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FAR and Innovation


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Guest Vern Edwards

Keep in mind that much of the increase in procurement spending since 2001 has been due to the two wars, operations other than war in various parts of the world, the need for increased homeland security, including more information technology and intelligence, the need for more veterans care, the economic crisis, and natural disasters like Katrina and other storms. In other words, the 21st Century has not been very, very good to us. It has enlarged and strained Government in almost every conceivable way. Acquisition has been playing catch-up since 9/11.

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Keep in mind that much of the increase in procurement spending since 2001 has been due to the two wars, operations other than war in various parts of the world, the need for increased homeland security, including more information technology and intelligence, the need for more veterans care, the economic crisis, and natural disasters like Katrina and other storms. In other words, the 21st Century has not been very, very good to us. It has enlarged and strained Government in almost every conceivable way. Acquisition has been playing catch-up since 9/11.

True, but you didn't mention the decades-long trend in outsourcing. When I was a working KO, I used to introduce myself to my clients as their "personnel guy." For years my main job was putting butts into seats. And that's regardless of the various temporary emergencies we've dealt with this millenium.

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In replying to a previous post that blamed "too much procurement" on the lack of a balanced budget, you listed recent emergencies that contributed to the problem. But, I thought you missed the most important reason--one that pre-dates any of the emergencies since 2001: The much longer-term trend of outsourcing our staff. In trying to use the FAR to solve what is essentially an HR problem, we've ballooned the number of procurements and introduced all sorts of other problems.

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Guest Vern Edwards

Got it. Thanks. Of course, the two things dovetail. We have more requirements because of the post 9/11 emergencies, and we're increasingly meeting those requirements by hiring outside help to do the work.

Excellent point.

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Thanks for the article Vern. Lets differentiate between the "schtick of innovation" (which is how this term is being used today by gurus, hucksters, millenials, and business schools) and the "stick of innovation". B-School schtick sells books but doesn't necessarily solve problems. The schtick is grounded formulaic B-school structure. The stick is simply look at problems and address them differently working around constraints. My premise is that COs (good COs anyway) look beyond that which is perscribed in FAR to frame issues, identify problems, and look for different ways to address them...exacty as you had done with Performance Based Contracting before it became standardized, formulized, and misapplied. To do that, COs need to not only know the FAR, but also know what the problems are, how to possibly reframe them, and then address them in a different way (rather than simply saying this is how the previous problem was solved, therefore frame your problem to fit this solution in a way things were done before).

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Guest Vern Edwards

Agreed. And in order to identify problems, frame issues, and look beyond FAR for solutions, COs must read widely and well and think critically. Sometimes the solution is not an innovation, but a tried and true method that no one else in the office knows about.

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Innovation and the Government.....some areas maybe, procurement, possibly. "Too much procurement" issues, sure. Would I love some sort of "elite workforces," with an emphasis on real "competence." Sign me up.

We have to start, or continue building on what we have. For me, that's here locally at my own agency. I may sound naive. I may even be a dreamer. However, I'm not willing to throw in the towel just yet....that comes later around retirement time.

Articles like this: http://www.ideo.com/images/uploads/news/pdfs/InnovationInGovernment.pdf, and maybe programs such as this: http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/cgl/leadership_excellence_in_acquisition_program.shtml, has me hoping some day FAR and Innovation can truely be bridged together. Easiest way to eat an elephant right....one bite at a time.... Just my $0.02 for what it's worth.

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Articles like this: http://www.ideo.com/images/uploads/news/pdfs/InnovationInGovernment.pdf, and maybe programs such as this: http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/cgl/leadership_excellence_in_acquisition_program.shtml, has me hoping some day FAR and Innovation can truely be bridged together. Easiest way to eat an elephant right....one bite at a time.... Just my $0.02 for what it's worth.

Thank you for sharing these links. I found the following statement on page 4 of the ideo link to be very insightful:

Whenever our country faces a “mission impossible,” the American public looks to our government to solve the problem. Whether it’s a financial collapse, terrorist attack, oil spill or a crumbling education system, we expect our government to find solutions and deliver results. We also expect our government to reliably perform "day-to-day" tasks such as delivering the mail, screening airline passengers and fulfilling Social Security payments, effectively and efficiently, crisis or no crisis.
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  • 2 weeks later...

True, but you didn't mention the decades-long trend in outsourcing. When I was a working KO, I used to introduce myself to my clients as their "personnel guy." For years my main job was putting butts into seats. And that's regardless of the various temporary emergencies we've dealt with this millenium.

Too true. The push to outsource as much as possible on top of the consistent crises of the 21st century and yeah, I sometimes feel like an HR pro.

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