquisition and technology practitioners—from rising professionals to senior executives—they had convened.

Keep reading this article at: http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2014/12/05/insights-soloway-acquisition-reform.aspx

The thaw in industry-government collaboration for acquisitions has yet to fully materialize. Even after more than six years since the first mythbusters memo from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the freeze at many agencies remains deep into the permafrost.

Three memos trying to bust contracting myths weren’t enough. Neither was a proposed rule in the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Government management never sleeps.

The White House has a strong message for the government’s buying officials: Talk to the companies that bid on a contract about why they did or didn’t win the award.

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