Federal Acquisition Spotlight focuses on today's acquisition challenges - how to meet unprecedented requirements for speed, transparency and effectiveness. Whether it is meeting the compressed time frames in the Recovery Act or adapting to new rules on documentation and reporting, program managers must have the right acquisition strategies and tools in place now to meet their mission needs and get best value for the taxpayer. Federal Acquisition Spotlight provides insights to help you succeed in this environment.

Acquisition—A Team Sport 5/25/09

Acquisition is a team sport. As Congress and the Administration focus on future acquisition reform, the present challenges remain—how to coordinate the efforts of diverse, and often geographically dispersed teams, and get them across the acquisition finish line successfully —with a great outcome that's within budget and on schedule.

Tackling The Paper Monster 5/18/2009

White collar workers in the U.S. use almost 130 pounds of paper each year. For acquisition professionals, it may be double or triple that amount because acquisition projects are notoriously paper-intensive. Cost and schedule risks go up when acquisition documents are lost, misplaced, or poorly documented. Without a process for managing all "electronic" and "paper" assets, acquisitions are unlikely to succeed.

What do we learn from failure? 5/04/2009

John Dewey said failure is instructive—so what can we learn from past complex system acquisitions? And how can we improve the process? When IT procurement requirements are poorly defined acquisitions can run into trouble—with over-charges, under-estimates and countless change orders. When speed matters, getting the up-front requirements right is crucial. To make acquisitions effective, focus on the essentials: clear, concise requirements, consistency, adequate detail, and realistic performance goals—then your chances for a win-win rise dramatically.

Keeping Up With The Jones 4/27/2009

What keeps you up at night? Is it the tremendous pressure to spend your agency's stimulus funds fast? Most agencies with the largest Recovery Act budgets have spent 10 percent or less to date. The demand to complete acquisition in record time is daunting. Keeping acquisitions on track and on-schedule is critical. At the same time, agencies must also do so properly, within the law and without cutting corners or sacrificing integrity or accountability. That's the challenge.

Recovery.org is the official government site for reporting projections on how, when, and where the recovery funds will be spent. The list to the left (under links) highlights the Agencies with spending commitments of over $1M and their associated pay-out rates as of April 23, 2009.

Federal Acquisition Spotlight 4/21/2009

Webster defines transparency as the "quality of being easily seen through or detected." But how do you define what "transparency" means to the Federal Government? Is government transparency realized when the process of acquisition is made available to the public or just the results? The challenge of achieving transparency is a balancing act many are facing. Meeting new transparency mandates requires judgment and sound strategy. Do you have the right strategy?