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January 6, 2017 By AMK

Memo to the President: Recommendations for performance and results in procurement

The federal government spends on the order of $450 billion a year buying goods and services—about 40 percent of federal discretionary spending. 

memos-to-the-president-01-2017Following are three recommendations for improving the performance and results of the procurement system:

  1. Develop more information about contract performance
  2. Pivot to the post-award stage
  3. Expand forms of contracting that pay for success

For details, see: http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/12/memo-president-performance-and-results-procurement/134173

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, acquisition workforce, contractor performance, efficiency, government reform, performance based acquisition, post-award, procurement reform

June 28, 2016 By AMK

Outcomes matter more than ever in services contracting

The second habit of Steven Covey’s influential and long-lived book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is “begin with the end in mind.”  

This is the fundamental tenet of outcome-oriented acquisition and its associated methodology, “The Seven Steps to Performance-Based Acquisition.”

7 Steps to Performance Based Acquisition

Performance-based acquisition is central to defense and civilian agency initiatives to improve the outcomes of the 63 percent of federal procurement spending that goes to acquire services, some $283 billion of the $447 billion in procurement in fiscal 2014.

For example, the Seven Steps are the foundation of the new Defense Department instruction for services contracting, which accounted for 53 percent of fiscal 2015 defense procurement. Similarly, the new governmentwide category management effort is building performance-based acquisition into the operating instructions for the Professional Services category.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/06/outcomes-matter-more-ever-services-contracting/129012

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, DoD, LPTA, PBA, performance based acquisition, professional services

April 15, 2016 By AMK

How to design contracts that deliver results

The “pay for success” movement in the non-profit world is starting to take hold at the federal, state, and local levels. But a prerequisite is having some way of measuring success — and ensuring that funding models encourage it.
IBM's Center for the Business of Government has issued a report featuring  State of Tennessee today has one of the nation’s best performance-contracting systems for its child welfare program.
IBM’s Center for the Business of Government has issued a report featuring the State of Tennessee’s performance-contracting system for its child welfare program, one of the nation’s best.

The Urban Institute has launched a new web resource to explain various forms of performance-based contracting aimed at delivering targeted, high-impact preventative social services where an intervention at an early stage could reduce the need for higher-cost services in the future.

Pay for success funding systems can take many different forms and already operate in different policy arenas. “They include value-based payments to hospitals and nursing homes, performance-based contracts with workforce providers, merit-based pay in schools, and performance-based payments to colleges and universities,” according to Patrick Lester, director of the Social Innovation Research Center at the IBM Center for the Business of Government. These involve many billions of dollars in annual public funding.

Two of the most prominent of these outcome-based funding systems are social impact bonds and performance-based contracting. A new IBM Center report by Lester offers a guide to understanding and selecting the best approach—through performance-based contracting or social impact bonds—depending on the situation at hand.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/04/how-design-contracts-deliver-results/127250

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: cost benefit, pay for success, performance, performance based acquisition, social impact bonds, Urban Institute

September 3, 2015 By AMK

How to manage for results

The federal government has been moving a long time toward a more results-oriented, performance-based mission approach—developing a strategic plan, setting clear objectives, defining necessary resources, precisely assessing progress, and accurate results measurement.

NCMA logoThe goal has been establishing a clear connection between agency priorities, strategic goals, and operational plans. The Office of Management and Budget, over several administrations, has led various management initiatives while developing all manner of guidance, tools, and resources for governmental use in reaching these goals. The President’s Management Agenda is built on four pillars:

  • Effective delivery of world-class service;
  • Efficiency-enhancing productivity and cost savings;
  • Economic growth–opening data and research that spurs innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth; and
  • Unlocking the full potential of the federal workforce.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/blog/2015/08/17/how-manage-results/31863413/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: leadership, OFPP, OMP, performance, performance based acquisition, project management

May 4, 2015 By AMK

Becoming a ‘Chaosmeister’

Acquisition professionals can achieve results beyond their most positive expectations by approaching the current challenges and chaotic acquisition environment as operators — they can innovate and adapt tools and processes, creating networks and coalitions.

These are the times that try [our] souls.” What was said in Revolutionary War times seems as apt today. Resources are shrinking. Our workforce is changing significantly with the departure of the baby boomers. The warfighter’s needs are in great flux, creating instability in Department of Defense (DoD) and military Services requirements. The gulf between Congress and the Executive Branch continues to widen, causing inconsistent direction and uncoordinated oversight. Industry is changing how it works with DoD, adding to the turmoil. Defense acquisition, always a tough job, is getting tougher.

Becoming-a-ChoasmeisterIs the defense acquirer’s job in a “no-win” situation? It depends on our perspective.

If we approach the challenge purely as administrators of processes, who can only do what we are explicitly told to do, we are indeed in for an unrewarding, unfulfilling time.

If we approach the challenge as operators—committed to innovating and adapting tools and processes to support our goals, creating networks and coalitions that can enlarge our ability to advance our projects, striving to understand the chaotic operational environment of federal and defense acquisition, and leveraging opportunities that come from that understanding—we can achieve results beyond our most positive expectations.

Download this article from Defense AT&L magazine here: Becoming a Chaosmeister – May-June 2015 – Defense AT&L

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, AT&L, DoD, funding level, leadership, performance based acquisition, requirements, technology

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