GAO: Homeland Security lacks adequate workforce for performance-based acquisitions

The Homeland Security Department is struggling to successfully execute performance-based service acquisitions, the Government Accountability Office reported on Thursday. Also Thursday, witnesses at a House hearing on the initiative said a talented and cooperative workforce is essential to carrying out the complex procurements.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Performance-based acquisition is a contracting method in which the government issues a statement describing the problem it needs solved and the private sector proposes solutions, as opposed to the traditional approach where the government specifies the goods or services it desires. PBA was introduced as a concept in the 1990s, but was established in 2000 by federal procurement law as the preferred method of procuring services, as it can provide government with commercial innovation.

The GAO report on PBA at Homeland Security examined eight major investments at four of its component agencies: Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, and Immigrations and Custom Enforcement. The contracts have a combined estimated value of $1.53 billion and include performance-based service elements.

GAO concluded that while all eight investments had outcome-oriented requirements, four did not have well-defined requirements or a complete set of measurable performance standards at the time of contract award or start of work. These service contracts experienced cost overruns, schedule delays or did not meet performance expectations. The four service contracts with well-defined requirements linked those requirements to measurable performance standards.

The watchdog agency found that one of the challenges to managing these complex service acquisitions was the department's workforce. Contracts for two of those contracts with negative cost or schedule outcomes did not have the necessary staff to adequately plan and execute the contracts. Additionally, while representatives for several of the contracts examined told GAO that contracting and program staff worked together effectively, senior acquisition representatives at the component agencies indicated that a lack of collaboration between the program and contracting offices in general was an obstacle.

The House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Thursday to review the report and to listen to witness testimony on the PBA initiative. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said that while the approach can provide the flexibility needed for innovation, especially at an agency like DHS with a complicated and ever-evolving mission, "it can be a recipe for chaos."

Thompson echoed GAO's concerns about the ability of the department's acquisition workforce to successfully execute the complex initiative, especially given several previous reports about its inadequate procurement staffing levels.

Thomas Essig, DHS chief procurement officer, said the ability to translate user need into strong, measurable, outcome-based requirements was a key element of performance-based acquisition. It was also, however, a "labor-intensive process" that must be completed prior to awarding the contract to avoid cost and schedule overruns.

"That is not just a contracting function and consequently requires a team effort from a wide range of functional specialists," Essig said. "PBA usage requires considerable effort on the front end of the process by a highly skilled requirements and acquisition workforce."