Background Twenty years ago, federal agencies typically did not have senior executives leading key mission support functions such as finance, technology, acquisition, or workforce.  Over those two decades, Congress created a series of “chief” positions, reflecting trends in the private sector – chief financial officers, chief information technology officers, chief acquisition officers, and chief human capital officers.  They recently added performance improvement officers but without the “chief” title.

Agencies facing increasingly challenging fiscal environments are looking for ways to make each dollar go further. The interagency councils for “chief officers” are no exception!  In fact, they found that a move toward cost efficiencies is also leading to greater collaboration. The interagency councils were created by Congress over the past 20 years to foster cross-agency coordination, collaboration and idea sharing. The councils formed under the aegis of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)  include:

One of the biggest challenges facing the new administration, as well as future administrations, is the effective acquisition of complex products. The federal government cannot eliminate the risks associated with complex products by simply avoiding procuring such products. As the difficulties confronting the federal government become increasingly complicated, so too will the types of goods and services needed to address those challenges.

The federal government now spends about 40 percent of its discretionary budget to buy everything from office supplies to weapon systems. When the government buys simple products, like paper clips, they can turn to well-established acquisition strategies and practices and apply them to richly competitive markets. When government agencies buy complex products, like weapon systems, conventional acquisition approaches are often insufficient and markets are more challenging.

There has been a longstanding recognition that the federal government does not have enough employees with the requisite skills to meet every agency need. Agencies obtain real advantages in employing contractors that can offer specialized skills to handle short-term requirements. Moreover, using a competitive selection process helps to bring both efficiency and innovation to address government needs.

The Service Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) Legislation of 2003 (41 U.S.C. 414) established new positions of Chief Acquisition Officers to oversee Federal civilian agency acquisition operations. The expectation was that the CAO would be highly placed in the agency, advising the agency head on business strategy and focusing on acquisition in the broadest sense of the term. Many would argue that the CAO position has not lived up to its promise.

This brief discusses the beginnings of interagency acquisitions and how this tool leverages an agency's expertise and cuts costs. It also discusses a decline in the usage of this tool and a series of recommendations on how interagency acquisitions can be better utilized. contracting

The IBM Center is looked to as a source for starting dialogues on a broad range of public management topics. For the past ten years, we have studied the critical changes that are underway at all levels of government in the United States and around the world. Along the way, the Center has helped frame a number of significant management policy issues facing government.

This insight brief provides the necessary steps agency management must take to recognize the critical role that contract management plays in accomplishing agency missions.Contracting