As fiscal pressures rise, senior leaders across the federal government place additional emphasis on Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contracts. A prime example is the Department of Defense “Better Buying Power” memoranda. FFP contracting is an important method to add simplicity and cost efficiency, but with respect to services, FFP contracting is not always appropriate. When bound …
Continue reading “The Hidden Costs of Firm-Fixed Price Contracts”
Our Integrity experts each forecast one top trend for 2013. What emerging trends will dominate the next 12 months or more in acquisition and program management? And what should you know right now? Trending Up: Back to the Basics — Choosing the Right Contract Type Last November Mr. Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense …
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You’ve heard of strategic sourcing. You’re being advised to use it. But when does it work best and what’s the key to getting started? Integrity Fellow Tom Kuhn sits down with Chris Dorobek of the Dorobek Insider program for a wide-ranging discussion about how to make strategic sourcing work in federal agencies. Read the transcript, …
In my first post about the OMB 300/53, I laid out the operational basics, the scoring, and important stakes behind managing the business case process. It’s not easy to achieve an all green scorecard at the end of this process. But, it is do-able, if you anticipate the challenges and have proactive strategies. Having supported …
Continue reading “OMB 300/53 Business Case: The Path to Green Scores, Part II”
Each year Program Managers are tasked with proving that investments align with agency mission and support business needs with low risk during the investment lifecycle. The OMB Budget Exhibit 300/53 is a business case that justifies the strategic and economic value of any investment, say for example, in major IT infrastructure. The business case helps organizations …
Continue reading “Business Case Primer: How OMB 300/53 Can Lead to All-Green Scores”
During this period of fiscal uncertainty, characterized by continuing resolutions and the approaching “Fiscal Cliff,” many may turn to incremental funding as a means to manage scarce and unpredictable resources. Incremental contract funding is a useful financial tool because it forces the government to closely monitor costs. However, if not deliberately planned and carefully managed, …
Continue reading “Don’t Let Incremental Funding Drag Your Program over the Fiscal Cliff”
Two years into the “Myth-Busters” campaign by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), there is still a long way to go to improve information exchange between government and industry. How quickly can the federal government change its traditional ways of engaging, and what can we learn from popular social media platforms such as Facebook …
Continue reading “What Social Media Can Teach Us about Government/Industry Exchange”
For a better part of twelve years the federal budget has been pretty ample and programs were free to operate in a much more flexible environment. “Supplemental” allotments of funding were in large supply at the Department of Defense (DoD). Then the faucet began to close as the wars have begun to wind down and …
Routine monitoring of your acquisition program is important but is it enough to prevent problems that could damage your mission? Conducting a program assessment can reveal insights on a program’s health that will not only lead to a better outcome, but could also improve other programs and the organization as a whole.
If you’re interested in a different contracting technique that can save time, increase trust and improve communication, then check out my five W’s of Alpha Contracting.
