Government acquisition is a complex process designed to ensure taxpayer money is spent wisely, fairly, and efficiently. The acquisition process in the Federal Government faces a number of key challenges. In order to help you make sense of this extensive process, GovWhitePapers has pulled together a library of whitepapers, eBooks, case studies and more, focusing on acquisition procedures and government contracting.
Progress in Procurement: Moving from Software to SaaS
There have been dramatic changes in what is being bought by the Government. No longer is it a straight product purchase. With so much technology today being provided via the cloud and as a service, the traditional rules for acquiring and managing technology solutions just don’t apply.
Even if the technology is a product, the way it is being implemented has also changed dramatically. Agile and DevOps processes are a departure from traditional technology rollouts requiring a different kind of procurement language. The iterative approach of Agile requires room in contracts for smaller deployments and re-work rather than having contractors measured by the delivery of a fully developed solution.
Getting the right people engaged
The acquisition workforce is emblematic of the aging federal workforce. While there has not been the retirement tsunami so many predicted, acquisition professionals tend to be older and will continue to leave the workforce. Leaving with them is all of the knowledge they have stored in their heads. Knowledge transfer is a key effort of acquisition organizations as is recruitment. Addressing the first two challenges of modernizing contract language and processes is key to making the work of procurement attractive to younger workers.
Government White Papers on Acquisition
Below are a number of resources that GovWhitePapers has found that speak to the challenges of government acquisition and procurement.
- Time to Reform Acquisition Funding Rules? Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition oversight stakeholders continue searching for the silver bullet that will provide real reform and lead to better acquisition outcomes. Recently, the Section 809 Panel Report provided one of the more comprehensive studies recommending significant paradigm shifts in defense acquisition. One of the big themes in the report is increased funding flexibility. Find out more about the impact this could have on DoD acquisition in this paper.
- Effectively Communicating the Acquisition Impact – This paper aims to help Contracting Officers (KOs) better detail their impact on the warfighter. This clear understanding of acquisition’s role is key to reforming procurement practices in support of our warfighters.
- 7 Traits of High Performing Acquisition Teams – This paper looks at what factors separate the best teams from others and how to grow high-performing teams. With a look at positive and negative team behaviors, it examines how to maximize the performance of acquisition teams.
- Information Technology: Implementation of GAO Recommendations Would Strengthen Federal Agencies’ Acquisitions, Operations, and Cybersecurity Efforts — The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and federal agencies have taken steps to improve the management of information technology (IT) acquisitions and operations and ensure federal cybersecurity through a series of initiatives. This paper summarizes federal agencies’ progress in improving the management and ensuring the security of federal IT.
These are just a sampling of resources GovWhitePapers makes available to the government community and the industries that serve it. You can browse additional government white papers on acquisitions and government contracting through our search engine here:
