Steve Schooner, professor and co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at George Washington University Law School, said his pick for the big story of 2010 are the efficiency initiatives coming from the Defense Department.

The DorobekINSIDER spoke with Schooner at Bisnow's Federal Procurement Update, where Schooner was a speaker along with OFPP Administrator Dan Gordon.

How DoD chooses its contractors, how it structures contracts and how it deals with profit policies are all "huge issues that could really shape the landscape" of procurement in the future, Schooner said.

"Everyone understands that if we want to do something about the deficit and debt, we have to stop buying things we don't need or buy less of the things we think we need and do so more efficiently," he said.

Schooner said the military must continue to invest in high-end technology and hardware. The government will have to do a better job in communicating its needs to the IT industry. That means the government has to talk to contractors, he said.

OMB is launching a myth-busting campaign to debunk the idea that agencies cannot communicate with vendors.

"Why would you buy something without doing market research first?" Schooner said.

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