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Frictionless federal acquisition? — It’s possible and a new online tool can help

One of the best questions that came up at the recent 2019 Imagine Nation ELC conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was during a panel on acquisition. It went something like this: If the Federal Acquisition Regulations are a Frankenstein monster of cobbled together rules and requirements, why not just start over?

A question many federal acquisition and program managers probably have asked themselves at least a dozen times a year.

While the 2,000 page FAR probably has some body parts that agencies could do without, there is no reason to kill the monster.

Meagan Metzger, founder and CEO of Dcode, which promotes the use of commercial technology in the public sector, said there are important concepts that the FAR promotes that every contracting officer or program manager needs to know.

Chris Hamm, the director of FEDSIM at the General Services Administration, offered a common refrain—the FAR lets you do almost anything, especially under Parts 8.4 and 12.

Then why are agencies and vendors alike so excited about Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) or Commercial Solution Openings (CSOs) as a way to avoid—get around—using the FAR?

New data from the Professional Services Council’s 2019 Vision Forecast found the Defense Department’s use of OTA’s mushroomed by 40% in 2018 over 2017 and some estimates say the Pentagon could spend as much as $7 billion through this approach in 2019.

GSA and the Department of Homeland Security also have begun using similar authorities.

GSA, for instance, has done eight awards under its CSO authority. Tom Howder, the acting deputy commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, said at the PSC event that 75% of the awards went to companies without a GSA schedule, meaning non-traditional contractors.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/11/frictionless-federal-acquisition-its-possible-and-a-new-online-tool-can-help/

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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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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/

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We’ve admired the federal acquisition problem for too long

Agencies must inculcate cultures of experimentation and learning if the U.S. is to prevail economically and militarily.

On a recent trip to Tampa, I asked a consultant on my team supporting U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Acquisition Technology & Logistics what accounts for the Command’s acquisition success. “It’s a mindset thing,” she replied.

Later that day, as I continued my visit to SOCOM’s contracting activity, I happened upon the essentials of that mindset. They were captured in an inscription painted on the wall in a heavily traveled hallway. It said:

“We never stop …
We never stop learning …
We never stop iterating …
We never stop experimenting …”

That mindset at SOCOM drives a culture born and sustained from the intensity of the mission and the close relationships, in proximity and bond of purpose, between special operators and the acquirers who support them. The tooth and the tail meld. The mindset is shared by all members of the team. It is expected of everyone. It pushes teams to find the best solutions at the speed of relevance.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/07/viewpoint-weve-admired-federal-acquisition-problem-too-long/158719/

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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/

 

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