DoD to talk about the 'spirit of A-76'

Do the terms "A-76" and "outsourcing" make you want to cheer or jeer?

For an opportunity to do either, mark your calendars for Feb. 24th. On that date, the Defense Department wants to talk about Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, which lays out the rules for outsourcing studies. DoD officials want to discuss "the spirit of A-76," and they're inviting you to join in the conversation.

In an effort to get more people to understand A-76, public-private competitions and outsourcing, DoD is letting employees sit in on a discussion of the mandate to either cut costs internally or move work into the private sector. The forum, featuring Stan Z. Soloway, deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition reform, will be broadcast live via satellite.

Soloway will be joined by Randall A. Yim, deputy undersecretary of Defense for installations, and a panel of experts from government and industry. The panel will talk about the pros and cons of competitive sourcing, along with misperceptions about the process. Viewer questions can be submitted for discussion during the broadcast.P> The two-hour broadcast, beginning at 1:30 p.m., will include a documentary highlighting best practices used by the military in A-76 competitions.

According to DoD, the point is to "enable both government employees and industry to meet the challenges of A-76 in the spirit in which it was created: achieving the most value for the taxpayer dollar."

To find out more about the satellite broadcast, including how to tune in and where to fax questions, see http://www.acq.osd.mil/dau/arcc/brodnew.htm.