Forum discussion probes contracting challenges

Federal acquisition work suffers from a poor image, as well as deeper capacity issues and a struggle to define the appropriate balance of employee and contractor roles, participants in a recent discussion concluded.

At a July forum on acquisition in the 21st century convened by the Government Accountability Office and attended by government acquisition officials, private sector representatives and academic researchers, participants discussed challenges facing the federal government as it spends an increasing share of discretionary funds on the purchase of goods and services.

An introduction to GAO's new report on the forum, said the federal government is on a "burning platform," as increasing budget and performance demands clash with scarce resources and recurring problem areas. These areas have been cited on GAO's list of high-risk management challenges and include interagency contracting and contract management at the Defense and Energy departments, and NASA.

Despite procurement reforms intended to simplify acquisition processes, including the 1994 Acquisition Streamlining Act and the 2003 Services Acquisition Reform Act, "there clearly remains room for further improvement," the report (GAO-07-45SP) said.

Forum participants debated the need for a strategic, governmentwide approach to managing the federal acquisition workforce, and said the procurement field needs a positive image to attract and keep talented people.

One attendee said use of terms like "procurement," "acquisition" and "contracting" push potential recruits away because recent college graduates do not understand what they mean. The participant suggested a term like "purchasing" to describe the work, adding that prospective employees sometimes misunderstand the contracting role, seeing it as a low-level function rather than a management or policy role.

Others said negative portrayals of procurement personnel in the press and depictions of "gotcha" oversight contribute to the recruitment challenge.

Participants also debated the roles of contractors in the federal workforce and the value of competitive sourcing to strengthen federal acquisition, according to the report. One observed that the blue-collar jobs most suitable for outsourcing are subject to union push-back while less suitable white-collar professional and managerial jobs are contracted out because the government does not offer salaries competitive with industry and has trouble recruiting for the work.

Looking ahead to how acquisition should adapt to meet these challenges, forum participants said some of the most promising acquisition programs in government operate not through special legislative authorities, but as a result of good ideas and management. They cited examples from the U.S. Postal Service's revamping of its supply management by adopting commercial best practices, to a Defense Logistics Agency contract with a food retailer and its uniform supplier to handle surge demand for military uniforms.

Federal acquisition planning also should look to examples set overseas, participants recommended. For example, Britain has built a model for public-private partnerships that reduces bureaucracy and increases acquisition speed by, among other things, developing risk-sharing models for private sector financing.

Participants said good leaders are needed to spearhead improvement efforts, and cited the need for greater acquisition training of senior executives and political appointees to foster better management.