A new working group wants to make federal procurement more efficient

 

Terry Gerton The National Contract Management Association is launching a new effort to improve federal acquisition efficiency. The Trump administration has already published a number of executive orders and it started several reviews focused on the procurement process, timelines and objectives. So how is NMCA engaged or engaging with the administration on its various plans and proposals?

Kraig Conrad Well, certainly, you mentioned our Acquisition Efficiency Working Group, which was created at a time that’s pivotal. I mean, after 40 years of need to refresh and reframe the federal acquisition system, we now have a tremendous opportunity to really help ensure that there’s goodness in this reform and that this goodness lasts. So our effort brings together industry, it brings together academia, it brings together buyers and sellers, in our neutral forum to really dig into everything that is going on, that we’re seeing, whether it comes out in a policy statement or there’s another acquisition efficiency sort of effort happening. And we are going to dig into that with data, with a really ground-focused method to ensure that we are providing data both back up to those that are making policy, but also out to the workforce, those contracting professionals that are doing the job day to day.

Terry Gerton So we’ve all seen acquisition reform efforts come and go. Why this and why now?

Kraig Conrad Well, I think why now, specifically, is that opportunity to make change, lasting change. We really see what happens day to day as contracting professionals come together to do this job. So the “now” is that there’s so much changing in the “why now,” and so fast that we can have an opportunity to really help set the pacing of how the workforce responds, how the practitioners respond.

Soraya Correa If I could add something, why this? Because we’ve been trying to do this. We’ve actually, you’re talking to three folks that we have focused on, how do we improve the process? How do we make it better? I did a lot of work when I was at the Department of Homeland Security, stood up the Procurement Innovation Lab, and a lot my counterparts out there stood up innovation labs to try to figure out how we make this process better. How did we work within the four corners of the federal acquisition regulation? Now is a great time because we’re not going to be restricted by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. We have an opportunity to influence it and hopefully make meaningful and lasting change for the practitioner, the person that does the day-to-day job.

Terry Gerton Well, Wes, you’re going to lead this group. So tell me a little bit more about it. Who’s on it? What are your objectives? How is it going to work?

Wes Bennett And so we have three primary objectives. The first one is efficiencies. How do we drive reform, just as Soraya said, through the practitioner’s viewpoint? How do we think about the day-to-day operations and how it’s going to impact — Soraya likes to say the folks hitting on the keyboard, I like say the ones that are at the pointy end of the pencil. So, really thinking through how does the FAR reform impact them, and not just the FAR, but it’s really all about all of the other regulatory burdens that come with the FAR. The audits, the IG reviews, all the additional paperwork that has to be done slows the process down. The second area really is how do we empower the contracting and acquisition workforce? As these changes start to happen, we’ve got to think through, from an NCMA as well as the acquisition community writ large, how do we have the tools, the processes, the practices to really give contracting and acquisition professionals the confidence that they’re going to need to provide the right business advice and make the appropriate decisions. And then what’s unique about NCMA and this efficiencies working group is we have the backing of research. So we have a Contract and Commerce Management Institute — it’s actually Commerce and Contact Management Institute, I come from contracts, so I’m a little biased of which one should come first, but we gave Commerce their due. But the big idea behind that is research-backed evidence. How do we actually provide and inform the policymakers on how the practitioners see and what the value is that the practitioners bring to the working group. And that leads to your other part of your question on who’s part of this group. It’s a wide cross section of industry, academia and the federal government. And all of the folks that we wanted to bring into this acquisition efficiency working group have a myriad of different experiences and backgrounds that we believe collectively can really think through how — from a whole of industry, government, academia — can we effect change and not just focus on any one particular area or industry?

Terry Gerton So how’s the work actually going to get done? Is it group meetings? Do you have staff?

Wes Bennett It’s a combination of, we’re hoping to do a lot of surveys, which would take upon the NCMA entire membership, which is humongous, as well as having focus groups and workshops where we can bring academia, industry, as well as the federal government and start to have real conversations on the ground. How will this impact us? What are the things that we need to be thinking about? What are the gaps? How is this going to actually impact the workforce?

Soraya Correa If I could add our goal here, we’re going to use this Commerce and Contract Management Institute to really bring the practitioners to us, bring us their perspective and their viewpoints. If you think about how policy has typically been done, it starts at the top. We’re trying to make sure that as you’re writing this policy, you’re thinking about the person that has to execute on that policy, and will they be able to execute? And if they are able to execute, can they identify for us what barriers are out there? What are the things that they need to accomplish the job, but what are the barriers that are there? So that’s our goal, is to really bring those practitioners in through the surveys, through the responses, through meetings, and bring in the people who have done it before. Those of us who have led some of the cultural shifts that we’re trying to do, and make sure that we are listening to them and then feeding that information back, not only to the FAR Council, but to the policymakers, to anybody who needs to understand what we do, why we do it, and how well we do it. And the focus is mission. We have to remain focused on mission. If you think about how most federal acquisition reform has worked before, it’s been focused on what are the rules, how do you comply with the rules? What documentation? Let’s focus on the mission, the job that needs to get done.

Terry Gerton So that’s a really important distinction, Soraya, and I wanted to ask kind of at the beginning, but since you were the last one on the mic, I’ll ask you. You’ve called this the Acquisition Efficiency Working Group. Why efficiency, and what does this group actually have in mind when they’re looking at that segment?

Soraya Correa Efficiency because the process as we know it today takes too long, it’s overly burdened, and it leads to a lot of litigation. Those are probably the three biggest things that hamper the process. And at the end of the day, acquisition exists to enable the mission. There is a war fighter, there is a first responder at the other end of this that waiting for products or services to execute their job. And so we need to make sure that our process, our business process to get them those products and services, is as effective and efficient as it can be. That it moves as swiftly as it needs to move, and that it gets us the right products and services at the right time to the right location.

Wes Bennett I’d like to add that right now the system is built to drive compliance. It has so much that a contracting officer has to do, has to follow, and then it focuses on the back-end auditing to ensure that you followed and executed all that. But it loses the focus, as Soraya said. The focus should be really what are the outcomes? Did you deliver on the mission? What did we actually give to the government, or what was the government actually able to achieve based on this contracting outcome? And that’s where the shift has got to come from.

Kraig Conrad This is a very good reason why the Commerce and Contract Management Institute is involved. We have access to data from around the world, not just U.S. federal, so we have commercial practices by different sectors, large governments, small country, all of that. This gives us an opportunity through the efficiency lens to find out and look at what other public procurement entities might be doing. And when we hear commercial, because there’s a lot of conversation right now coming out about getting more commercial practices, what does that really mean and where are we going to gain efficiencies even if industry can’t get it right or if there’s problem in the commercial sector? So that’s why the efficiency label.

Terry Gerton So are you imagining, because this is what it sounds like to me when I envision it, starting with mission and working your way back to solve the acquisition puzzle?

Soraya Correa That’s exactly right. It’s all about the mission. It has been about the mission all along. I’d like to think I didn’t spend 40 years in government focusing on compliance. I spent 40 years in government focusing on mission, making sure that I could deliver to that warfighter, that first responder. Because at the end of the day, that is who matters. That’s who’s taking care of our taxpayers. So we need to make sure that the back-end processes are working smoothly and efficiently, that we can get things done in a smart way. And look, compliance matters. I’m not trying to say compliance doesn’t matter. We have to have integrity in the system. But we need to bake that into the process. Not as a forethought or an afterthought. It should be a part of the process, and it shouldn’t hinder or stop us from doing our jobs.

Terry Gerton Well it sounds like the two of you then will be a really nice combination. The government perspective from the mission, the private sector focus on how do you meet the government where they need to be and what expertise you bring to that. Soraya, let me start with you. How is this group going to take into consideration all the initiatives that the Trump administration has begun related to procurement and reform?

Soraya Correa So first of all, the cross-section of individuals that we have…we have industry, we have government, we have academia. And when we talk about industry, we have profit, nonprofit, traditional, non-traditional. So by bringing all these people together, we have the opportunity to really look across what the administration is doing, the executive orders that have come out, but also look across the regulations that need to remain. What needs to remain? Because we’re talking a lot about what we take out, but there are some things that need to remain. So by bringing this group together and then subdividing into working groups that we can look at particular sections, we’re going to come up with solutions and answers. And we’re going to turn to our Commerce and Contract Management Institute as part of the NCMA, as well as the membership of NCMA, to get their input into these various areas. So that’s kind of how we’re doing it. And the folks that comprise this working group, there are a lot of huge names here. Names that people will recognize, not only as having led organizations, but having come up through the ranks, having been practitioners themselves, having created opportunities to really address acquisition reform in all its past iterations, but also looking to the future and embracing this change. All of us are excited about the opportunity.

Terry Gerton Well, it sounds like that is part of what will differentiate this group maybe from lots of other interested participants in the acquisition space. You have a lot of practitioners and from the bottom up.

Soraya Correa From the bottom up, as well as those that work at the top. So those who understand how policymakers think, why they focus on certain things, so we’re able to communicate across the board. Because it has to all come together, it really does.

Terry Gerton Well, you’re beginning this right in the middle of GSA’s FAR review. How do you expect to stay current with all of the things that they’re doing?

Soraya Correa Well, so one of the things is we’re connected with them, right? We are talking to GSA. We invite them to all of our conferences and events, and I’ll let Kraig talk a little bit more about that. But even at my National Industries for the Blind recent conference, I had Larry Allen from GSA come in and tell us kind of what they’re thinking about, what they are doing. I think it’s important to stay up to date to what they doing. They’re publishing. They have a great website that tells you what they working on. So all of us are staying informed through all the various channels. Of course, all of us have worked together, right? So we all know each other. We know to pick up the phone, call one another, ask questions, and seek out answers and understand how we can impact this change. I am fanatical about this change, I’m excited about this. I think it brings us great opportunity, something that I always wanted to do, and so this is an opportunity we have to seize the moment.

Terry Gerton I suspect those relationships that you’ve built in the trenches are going to be very important. Kraig, how is your relationship with GSA? How involved are they right now? Are they supportive? What are you hearing?

Kraig Conrad Well, first off, they have been incredibly accessible across the board to anyone who reaches out to them. Hats off to how available they have been, as well as the FAR Council. They’ve really leaned in to ensure that there’s an understanding and a dialog about what’s going on. We haven’t officially engaged them yet, because we are still working on the first rounds of updates. I think you’ve seen the class deviations and all the other things that are going on. We would like to have some time to digest as a working group before we get back to them. But it’s important — we’re not lobbyists, we’re not a lobbying organization. So when we engage them, we are engaging because we want to be useful. And we want the opportunity to possibly challenge thinking as well in the process. But to date, they have been phenomenal. They have been accessible and really quite focused on where they’re trying to go as a better federal acquisition system.

Soraya Correa I’ve been a member of NCMA since the early ’90s. NCMA is about the practitioner. That’s who we are. That is who the membership is. And so a lot of the folks that are even at GSA today and a lot the folks who are members of our working group, they’ve been members of NCM. And so this is a great opportunity for us as an organization to bring together all of our practitioners and say, how can we help government? How do we continue to make government better? It is not about trying to change their minds about what they’re doing or anything like that, but trying to give them information that they can use to be more practical and create a better system.

Wes Bennett So far, in my experience, they’ve been extremely open to engaging with industry. We’ve had the opportunity to have several conversations with the GSA administrators, and they truly have a curiosity on why they are the way they are, and a real appreciation for how beneficial and needed acquisition and contracting folks are, and then an appetite for true reform. They’ve listened to a lot of different ideas and helped us get access to the right places that we need to actually be able to drive reform and change.

Terry Gerton That’s great to hear. You’ll be the front person for that, I imagine, as the chair’s working group, so it’s good to know that their door is open to you.

Wes Bennett It has been, and I think it will continue to be.

Terry Gerton Wes, let’s just continue because one of the most interesting and perhaps high impact ways to improve acquisition efficiency is the deployment of AI. It’s in every conversation that we have: how to deploy AI to solve the procurement challenge. Is this group going to look into that?

Wes Bennett Absolutely. It’s an area that I know all three of us are extremely passionate about. When I was at DARPA, we were some of the first to actually adopt RPA for our contracting officers. When I as at Microsoft, I was one of the first that got to actually use Co-Pilot and think through how can we help our contracting officers with generative AI. And now at Booz Allen, we’re actually building some tools that will allow things like potentially outcomes-based contracts, taking a statement of work and driving it towards performance-based and outcomes-based. As an NCMA efficiencies working group, we’re also thinking about how are we going to pair our contracting officers with AI to get rid of a lot of what I would call non-value added repetitive work that unfortunately has plagued our workforce, if you will, in the past a little bit, and allow them to move towards the best value that we can provide, which is the critical thinking and the business advice. And we’re thinking about things such as, well, if you do a FAR rewrite, how can you rewrite it so that AI can actually ingest it and have the most value to the practitioner at the forefront? So there’s a lot of different initiatives. And I know Kraig is actually thinking through how NCMA, through the working group, can start to leverage some of the folks that we have that are incredibly smart in this area and are really at the cutting edge of teaming AI with our contracting and acquisition workforce.

Kraig Conrad Indeed, we have a community of practice for AI. And they’re thinking about every aspect of how it gets applied, not just to how we do it in contracting, how can we reach out across the entire acquisition lifecycle, but also they have ideas on how we can bring AI and modern ways of thinking about writing code or writing what we call our policies and make sure that those are easily ingested into systems going forward. So, it’s a very exciting time to bring technology to this game.

Wes Bennett I’ll just say that there is just so much opportunity, both on the government and industry side, for contract management writing systems and contracts management lifecycle systems. And really, if you think about it, when a contract or solicitation comes in, right now a lot of that input is manual on the industry side. Just imagine if we can ingest all of that information up, and there’s some commercial tools that can do that right now. Or on the government side, just think about if you could just say, here’s my requirements, spit out actually how this could be presented in a performance work statement. How should I actually measure the objectives? Give me some ideas on what are the risks, what are things that I should cover down on. So I think there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity.

Soraya Correa What you always hear from people is, oh my God, is it going to replace the people that do the work? Absolutely not. What it really does is enable them to do a better job because it will put information, valuable information, at their fingertips, able to synthesize that information a little bit better and go to the real decision-making. Far too long I have felt that we’ve turned our contracting officers, our acquisition professionals sometimes are administratively burdened. They’re doing more administrative work than they are doing think work. I want our contracting officers, our acquisition professionals, our program managers, etc., I want that entire team focused on, what’s the outcome that we seek? What do we need to do to deliver a better solution and make sure it works? And similarly with industry, I want industry to be able to look at these solicitations and give great feedback to the government and say, here’s what works, here’s what doesn’t work, here’s how you should be thinking about this. Here’s what I can bring to you to deliver a better outcome. So I’m excited about it because I do believe that we will make our contracting professionals far more efficient and effective and give them a job that is really fun. I’m going to tell you what I loved about my job was not writing contracts, it was about delivering solutions. I always looked at it as I’m here to solve problems, to deliver solutions. I never told people I wrote contracts for a living. That was boring.

Terry Gerton Well, Kraig, let’s kind of wrap this up. How long do you expect these two to keep working on this group?

Kraig Conrad By any indication, this is going to be a long journey. I think there’s still a lot of things still happening. We recognize it at least a year until comment periods open up and more things become available. But we encourage your listeners to follow along on our journey. They can go to the NCMA website under the About section for the Acquisition Efficiency Working Group. There we will have all of our findings, our papers. We’ll be doing webinars and certainly doing a lot of papers through the Commerce and Contract Management Institute. So at least a year, but it could be a little longer.

Soraya Correa I think success will look like a great system that makes sense for people, that people understand that industry and government are talking to one another on a very regular basis and sharing and continually improving the system. But most importantly what we’re going to see is procurements will happen a little faster, a little bit more effectively, maybe a little less litigation and a lot more engagement. Where industry and the public and everybody knows what we’re really doing because transparency is also extremely important in our system.

Wes Bennett It’s all about measurable outcomes. Truly, is the acquisition system faster? Are we actually delivering better outcomes to the warfighter or the other federal government workforce that we’re delivering on? And then, to me, it is buy-in at the practitioner and the contracting and acquisition officer as well as the industry side. What’s going to be really important is if we want this to work, the acquisition efficiencies, folks at the ground level have to understand why, buy in and actually drive that outcome.