Digital Government
Future of procurement reform looks to past performance
When reading a recent issue of FCW I was struck by three articles that dramatically illustrate the revolution in the government/vendor relationship over the past few years. The first was a frontpage story headlined 'Raytheon backs off plan to sell AF IDIQ contracts.' Raytheon, the new owner of Hug
Digital Government
In blame game, our leaders aren't running for cover
During my years in Washington, D.C., the single most common question I was asked by government procurement personnel particularly in the Defense Department went something like this: 'What happens when we use our best judgment and the inspector general comes in afterward and criticizes us for ma
Digital Government
Time to put competition back in task-order contracts
The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act gave us all a great victory by recognizing in a statute a new contract vehicle the multipleaward taskorder contract. FASA further helped by allowing the executive branch to establish simplified procedures for competing individual task orders or, as the
Digital Government
Let me introduce you to the next-generation public servant
Despite many recent stories in the press chronicling the government's difficulties in attracting and retaining information technology professionals, my return to teaching has shown me that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Since the beginning of February, I've been teaching one section of a
Digital Government
Spare-parts problems threaten commercial buying gains
Dramatic congressional testimony from the Defense Department's inspector general on overpayments in DOD spareparts purchasing last month made national headlines and the network news. For most of the public, this is DOD conducting 'business as usual.' Some, though, have noticed that the problem is
Digital Government
New team good news for procurement reinvention forces
The Clinton administration's new acquisition reform leadership team is coming into place. The president recently nominated Deidre 'Dee' Lee, senior procurement executive at NASA, for administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Stan Soloway, a consultant for the Contract Services Asso
Digital Government
Government, industry must hammer out rules of engagement
Outsourcing is back in the news. A new bill, offered up by Rep. Steve Horn (RCalif.), could result in a dramatic increase in the outsourcing of federal activities. Sooner or later, the federal government will go the way of private industry, and outsourcing will catch on. But the politics of the tr
Digital Government
Bid protests reappear, but decisions should not cause alarm
After a brief hiatus, bid protests are back in the news. Two years ago, the bid protest jurisdiction of the General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals disappeared. Like East Germans with regard to the Berlin Wall, one strains to remember that the GSBCA, once such a towering presenc
Digital Government
Pendulum metaphor need not dictate our destinies
One of the nice features of returning to academia is the opportunity to read significantly more books than I was allowed to while in government. Recently I read a book that is moderately renowned in academic circles, and that I, in fact, had on my bookshelf before going to Washington but had never
Digital Government
Data center consolidation: (Past) time to get moving
Citing possible operational savings of 30 to 50 percent, the Office of Management and Budget in October 1995 issued a bulletin directing agencies to inventory existing data centers and to produce by September 1996 a consolidation plan, with work due to be completed in early 1998. Well, early l998 h
Digital Government
Taking advantage of the hidden gold in the new FAR 15
The new Federal Acquisition Regulation Part l5 which deals with large fullandopen competition procurements went into effect New Year's Day. A number of changes included in the FAR 15 rewrite already have received considerable attention such as the more aggressive standard for eliminating proposal
Digital Government
Advice to ex-feds: Don't forget where you came from
The federal IT universe is heavily, and increasingly, populated by ex-feds -- people who've taken buyouts or been the victim of downsizing or just deserted for the greener pastures often available in the private sector. Because I'm now an ex-fed as well, I am hardly in a position to complain or to moralize, although I hope that the Jim Flyziks and the many hundreds of other good folks in the federal IT work force stick it out with the government as long as possible. We need good people in the federal government's IT talent base in an era where the need for IT talent has not diminished but where public-private salary gaps are wider than ever. I feel a real sense of admiration for those manning the forts in the government.
Digital Government
INS scores points for innovative contracting techniques
During the next few years the success of efforts in information technology procurement reform and of achieving better returns on the government's IT investments will depend mostly on the actions of hundreds of career people in IT and contracting shops throughout federal agencies. Much of the statut
Digital Government
Agencies determine success or failure of past performance
The American Bar Association recently released the results of a survey of government industry and the private bar on how the government is doing using past performance in procurement. Although there were only 133 respondents (24 from government 75 from industry and l8 from the private bar) some pat
Digital Government
Managing GWACs: Procurement reform's biggest challenge
We are entering a phase where continuous improvement efforts will be central to procurement reform. Right now government and industry must apply this logic to the management of governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) for services whose abrupt appearance not much more than a year ago along wi
Digital Government
Continuous improvement and procurement reform
Since returning to academia I actually have been able to read books again in a serious way. One of the first books I read was a new collection of essays put together by The Brookings Institution titled Innovation in American Government: Challenges Opportunities and Dilemmas. The book contains paper
Digital Government
Returning to Harvard: Rip Van Winkle and information tech
If you stare at your watch it's hard to see it moving but if you don't look at it for an hour it's easy to see how it has changed since you last looked. The same applies if you've been away from an organization for a long time. Gradual shifts that might not be noticed by the person around the insti
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