Effectively Communicating the Acquisition Impact

For far too long contracting officers (KOS) have been articulating in a rather underwhelming way the impact their acquisition efforts have on enhancing capabilities, mission success, and ultimately supporting the Warfighter. The terms that KOs typically use to frame their support to the Warfighter involve detailing the dollars obligated and number or contract actions performed in support of the Warfighter. The terms that KOs typically use to frame their support to the Warfighter involve detailing the dollars obligated and number or contract actions performed in support of the Warfighter. While this approach is used widely within the acquisition community to describe the efforts of contracting professionals, it does little to effectively illustrate the impact of contracting professionals or their teams’ contributions to the Warfighter. In order to effectively communicate/articulate their support with key stakeholders outside the acquisition community, contracting professionals need to change their words and approach and develop their message.