All Learning Content
Report: Services Contracting Dominated by Re-Competes
May 18, 2017
Research and analysis firm Nation Analytics has published a new “Government Services Competitive Intelligence Report,” finding that most major services contracts—defined as valued at $50 million or more—are re-competes, and aren’t seeking leading-edge solutions. In fiscal 2016, for...
Pentagon to Submit to First-Ever Audit
May 18, 2017
According to GovExec, the Department of Defense is “gearing up” for its first audit.” That the nation’s most sprawling and expensive bureaucracy—and the world’s largest employer—has yet to undergo a formal, legally mandated review of its finances is a source of embarrassment among...
DoD Needs to Clean Up Performance Reviews
May 18, 2017
Claire M. Grady, the director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP), has issued a memo to defense acquisition officials to “re-emphasize” the importance of submitting complete, timely written narratives into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The memo...
Acquisition Reform Panel Presents Initial Findings to Congress
May 18, 2017
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Section 809 panel, created to solicit expert insight into how DoD could streamline its acquisition, has presented an initial report to Congress. According to a story inFederal News Radio, the recommendations are “mostly small, but actionable items.” The...
Procurement Key to Brexit’s Success
May 18, 2017
In an interesting story about the importance of procurement, Diginomica looks at a report from the analyst group GUIDE Consultancy, which claims that the success of Britain’s departure from the European Union—known as Brexit—will depend upon the country’s digital procurement capabilities....
Benefits and Uses for Technology in Public Procurement
May 17, 2017
NIGP presents an overview of the benefits and uses for technology in public procurement. Contextually, NIGP points out:
“As the procurement function of many public organizations is becoming more strategic, procurement technology allows for a process re-design that makes the procurement process...
The Institute of Supply Management’s Procurement Skills Model
May 17, 2017
The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) presents their detailed procurement competencies model.
While developed for the private sector, this procurement competencies model provides a useful frame of reference and a parallel for thinking about critical procurement competencies in the public......
Attracting, Retaining and Developing New Procurement Professionals
May 17, 2017
NASPO discusses how the increased demands on the public procurement work force (in large part driven by an improved positioning of the strategic role of procurement) requires enhanced skill sets. In addition to describing the changing demographics of the public procurement work force and the...
Case Study on Procurement Competencies Aligned by Role – Government of New Zealand
May 17, 2017
The Government of New Zealand shares how they have defined and implemented their procurement competency framework. This case study begins by defining the various roles with the procurement function, as well as their desired behaviors, core and technical competencies, and other attributes. ...
Good To Great: Innovation In The Industrial Base
May 16, 2017
“Thoughtless reliance on technology is a liability.” This quote did not come from a disgruntled acquisition professional in the Pentagon, but from noted author Jim Collins in his eponymous business book, Good to Great. He did not have had the third offset strategy in mind when he wrote this...
The Role of Technology in Reducing Corruption in Public Procurement (with Case Studies)
May 16, 2017
Transparency International describes how technology can greatly improve public procurement, emphasizing benefits in integrity/corruption, market competition, transparency, and information access . As Technology International states in the introduction of this report:
“Information and...
Off-the-Shelf Procurement Technology Supports Public Procurement Needs
May 16, 2017
This short posting by Zycus briefly makes the point that commercially available technology can meet the needs of public procurement, especially given the often stringent rules and regulations of public procurement. The posting also makes the point that while basic customizations are often required...
