By C. Peter Dungan

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

This paper examines the current DFARS software intellectual property (IP) rights scheme and provides a roadmap for further reform. Part II analyzes the history of software development and the historical regulations governing DoD's procurement of software. Part III examines the current DFARS provisions governing rights in software. Even after two congressionally mandated rewrites, the DFARS retains the protectionist character of Cold War era IP regulations. Part IV examines the viewpoints of the stakeholders in government-procured software. Contractors view intellectual property as the "crown jewel" of corporate assets. Moreover, DoD often does not need the extensive rights that these regulations confer. Finally, Part V suggests a way to encourage non-traditional firms to enter the government marketplace. The current standard licenses for software are are too broad and grant the Government rights that it does not need. Reformed DFARS clauses should confer rights through negotiation and establish, as the maximum the Government can demand, a level of rights equal to the current government purpose rights license. Such a reform would alleviate the fears many companies have that the Government will pawn off their "crown jewels."  (October 2009)

Please read:  Less is More: Encouraging Greater Competition in Computer Software Procurement by Simplifying the DFARS Licensing Scheme.

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

The controversial 'Buy American requirements in Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 threaten to stir protectionism leading to an outright trade war. This could be catastrophic in the current economic crisis, particularly since the Obama administration does not appear to believe that additional domestic preferences are needed for U.S. procurement. The pending challenge for federal regulators, therefore, will be to craft a rule that contains the Recovery Act's international impact, while implementing Congress' intent. The authors suggest that the optimal approach seems to be the most simple: to fold new procurement under the Recovery Act into the existing FAR regulatory structure, which accommodates the U.S.' many trade agreements. This would ensure that federal agencies' procurements adhere to those trade agreements (and also increases the likelihood that an already over-taxed acquisition workforce can consistently apply the new rules.) This simple, quick and elegant approach would be the least likely to generate new, potentially disastrous waves of protectionism in the critical, but treacherous, waters of global commerce.

Please read:  Tempering 'Buy American' in the Recovery Act - Steering Clear of a Trade War.

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network and VOX.

The authors assert that, in the face of severe economic challenges, efficient and effective public purchasing is critical. Governments should focus on obtaining the greatest possible value for money expended and minimizing corruption, while eschewing counter-productive and inefficient protectionist constraints on procurement regimes. Stimulus investments in strengthening the acquisition workforce - the officials responsible for spending the government's money honestly and consistent with sound, business-based, transparent practices - will pay both short- and long-term dividends.  (March 2009)

Please read:  Public Procurement: Focus on People, Value for Money and Systemic Integrity, Not Protectionism.

By Trevor L Brown, Associate Professor, The Ohio State University; Matthew Potoski, Associate Professor, Iowa State University; and David M Van Slyke, Associate Professor, Syracuse University.

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

Contracts for complex products are risky for both buyers and sellers. With few competing vendors, the buyer—in this case a government agency—bears the risk that the seller will deliver a product that does not meet its needs or will request payment that exceeds the expected value of the product. And faced with a buyer who wants a very specialized product that few, if any, other buyers want, the seller bears the risk that it will invest time and effort to build a product for which it will not receive adequate compensation. These are difficult deals to negotiate.

This report highlights the risk of becoming locked in to or stuck in a contract with a vendor for a complex product or its components by examining the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater program, a major system-of-systems (SoS) acquisition to upgrade and integrate its sea and air assets (such as boats and airplanes). The Coast Guard is six years into a projected 25-year acquisition and production process for the Deepwater program, far enough along to examine options and tradeoffs at two initial stages: choosing whether to build, buy, or assemble the product, and designing the acquisition contract.

The Coast Guard’s experience with Project Deepwater suggests ways that government agencies can harness the benefits of complex contracting while avoiding its pitfalls. The Coast Guard experimented with a novel contracting approach and learned several lessons for future acquisitions of complex products:

• The effective acquisition of complex products requires an expanded and more highly skilled acquisition workforce.

• The effective acquisition of complex products requires a better understanding of risk.

• The effective acquisition of complex products requires an investment in learning. 

(January 2009)

Please read:  The Challenge of Contracting for Large Complex Projects: A Case Study of the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program.

By Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

At the end of July 2008, the media reported that 4,600 service members have died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. But reporting only military fatalities understates the human cost of America's engagements in these regions by nearly a fourth. On the modern, outsourced battlefield, the U.S. government increasingly has delegated to the private sector the responsibility to stand in harm's way and, if required, die for America. As of 30 June 2008, more than 1,350 civilian contractor personnel had died in Iraq and Afghanistan, while another 29,000 contractors have been injured; more than 8,300 seriously. Nonetheless, contractor fatalities (and injuries) remain generally outside the public's consciousness. This article asserts that, in a representative democracy, public awareness of the human cost of our nation's security and foreign policies is critical.  (December 2008)

Please read:  Why Contractor Fatalities Matter

Too Dependent on Contractors? Minimum Standards for Responsible Governance

By Steven L. Schooner and Daniel S. Greenspahn

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

While acknowledging that there are many benefits, challenges, and risks involved in outsourcing, this article asserts that failed implementation, rather than outsourcing policy, explains the government's current (mis)management of its contractors. This article explores the minimum standards for responsible governance following more than 15 years of ill-conceived and inadequate investment in the federal government's acquisition workforce, followed by a governmentwide failure to respond to a dramatic increase in procurement activity. These trends have led to a buying and contract management regime animated by triage, with insufficient resources available for contract administration, management, and oversight. The old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" rings true. Accordingly, a prospective investment in upgrading the number, skills, incentives, and morale of government purchasing officials would reap huge long-term dividends for the taxpayers.  (September 2008)

Please read Too Dependent on Contractors? Minimum Standards for Responsible Governance.

By Robert Antonio

10th Anniversary Special

One of the inside jokes we had as auditors for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was the phrase:  "We're Here To Help."  Sometimes, the victim agency would spring that phrase on us when we first met with agency officials to announce our audit.  Maybe it wasn't so inside after all.  If you are involved during the issuance of solicitations or if you are involved during the source selection process, you may believe that GAO's Procurement Law attorneys are less helpful than the auditors.  If you do, you are wrong.  First, the Procurement Law attorneys know something about their subject area.  Second, in many of their decisions, they provide instruction in their rules of contracting.  Quite often they repeat the same rule over and over again in similar decisions.  Often they add to the rule.  That is what this article is about--helping you identify those rules.  (July 2008)

Please read They're Here To Help

By Steven L. Schooner, Daniel I. Gordon, and Jessica L. Clark

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Around the world, governments are increasingly becoming focused on improving their public procurement regimes. Significant developments include the establishment of internationally shared norms for public procurement systems, while, at the national level, a number of countries have adopted dramatically new public procurement regimes, and others are experimenting with new procurement vehicles, such as framework agreements and electronic reverse auctions, and new procurement schemes, including public-private partnerships. As each of these changes is contemplated, planned, implemented, and then assessed, government leaders and policy makers need a framework of analysis for decision making - a framework based on public procurement goals and understanding stakeholder interests.

In this condensed working paper (being delivered at the Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Symposium), we offer such a framework, building on the ideas in Steve Schooner's 2002 article, 'Desiderata: Objectives for a System of Government Contract Law.' In that article, Schooner outlined nine objectives, or desiderata, of public procurement systems: competition, integrity, transparency, efficiency, customer satisfaction, best value, wealth distribution, risk avoidance, and uniformity. From that starting point, we use stakeholder analysis to further develop the desiderata into a two-part framework to give policy makers and government leaders a tool for public procurement decision making. Just as 'Desiderata' has contributed to public procurement decision making, this analytical framework can help clarify, and perhaps inform, many of the debates raging around procurement reform.  (May 2008)

From one of the authors:

This project is very much a work in progress, and we posted the draft at this point because we are actively seeking comments, reactions, suggestions, examples, and anecdotes. (Again, the version posted on SSRN is a significantly condensed version.)

Readers should not hesitate to correspond directly with Steven L. Schooner or, of course, with the other authors.

Please read:  Public Procurement Systems: Unpacking Stakeholder Aspirations and Expectations.

By Eitan Goldman, JÖRG ROCHOLL, and JONGIL SO

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

This paper analyzes whether political connections of public corporations in the United States affect the allocation of government procurement contracts. The paper classifies the political affiliation of S&P 500 companies using hand-collected data that detail the past political position of each of their board members. Using this classification, the study focuses on the change in control of both House and Senate following the 1994 midterm election and on the change in the Presidency following the 2000 election. An analysis of the change in the value of the procurement contracts awarded to these companies before and after 1994 and 2000, respectively, indicates that companies that are connected to the winning (losing) party are significantly more likely to experience an increase (decrease) in procurement contracts. The results remain significant after controlling for industry classifications as well as for several firm characteristics. In total, these findings suggest that the allocation of procurement contracts is influenced, at least in part, by political connections. Thus, our study provides one of the first pieces of evidence showing a direct avenue through which political connections add value to U.S. companies.  (April 2008)

Please read:  Political Connections and the Allocation of Procurement Contracts.

A Legal Analysis of the Statutory and Contractual Allocation of Data Rights in Federal Contracts Subject to 10 U.S.C. 2320

By Dayn T. Beam

As the author delved deeper and deeper into the structure and substance of 10 U.S.C. 2320 and the implementing regulations and contract clauses, it was a very pleasant surprise to find that the structure and substance of that statute could produce practical and fair outcomes when applied and followed as written. While there is one enormously useful and complete treatise on this subject and a few law review articles with very good summaries of the issues, most articles and case law focus on isolated issues without placing those issues into a clear and complete context with the Statute, the DFARS, and other issues. As with any attempt to ascertain the fullest extent of the authorizations and the limitations contained within a statute (and subsequent implementing regulations), the initial analysis will not consider prior assumptions, past practices, case law, and even scholarly analyses which might influence the initial interpretation of the plain meaning of the words as written. These other sources and authorities will be considered, as discussed in Part V, only after completing the initial analysis.

This analysis is divided into the basic paper and five Attachments. The basic paper analyzes the Statute and the DFARS as they are written. Attachments One and Two provide a copy of 10 U.S.C. 2320 and DFARS 252.227-7013 for convenient reference. Attachments Three, Four, and Five, examine the practical application issues which arise in an attorney’s daily practice regarding DOD Data Rights.  (April 2008)

About The Author

Dayn Thomas Beam has been an attorney advisor with the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) (formerly MICOM) Legal Office for the past twenty-nine years. He presently is serving in the Intellectual Property Law Group and previously has served in the Acquisition Law Division and General Law Division of this office. He has published numerous manuals and papers on topics of concern in these areas of law, including "A Practical Guide for the Understanding, Acquiring, Using, Transferring, and Disposition of Intellectual Property by DoD Personnel." He has conducted training in many command-wide training programs and has received many awards in each area of law in which he has practiced, including the AMC Individual Award for Outstanding Achievement in Value Engineering. 
 

Please read:  A Legal Analysis of the Statutory and Contractual Allocation of Data Rights in Federal Contracts Subject to 10 U.S.C. 2320.  Updated May 21, 2009.  (MS Word)  (388 KB)

By Steven L. Schooner and Danielle Conway-Jones

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference - Covering 2007

This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2007), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2008 in U.S. federal procurement. The authors bemoan the absence of attention to significant issues by the current Presidential candidates, critique the leadership vacuum that sustains the longstanding and increasingly critical acquisition workforce shortage, and discuss the potentially active legislative agenda in light of the now-Final Report of the Acquisition Advisory Panel (AAP), a blue-ribbon commission mandated by Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA). The authors also discuss the dramatic post-2000 trend in increased federal procurement spending, increased transparency due to the Federal Procurement Data System and new online vehicles, increased attention to contractor compliance systems, continuing problems with contracting in Iraq, and the application of certain social policies to the procurement process. (March 2008)

Please read: Emerging Policy and Practice Issues.

By Nick Sanders, Director, Aerospace & Defense Advisory Services, PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference

It is tempting to say that the pressures on the Federal Government, its contractors, and their management teams to deliver high-quality goods and services on time and on budget have never been greater. Government Accountability Office and independent panel reports, as well as the words of Congressional reformers, provide ample evidence that little tolerance exists for failure to achieve contractual "acquisition outcomes." Despite the current environment, newspaper headlines continue to report problematic quality, cost and schedule performance by the Department of Defense and its contractors. Does the current high-sensitivity/low-tolerance Government contracting environment represent a radical paradigm-shift, a pendulum-swing back to the pre-Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act days of MILSPEC and oversight – or is it "the same old song and dance" repackaged for a new audience? (April 2007)

Please read: Renewed Focus on Program Performance Management Or The Government-Imposed Shotgun Marriage Between the Accountant and Engineer

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (Covering 2006)

This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2006), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2007 in U.S. federal procurement. In large part, the paper discusses the "Draft Final" Report of the Acquisition Advisory Panel (AAP), a blue-ribbon commission mandated by Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA). Proceeding from the simple premise that the private sector does a better job with procurement by planning carefully and employing aggressive competition, the authors discuss, among other things, the inaccuracies that plague the Federal Procurement Data System; the dramatic post-2000 trend in increased procurement spending; the AAP's tame recommendations for commercial purchasing; and efforts to reign in (and responsibly utilize) interagency contracting. The authors also question the administration's relentless focus on competitive sourcing and critique the leadership vacuum that led to the longstanding and increasingly critical acquisition workforce shortage. (March 2007)    

Please read: Emerging Policy and Practice Issues (2006)

By Vernon J. Edwards

Special to WIFCON.com

On more than one occasion, members of the WIFCON.com discussion forum have asked the same question.  They want a recommendation for books that a government contracting professional should read.  Well, wait no longer.  (March 2007)    

Please read: Recommended Books for Government Contracting Professionals. (pdf)

By Vernon J. Edwards

Special to WIFCON.com

What's the problem with federal contracting?  Is it to much congressional oversight?  Could it be too much inspector general oversight?  How about too many people accepting inspector general reports at face value?  Is it too much work and even too much form filling?  What about too many rules?  The title of this article provides you with a taste of the author's view.  (March 2007)

Please read: Poor Leadership, Not Excessive Oversight, Is What Troubles Contracting

By Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

The defense authorization act for fiscal year 2007, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, H.R. 5122, has been signed into law. This essay reviews some of the key provisions in the act regarding procurement reform, including: (1) a renewed focus on lead systems integrators; (2) new technical data obligations for commercial contractors; (3) waiver procedures for specialty metals under the Berry Amendment; and (4) new integrity initiatives, including a GAO study of revolving door hires at major contractors. The essay notes that the act's many reform measures are likely stepping-stones to broader reforms. With recent scandals and the coming 2006 and 2008 elections, the pace of reform is, if anything, likely to accelerate.

Please read Procurement Reform in the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 — A Creature of Compromise, Pointing the Way to Future Debates

By George B. Tereschuk

Federal Government acquisition of non-commercial supplies may include delivery of technical data and computer software with well-known licensing terms such as Unlimited Rights, Limited Rights or Restricted Rights. In Defense Department acquisitions, the resulting contract can permit delivery of technical data and computer software using a "middle way," known as Government Purpose Rights (GPR), which is an Intellectual Property licensing system that is available to DOD acquisitions. This paper describes the salient features of GPR such as the scope of the GPR license, differences between GPR, Unlimited Rights, and Limited Rights, the circumstances when GPR is granted and other characteristics of the GPR license. The author is a Patent Attorney in the Legal Office of the Headquarters, United States Army Communications/Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CE/LCMC). (May 2006)

Please read Government Purpose Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software in DOD Acquisition.

By R. Preston McAfee

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Government procurements that specify brand names can unnecessarily increase the price of purchases. In 2004, approximately 69 percent of the applicable solicitations for computer systems and technology contained language that either required specific name brand microprocessors, usually Intel, or specified that the processor should be equivalent to a particular brand microprocessor. Such exclusionary language could cost hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily. For some products, the variety and complexity of items compel contracting agents to use brand names rather than to detail specific technical requirements and product characteristics. In the case of microprocessors, third-party benchmarks represent a solution to such a procurement specification issue. (May 2006)

Please read Improving Federal Procurement: The Benefits of Vendor-Neutral Contract Specifications

By Erin Siuda and Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Congress is considering S. 1761, The Gulf Coast Recovery Act (GCRA).  Congress intends for GCRA to provide insulation against liability for contractors involved in disaster relief and reconstruction.  It would broadly apply the government contractor defense and thereby forestall private tort litigation arising from contractors’ work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other similar disasters.  This Article asserts that GCRA grossly misses the mark when judged against two commonly suggested normative goals of tort law: the GCRA neither serves the ends of justice and fairness by compensating victims, nor does it minimize the costs of harm by deterring contractors from acting negligently. (May 2006)

Please read Post-Katrina Reconstruction Liability: Exposing the Inferior Risk-Bearer

Courtesy of the Procurement Round Table

Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 200 authorized an Acquisition Advisory panel to review and recommend any necessary changes to acquisition laws and regulations as well as government-wide acquisition policies with a view toward ensuring effective and appropriate use of commercial practices and performance-based contracting.

On March 13, 2006, the Procurement Round Table (PRT) submitted a paper to the Panel entitled "A Proposal for a New Approach to Performance-Based Services Acquisition."  In this paper, the PRT concluded that the system for conducting performance-based service acquisition (PBSA) is not working — particularly with respect to long-term, complex service requirements. After a discussion of current PBSA problems, the paper recommends a new approach called Relational Contracting which emphasizes the need to establish solid working relationships between the Government and its complex service support contractors. The paper concludes with a recommendation that the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) obtain statutory authority for pilot program application of the Relational Contracting concept. (April 2006)

Please read A Proposal for a New Approach to Performance-Based Services Acquisition

By William E. Kovacic and Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Neither Congress, the procuring agencies, the media, nor the public will condone government contractors reaping what are perceived as excessive profits. Accordingly, the procurement process employs an unduly complex, burdensome, risk-laden, and ineffective mechanism that erects significant barriers to civil/military integration. This paper examines certain policy implications associated with the Truth In Negotiations Act, the existing audit regime, and the use of criminal and civil anti-fraud measures to scrutinize deviations from these complex cost, pricing, and profit policies and controls. It revisits the long-extinct Renegotiation Act and finds it less troubling than the existing quagmire. This paper proposes to simplify and decriminalize federal procurement pricing and profit policy by drawing from the historical renegotiation experience. (April 2006)

Please read A Modest Proposal to Enhance Civil/Military Integration: Rethinking the Renegotiation Regime as a Regulatory Mechanism to Decriminalize Cost, Pricing, and Profit Policy

Constructing a Bid Protest Process: Choices Every Procurement Challenge System Must Make

By Daniel L. Gordon

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Many public procurement systems have established systems for allowing vendors to challenge the conduct of procurement processes. Providing an effective domestic review mechanism for vendors who believe that government procurement officials have not conducted an acquisition lawfully brings an important measure of transparency and accountability to public procurement systems. This article discusses the goals of bid protest systems and presents key choices that must be made in crafting a system. The article does not describe an ideal bid protest system, but rather presents the decisions that need to be made when constructing a bid protest system. (April 2006)

Please read Constructing a Bid Protest Process: Choices Every Procurement Challenge System Must Make

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Accepted Paper of West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (Covering 2005)

This paper attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2006 in U.S. federal procurement. It focuses upon what seems to be the common imperative underlying the various initiatives: the need to bring order to a procurement function as it devolves away from the Government user – what some might call the "devolution" or "outsourcing" of the contracting function. The paper also addresses emerging issues including, among others, the death of competitive sourcing; the acquisition workforce crisis; centralized purchasing; public service ethics in the post-Darleen Druyun era; interagency purchasing and fees; post-Hurricane Katrina procurement; electronic procurement and reverse auctions; and conflicts of interest. (February 2006)

Please read Emerging Policy and Practice Issues (2005)

By Ralph C. Nash, Joseph A Vergilio, Gilbert J. Ginsburg, Mary Anne Q. Wood, John S. Pachter, Douglas L. Patin, James F. Nagle, Clarence T. Kipps, Jr., Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Public Contract Law Journal

In 1987, I received my Masters degree in Government Procurement from The American University in Washington, D. C.  Of course, my textbooks were written by Ralph C. Nash and John Cibinic, Jr.  As I write, my hard copies of Federal Procurement Law and several other Nash & Cibinic texts sit in my office library a few feet away.  On August 1, 2005, John Cibinic, Jr. died.  Several of his colleagues have written brief memories of their experiences with him in this memoriam. 

What effect did John Cibinic, Jr. have on me?  If he had not lived, I would not have earned my Masters degree and I would be a different person.  If John Cibinic, Jr. had not lived, there would not be a Where in Federal Contracting?; there would not be a wifcon.com; there would not be a Wifcon Forum; and you would not be reading this now.

Please Read In Memoriam, John Cibinic, Jr.

By Christopher R. Yukins and Joshua I. Schwartz

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

As Hurricane Katrina relief efforts grow into the billions of dollars, the U.S. Congress is considering additional legislation to liberalize procurement, including H.R. 3766, co-sponsored by Representatives Kenny Marchant and Tom Davis. In these comments on the proposed legislation, the authors asked whether the proposed changes, which would eviscerate competition for most procurement related to disaster relief, are truly necessary. Professor Yukins suggests that, though it might in some circumstances be necessary to dismantle the federal regulatory regime to accommodate a wave of new firms in the federal market, there is too little evidence yet to support such radical measures. Professor Schwartz argues that there is no basis, empirically or analytically, for any effort to undo the careful protections afforded by the federal procurement system. (October 2005)

Please Read Katrina's Continuing Impact on Procurement - Emergency Procurement Powers in H.R. 3766.

By Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

This paper proffers a conceptual model for procurement reform in the United States today and argues that much of the current reform can be understood as an attempt to bring order to the devolution of the contracting function, from users, to agency contracting officials, to centralized purchasing agencies, and now, finally, to private contractors. The paper also argues that this devolution is, in fact, an outsourcing of the contracting function, and that therefore classic models of private-sector outsourcing should be applicable. The government should, in other words, be asking whether the contracting function should be outsourced, and if so, whether that function is being properly devolved, with appropriate checks and limits. This model, which assesses U.S. procurement reform against the rush to devolve the contracting function, applies equally well to the procurement reform legislation pending before Congress. The various procurement reform measures in the pending defense authorization bills reflect Congress' effort to curb——or at least control——the devolution of the contracting function, because of rising concern that too much authority has devolved too far. (June 2005)

Please Read Understanding the Current Wave of Procurement Reform:  Devolution of the Contracting Function.

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

Recognizing the need to focus on the strategic management of the federal acquisition workforce, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) promulgated Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce. These two brief pieces discuss the policy letter and what it signals to the acquisition community. The first, Empty Promise for the Acquisition Workforce, concludes that, although the letter's title optimistically heralded a bold step forward, OFPP both aimed too low and missed the mark. The letter attempted to redefine cosmetically the acquisition workforce and describe how a portion of this deputized acquisition workforce should be trained. While the latter is important, the letter dodged the primary issue that daunts the workforce, painted a deceptive picture of a growing acquisition workforce and failed to communicate a vision for a reinvigorated corps of contracting professionals. The second, A Pedagogical Perspective on Training the Acquisition Workforce, offers some pedagogical reactions to the policy letter and some suggestions, with a focus on the need for teaching critical thinking. (May 2005)

Please Read Commentary on the Acquisition Workforce

By Jacques S. Gansler and William Lucyshyn

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

In this article, four case studies highlight how organizations have implemented outsourcing, competitive sourcing, and public-private partnerships to achieve savings and better performance. First is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's initiative to outsource its computer desktop maintenance to the private sector. The second illustrates the use of competitive sourcing by the Internal Revenue Service as part of its effort to modernize. The third, Offutt Air Force Base's decision to compete more than 1,500 positions, is an example of the military’s efforts to shift more active duty personnel from support to combat-oriented positions. The fourth, a form of public-private partnership for maintenance of C-130 aircraft propeller assemblies at Robins Air Force Base, demonstrates the Air Force's commitment to reducing costs to make funds available for military modernization. (April 2005)

Please Read Implementing Alternative Sourcing Strategies: Four Case Studies

By Richard Engelbrecht-Wiggans and Elena Katok

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

E-Sourcing refers to the use of internet-enabled applications and decision support tools that facilitate competitive and collaborative interactions among buyers and suppliers through the use of online negotiations, reverse (decreasing bid) auctions, and other related tools. The use of auctions in e-Sourcing may save buyers considerable amounts of money. For example, the U.S. General Services Administration attributed savings of 12% to 48% to the use of auctions. However, auctions may not be delivering quite as much savings as hoped and some argue that they inflict damage on the long-term buyer-supplier relationships by inhibiting collaboration.  In this article, the authors develop a mechanism that blends features of reverse auctions and long-term relationships.  (April 2005)

Please Read e-Sourcing in Procurement: Theory and Behavior in Reverse Auctions with Non-Competitive Contracts.

By Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Published in West's The Government Contractor newsletter

This brief piece suggests that interagency acquisition, the poster child for the flexible, streamlined, businesslike approach of the 1990's acquisition reform movement, has become the federal procurement system's Achilles heel. It recommends that the government needs more qualified professionals to proactively craft results-oriented contracts and to manage effectively contractors' performance. Finally it suggests commencing a meaningful conversation about the appropriate role of businesslike models, generally, and fees, specifically, in governance.  (April 2005)

Please Read Risky Business: Managing Interagency Acquisition.

By Daniel L. Gordon

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Conflicts of interest involving government officials have been very much in the news in recent years. At least in the United States, public procurement professionals are encountering more and more instances of a more particular kind of conflict, organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs), which can be defined, initially, as situations where an entity plays two or more roles that are, in some sense, at odds with one another. This article endeavors to set out some points for consideration in this increasingly important area.  (February 2005)

Please Read Organizational Conflicts of Interest:  A Growing Integrity Challenge

By Steven L. Schooner and Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

That was the year that was.  In this item, the authors share a paper that they presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference.  The article covers a variety of issues including certain federal contracting scandals, task order contracting, and share-in-savings contracting.  (February 2005)

Please Read Emerging Policy and Practice Issues.

By David C. Wyld

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

One thing an auction bidder does not want to see at an auction is a fellow collector who shares the same collecting interests as the bidder.  Worse yet is more than one of these fellow collectors to run the bid on an item to unexpected heights.  On the other hand, the seller knows that the more interested bidders there are, the merrier the bidding process will be for the seller.  Now, if you are selling excess corporate or government assets, how can you get a large number of interested buyers.  If you want to know, read this article.  The article is well written in straightforward language and filled with examples, tidbits of interesting information, and many graphics and tables enhancing the presentation.  Various auction methods are discussed and explained.  If you are not interested in this topic, you will enjoy reading the article.  If you are interested in this topic, you will be delighted.  This simply is one of the best written, best presented articles you will read.  (January 2005)

Please read Government Garage Sales: Online Auctions as Tools for Asset Management.

Competitive Sourcing:  What Happens to Federal Employees?

By Jacques S. Gansler and William Lucyshyn

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

What happens to federal employees when a competition—competitive sourcing—is held between the government and the private sector?  According to the authors of this study, the effect of such a competition on the federal employees involved has received a limited analysis.  To understand what happens, the authors analyzed all A-76 competitions conducted by the Department of Defense from 1994 through the first quarter of 2004.  In this report, they present their findings, conclusions, and recommendations.  (January 2005)

Please read Competitive Sourcing: What Happens to Federal Employees?

By Joshua I. Schwartz

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

In this article the author looks at selected differences between government contract law and private contract law.  The author defines the term "exceptionalism" as contract law where the United States Government is not subject to all of the legal obligations and liabilities of private parties under private agreements.  On the other hand, the author defines the term "congruence" as contract law where United States Government is subject to the legal obligations and liabilities used by private parties under private agreements.  Using these two basic terms, the author identifies areas of contract formation and contract performance that fits under each term.  Finally, the author explains that military procurement forms the basis for exceptionalism in federal contract law. (October 2004)

Please Read The Centrality of Military Procurement: Explaining the Exceptionalist Character of United States Federal Public Procurement Law

By Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

If you have reviewed wifcon.com's analysis of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, you will have noticed several sections dealing with the Department of Defense's use of other agencies' contracts and the Department's use of contractor employees in Iraq.  You also may have noticed the specificity of the legislative language and the extended remarks of the Senate and House conferees in their conference report.  This article discusses some of the reasons for that legislation and those remarks.  Since the 1990s, policymakers have reduced the contracting workforce, increased efforts to outsource, and focused on streamlining the contracting process.  The author explains that the government ended up with untrained contractor personnel, untrained government contracting personnel, a mixed workforce of contractor and government personnel, invisible contract actions, and finally Abu Ghraib. (October 2004)  (October 2004)

Please Read Contractor Atrocities at Abu Ghraib: Compromised Accountability in a Streamlined, Outsourced Government

By Christopher R. Yukins

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that all information technology bought by the federal government be accessible to persons with disabilities. That goal, simple to state, has been enormously complex to implement. In imposing a social initiative on the procurement system, Congress has left a huge number of issues unresolved — including, most critically, who is to pay for the initiative. This article reviews the issues raised by Section 508, and traces common patterns that emerge when, as with Section 508, social goals are implemented through a large, complex, and deeply entrenched procurement system. The article traces the impact of established constituencies, inside and outside the government, both in slowing Section 508’s progress and in filling gaps left by Congress and the regulators. The article suggests that, as the U.S. procurement system grows ever more streamlined in the coming years, the patterns and pitfalls of Section 508 — and of other social initiatives — will become an increasingly prominent part of the procurement system.  (April 2004)    

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Please read Making Federal Information Technology Accessible:  A Case Study in Social Policy and Procurement.

By Joseph M. Goldstein and Vanessa L. Prieto

This article is a survey of Florida decisions of the district courts of appeal and the Division of Administrative Hearings involving government bid protests. All Florida state agencies and most local agencies must select contractors to provide goods or services through a competitive process. If a potential contractor objects to the process that a public entity uses to select the contractor or objects to the result of the process, then it may file a lawsuit challenging the public entity's action. With regard to state agencies, there is a comprehensive administrative process that must be followed. Local entities may elect either an administrative process, or an aggrieved potential contractor can file suit in circuit court.  Because there have been few, if any, recent articles on this topic, this article briefly discusses or cites to older, leading cases that are necessary to place certain issues in context. (April 2004)    

See article inside.  (This article is in MS Word in Rich Text Format (RTF) only and is a large document.)  (696 kb)

Special to Where in Federal Contracting? 

By Vernon J. Edwards

The Level of Confidence Assessment Rating Technique (LOCAR) is a form of risk assessment coupled with a scoring mechanism. In using it, an agency first determines the value of the promises that each offeror has made; it then determines how much confidence it has that each offeror will keep its promises; it then adjusts its assessments of each offeror’s promised value on the basis of its level of confidence in the offeror, converting promised value to expected value; finally, the agency considers its assessment of each offeror’s expected value when making nonprice/price tradeoffs in order to determine which offeror represents the best value.  In this article, the developer of LOCAR explains how it works. (April 2004)    

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By Frederick J. Lees

In 1979, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy considered consolidating the various Boards of Contract Appeals (BCA) without taking action.  In 2002, the White House again proposed the consolidation of the eight civilian BCAs into a single civilian BCA as part of a proposal to help small businesses.  On the other hand, the House Small Business Committee sought to expand the number of BCAs with two new "panels" to hear the disputes of small businesses.  In this article, the author looks at how small businesses use the current BCA system, explains and compares the White House and Congressional proposals, describes the non-contract duties assigned to BCAs, provides statistics on the BCAs' workloads, and offers specific recommendations on how the BCAs can be consolidated.  As part of this article, the author provides specific information on techniques small businesses are using at the current BCAs and provides striking statistics on the decline in workload at the BCAs.  (April 2004)    

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Please read Consolidation of Boards of Contract Appeals:  An Old Idea Whose Time Has Come?

By Steven L. Schooner, Senator Susan M. Collins, Richard J. Bednar, Steven A. Shaw, Danielle Brian, James J. McCullough, John S. Pachter, Marcia G. Madsen, Christopher R. Yukins, and Abram J Pafford

This is a discussion of emerging issues related to the suspension and debarment of contractors that was hosted by the George Washington University Law School's Government Procurement Law Program.  Contributors to the discussion include individuals from the the U. S. Senate, the major buying agencies, the oversight community, and the private sector. The discussions provide a thorough analysis of concerns about the policy, a recent high-profile case involving a major contractor, the propriety of awarding new government work to excluded firms, the procedural importance of a contractor's response to the allegations of misconduct, the evidence supporting a criticism that the existing suspension and debarment policy fails to deter improper activity by major contractors, and issues facing contractors.  (February 2004)   

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Please Read Suspension and Debarment:  Emerging Issues in Law and Policy

Special to Where in Federal Contracting? 

By Vernon J. Edwards

Put the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on a diet?  After nearly 20 years, maybe it is time for it to slim down.  For example, FAR 1.602-1(b) says: “No contract shall be entered into unless the contracting officer ensures that all requirements of law, executive orders, regulations, and all other applicable procedures, including clearances and approvals, have been met.”   However, is it possible for any human to provide assurance that a contract complies with the thousands of pages of the FAR? If not, it is time for the author's modest proposal.  (February 2004)    

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By Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Does implementation of the federal government's competitive sourcing policy rely on smoke and mirrors?  Are we shrinking the government workforce only to grow the contractor workforce?  Can the reduced number of government contracting personnel effectively manage the increasing workload of service contracts?  In a new article, the author identifies problems with the government's competitive sourcing initiative and concludes that, without drastic change, it is doomed to fail.  (January 2004)         

Please Read Competitive Sourcing Policy: More Sail Than Rudder?

By Dan Guttman

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

This article begins with the 20^th century reforms in which the federal government deployed private contractors to perform the basic work of government.  The author reviews the premises of these reforms, argues that the reformers identified problems associated with the balance between governmental and third party workforces, and explains that the reformers left these problems for future reformers to sort out.  As a result, the author explains that this country never debated and developed a coherent legal and cultural framework to deal with the present reality—a shadow government that operates outside the cognizance of the public, and in too many instances, outside the cognizance of the official government workforce.   However, the author claims that now, there is an opportunity to develop a reasoned vision to hold contractors and other third parties accountable in the present reality.  (January 2004)         

Please Read Governance by Contract:  Constitutional Visions; Time for Reflection and Choice.

The Time-and-Materials Contract: The Time Has Come For A Long, Hard Look

Special to Where in Federal Contracting? 

By Vernon J. Edwards

The use of time-and-materials contracts has long been controversial because they are considered to be extremely disadvantageous to the buyer.  Over the last three fiscal years, there has been a steady increase in their use and this increase in use will undoubtedly continue as a result of the recent enactment of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003.  This article considers some of the issues associated with time-and-materials pricing and analyzes the government’s payment terms for these contracts.  The author concludes that these contracts are now being used in ways that differ significantly from the old paradigm of short-term, simple, small scale, blue collar tasks such as equipment overhaul and repair.  If government regulators determine that changes are needed to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the author provides recommendations for the regulators to consider.  (January 2004)

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By Robert Antonio

If any contract type can be referred to as the "black sheep" of federal contracting, it surely is the fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract (FPIF).  The FPIF was a primary issue in the enactment of the Truth in Negotiations Act in 1962 and it was at the forefront of the billions in shipbuilding overruns in the 1970s and 1980s.  However, it is a valid contract type that is recognized in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.  Capable of hiding huge anticipated cost overruns to be paid by the taxpayer, it bears the name "fixed-price."  Even with its sordid past, the author believes the FPIF has a place in contracting when it is used as it is intended.  In this article, the author explains the FPIF's key features, how it works, how it has been abused, and how a bad FPIF can be identified.  (November 2003)

See article inside.  (View or print a copy in MS Word)  (224 kb)

By Thomas D. Carroll

In 1997, the Army's Wholesale Logistics Modernization Program (WLMP) started a revolution.  Faced with reengineering the Army's wholesale logistics business processes, the new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 Rewrite, and innovations in electronic communication, the WLMP went all the way.  This article leads the reader through the WLMP contracting process by showing how it applied the Rewrite's terms for "clarifications", "communications", "competitive range", and "negotiations" and how it applied electronic submission of proposals and source evaluation.  The process is still fresh years after contract award.  This article is recommended for all who are involved in contracting including Procurement Executives, Heads of Contracting Activities, future source selection officials, and all contract specialists.  (June 2003) 

See article inside.  (View or print a copy in MS Word)  (86 kb)

Special to Where in Federal Contracting? 

By Vernon J. Edwards

Boiled down to its essence, choosing a contractor in a competitive acquisition is a matter of information processing. The decisionmaker collects information about alternative choices (competing firms), assesses each alternative on the basis of specified criteria (evaluation factors), and then compares each alternative to the others on the basis of those assessments in order to rank them and determine which is best. As a general rule, the more information that an evaluation panel must process, the more time and/or personnel that it will need in order to process it, and the more information that the decisionmaker will have to consider when he or she compares the competitors to determine which is best.  In this article,  the author reviews current procedures and practices to collect and evaluate this information and makes suggestions to streamline the source selection process.  (April 2003)

See article inside.  (View or print a copy in MS Word)  (114 kb)

By Steven L. Schooner

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Members of the federal contracting community are aware of the existence of the U. S. Court of Federal Claims.  Among other things, the Court hears bid protests and contract disputes.  Recently, the U. S. Court of Federal Claims celebrated its 20th anniversary and the author attended.  At the conference, he asked—is the Court of Federal Claims needed?  This article provides a straightforward analysis of what the Court does, who else does it, and the significance of the Court's role in its areas of jurisdiction.  After analyzing the data and evaluating the alternatives, the author provides a nicely supported answer to his question.  (December 2002)         

Please Read The Future:  Scrutinizing the Empirical Case for the Court of Federal Claims

By Steven L. Schooner & Christopher R. Yukins

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

The international trade community increasingly focuses upon the purchasing practices of nation states. Developing nations and states seeking to improve their procurement systems expect to glean lessons from the evolution of procurement law regimes in developed nations, including the United States. To the extent that procurement of the United States is perceived as a model, the global community has been intrigued by its efforts to adopt more commercial practices and buy more commercial items. This paper sounds a cautionary note to developing states. Efforts to conform private sector models to government procurement regimes - no matter how efficient or practical - may prove inconsistent with the expectations of trade negotiators and could run contrary to the framework of the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement.  (November 2002)      

Please read Model Behaviour?  Anecdotal Evidence of Tension between Evolving Commercial Public Procurement Practices and Trade Policy.  

By Vernon J. Edwards

We all know that Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first powered flight on December 17, 1903.  However, did the brothers also play an important role in performance-based contracting?  Many of us have acquired copies of the specification from the Wright brothers' contract with the U.S. Army for a heavier-than-air flying machine.  The specification includes performance requirements and appears to include incentives and disincentives related to that performance.  Does that make it a performance-based contract?  In a thoroughly researched article, Vern Edwards takes us back to the early 1900s and provides us with the answers.  (July 2002)      

See article inside.  (88 kb)

By Steven Kelman, with his approval

Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Over the past decade, the federal government's contracting system was changed to make it less rule-bound.  These changes were concentrated in the areas of business strategy and source selection and included process streamlining, the use of best value source selections, the use of commercial items, and partnerships between government and industry.  However, there were few changes in the area of contract administration which was largely a stepchild of contract reform.  In this paper, Steven Kelman, Professor of Public Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, looks at the contract administration issue and addresses two questions:  (1)  What needs to be done well if contract administration in particular is to become a core competence for government, as part of a larger competence in contracting management? and (2) Is what needs to be done likely to be an attractive job to which government has some prospect of recruiting talented people?   (May 2002)

Please read Remaking Federal Procurement  (pdf. file 316 KB)

By Randall J. McFadden, with his approval

In the 1990s, the Department of the Air Force initiated a competitive sourcing initiative for non-core activities with great expectations for increased performance and reduced cost.  However, Randall McFadden, Director of Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Program Management Squadron, notes that the Department had no idea how difficult or complicated this initiative would prove to be.  In this study, the author explores the cultural, process, and execution barriers that must be mitigated to perform effective outsourcing.  (May 2002)

See article inside. (pdf file - 86 KB )  

By Jacques S. Gansler, with his approval

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

When considering government contracting, Jacques Gansler, Director, Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise at the University of Maryland, explains that people tend to focus on how the government contracts for an item.  The author argues that, to achieve long-term effectiveness and efficiency, three additional issues in  government contracting need to be considered.  These three additional issues include:  Who does the buying?; What do they buy?; and From whom do they buy?  (April 2002)

Please read A Vision of the Government as a World-Class Buyer:  Major Procurement Issues for the Coming Decade

By Wendell C. Lawther, with his approval

Courtesy of the The IBM Center for the Business of Government

How should the government acquire complex services and products?  Will traditional contractor-customer relationships suffice or is a public-private partnership more appropriate?  Wendell C. Lawther, Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida, provides three levels of complexity for services and products and discusses the appropriate government-contractor relationship that is best suited for quality performance under each scenario.  The author further explains that the contract administration function will continue to grow in importance.  (April 2002)  

Please read Contracting for the 21st Century:  A Partnership Model

It’s Time to Use the Legislative History of the Federal Acquisition Regulation

By Cyrus E. Phillips, IV

Have you seen the legislative history supporting the Federal Acquisition Regulation?  No?  Think again.  In accordance with federal law, Cy Phillips shows us that the intent of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council appears in Federal Acquisition Circulars.  However, he also points out that the Comptroller General, in deciding bid protests, ignores the intent of the writers of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.  What are the consequences?  In a carefully documented argument, he leads the reader to the laws that require the Council to document its intent, to a court case that identifies the legislative history as powerful evidence, and to Comptroller General decisions that ignore the intent of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.  (April 2002)  

See article inside.   

Desiderata:  Objectives for a System of Government Contract Law

By Steven L. Schooner, with his approval  

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Steven L. Schooner addresses nine goals that are frequently identified for government procurement systems.  Using the United States procurement system as an example, he explains this government's basic approach to contracting.  Although the author acknowledges that these nine goals are not an exhaustive list, he explains that they provide sufficient options to generate debate amongst scholars, policy makers, legislators, and buyers and sellers.  Whether you are from the United States government, its state and local governments, or a government from another nation, this article provides insight into the conflicting goals of United States contracting and what this government considers important.  (March 2002)

Please read Desiderata: Objectives for a System of Government Contract Law.

By Vernon J. Edwards

In October 2000, Vern Edwards introduced us to the award-term incentive (Award Term:  The Newest Incentive).  Now, he is back with a status report on this incentive.  From Fiscal Year 2001, he selected 49 different award-term incentive provisions used by federal agencies.  In his new article, he identifies the agencies that used the incentive, the acquisitions in which it was used, the incentive structures, and the incentive clauses.  (February 2002)  

See article inside.

Commercial Purchasing:  The Chasm Between the United States Government's Evolving Policy and Practice.

By Steven L. Schooner, with his approval

Courtesy of the Social Science Research Network

Steven L. Schooner, an Associate Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, provides a description of the federal government's efforts to make its purchasing more commercial.  The author identifies impediments to this effort that derive from the nature of government, the specific needs of the government, and the public's expectations regarding the expenditure of public funds.  The author suggests that the government is well served in attempting to become more commercial, but divining a happy medium - or determining just how commercial to become - is a daunting task.  (January 2002)

Please read Commercial Purchasing:  The Chasm Between the United States Government's Evolving Policy and Practice.  

Articles from 1999