Getting Back to Basics

ederal procurement officers got to use a lot of new plays in the 1990s. Multiple-award schedules, purchase cards, oral presentations and other streamlined procedures let federal buyers show off how nimble and swift they could be.

But they may have gotten a bit carried away with all that fancy footwork, and the coach is now telling them to focus on the fundamentals and get back to the basics.

Acquisition officials need to rely on "sound planning, consistent use of competition, well-structured contracts designed to produce cost-effective quality performance from contractors, and solid contract management," Office of Federal Procurement Policy chief Angela Styles told a Senate panel in February. "We cannot remind ourselves enough of the need to follow the acquisition basics."

Of course, smart buyers know they can stick to the basics and use the new speedy tools; it just takes some wise balancing. Purchase cards bring speed, but procurement officers need to set up internal controls to make sure the government doesn't get scammed. Buyers can use multiple-award schedules to quickly evaluate competing firms' proposals, as long as they give qualified firms a fighting chance.

Competition, in fact, is a basic value near and dear to the heart of the Bush administration, and Styles is making sure civilian buyers understand that.

She keeps hounding them to open more government work to competition with private firms-a process known as "competitive sourcing"-despite civilian agencies' reluctance to do so. So far, little extra contracting work has materialized on the civilian side of government as a result of the competitive sourcing push, but the administration is pushing agencies to put 425,000 jobs up for competition with the private sector by 2006. The administration has backed off that numeric target in recent months, with officials saying that some agencies will likely miss competition goals. But officials still expect agencies to gear up more public-private competitions.

Styles is telling federal buyers to share more information with potential bidders and to clearly describe work requirements so companies can develop competitive proposals. She's also taking a close look at the now-common practice of bundling several contracts into one mega-contract, to make sure it doesn't shut out small businesses.

Styles' back-to-basics drive comes as civilian contracting is beginning to draw more attention from industry. Defense Department contracting long has overshadowed its civilian counterpart. The homeland security drive is changing that. The Transportation Security Administration controls some of the most sought-after multimillion-dollar contracts of fiscal 2002. Companies hurting from the downturn in the private sector are turning to government, re-marketing their products as homeland security "solutions" and hoping Uncle Sam will get them through the hard times. The proposed Homeland Security Department would create a new purchasing giant, with an estimated annual contracting budget of $5 billion.

Even before the full effects of the Sept. 11 attacks-which came toward the end of fiscal 2001-were felt, civilian agency spending was clearly on the rise. Energy Department and NASA contractors continued to dominate, accounting for 40 percent of nondefense purchases. Total civilian agency spending for prime contracts worth $25,000 or more rose $3.6 billion, or more than 5 percent, from $71.7 billion to $75.3 billion.