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The White House posted for comment its proposed rule that would require DoD, GSA, and NASA "to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable."
- It adds a new mandatory contract clause and consolidates sections within FAR Part 23 (Environment, Energy and Water Efficiency, Renewable Energy Technologies, Occupational Safety, and Drug-Free Workplace).
Two big documents were released in the past week on cybersecurity: the White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy and DoD's Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation Plan.
- The federal strategy drastically increases opportunities for and access to education in the field in addition to training for current employees.
- DoD's plan is touted as a "fundamental change to the way we're doing business." It addresses talent management, outreach, retention, and increased exchanges between the public and private sectors.
CQ Brown says that Collaborative Combat Aircraft will follow a new model for acquisition and sustainment, hinged on more responsive requirements that are "formed and developed by operational necessity and technological reality."
The Air Force's PEO for command, control, communications, and battle management is urging simplicity and a tight focus on mission outcomes to streamline acquisition processes for connected sensors and shooters.
- Brig. Gen. Cropsey laid out four principles, including "architecture wins over products," and "capability has to be continuously deployed over time."
The PPBE Reform Commission is launching its interim report on August 15, with a corresponding event both in-person and virtually.
DoD CIO issued a memo urging all services to use JWCC for the acquisition of cloud capabilities.
- As the article points out, some services crafted their own cloud contracts while waiting for the JWCC to be finalized.
Our top story shares a recent success to shave off months of unnecessary acquisition processes at Army Contracting Command.
- On arrival, Executive Director Danielle Moyer pushed back against layers of reviews often added for idiosyncratic reasons. She is also making changes to how industry responds to proposals.
- It's a great reminder that many of the processes that weigh down acquisition are not mandated by legislation, but are local, self-inflicted hurdles.
In ARP news, we have our latest symposium video for you on international acquisitions, with research on China, partners and allies, and sole source contracts.
This Week's Top Story
60 pages, 3 months of reviews cut from Aberdeen Proving Ground’s acquisition policy
Jason Miller, Federal News Network
The contract policy guide at the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground became a lot like a ship which needs to scrape the barnacles off every once in a while.
The policy guide was weighing down the acquisition process and impacting ACC’s customers.
Danielle Moyer, the executive director of the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, said her office cut 60 pages and three months of reviews from APG’s acquisition process.
“We have the Federal Acquisition Regulations, we have in the Defense Department the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations, which is a FAR supplement for the Department of Defense. Then for the Army, we have the Army supplement to the FAR and to the DFARs. All these books are huge. So why do we need additional policies? That’s exactly what I looked at,” Moyer said in an interview with Federal News Network. “We asked, ‘what is this? Is this providing us value?’ So literally my first day there, I was given a document to review, and I said, ‘What is this document? I’ve never heard of it. I’ve never seen it.’ And they’re like, oh, it exists in your local policy. Well, I didn’t understand how do we have even local policy when we have all these others?”
Moyer, who joined Aberdeen Proving Ground in February, immediately sought to change the way ACC contracts. She set up an integrated product team (IPT) to review the organization’s acquisition policies and decide what is actually needed and what isn’t.
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