New nonprofit to focus on acquisition reform

Leading federal procurement specialists have formed a nonprofit that will look at ways to reform government acquisition by strategically aligning the workforce, leveraging industry capabilities and encouraging knowledge sharing.

The Federal Acquisition Innovation and Reform Institute, or FAIR, will bring together ideas from government contracting specialists, academics and industry. The institute's initial priorities will be to provide feedback to the Office of Management and Budget, Congress and federal agencies on comprehensive acquisition and workforce reform as well as implementation of Recovery Act funding.

The group is preparing to release a report for the Obama administration in the coming weeks that could serve as a framework for discussions.

Among its recommendations are strengthening the acquisition workforce, facilitating greater collaboration among all of the constituencies involved in the procurement process and creating a more balanced risk structure between industry and government.

"One of the major problems that you have in getting these contracts to work well is ensuring that there's good upfront collaboration between the contracting people and the program people and getting the requirements part of the process done well and done right," said Allan Burman, co-chair of the FAIR board and president of Jefferson Solutions Inc., a Washington consulting firm.

In developing innovative solutions to the government's acquisition challenges, the group will examine commercial and federal best practices, organizers said.

"We wanted to set up an institute that brings not only thinking from inside the Beltway but also brings new and innovative thinking from outside to the government," said Raj Sharma, who will be president and co-chair of the FAIR board.

Sharma also serves as president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based Censeo Consulting Group, which is providing the initial financial support for the venture. He said FAIR wants to elevate the ongoing discussion on acquisition tactics -- which generally centers on particular contract vehicles -- to broader, longer-term strategies.

"We want to educate policymakers on what kind of transformational changes we need to drive to allow the government to achieve its policy objectives through acquisition," Sharma said.

The group's work is particularly relevant now, said Burman, who served as the administrator of federal procurement policy at OMB under presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton.

"There's so much interest in acquisition … because of the Recovery Act," he said. "We thought it's a good time to not only address what are the problems with the system but also what are the ways you can make acquisition work more effectively."

The institute's other board members include David Nelson, chief supply chain/strategy officer for HTC Global Services Inc.; Joseph Sandor, former president of Creative Procurement Strategies; and David Litman, who served as senior procurement executive at the Transportation Department from October 1995 through February 2008.