Is there anything that a "procurement professional" (NCMA's beloved term) do that cannot be done faster and as well or better by AI?

I've been experimenting, and the news is not good.

The news is grim.

How to live long and prosper. Any ideas?

With consolidation of common services and supplies to GSA over next several months, it seems to be clear that 1102 career opportunities will be significantly reduced as I would not expect GSA to take on tons of 1102s, and the agencies losing contracts to GSA may not need them as much either.

Given that and to remain viable in the Federal career fields, are there job series that you all think 1102 skills could translate to?

I could only think of two for now: 0341 (Administrative Officer) and 0343 (Program Management).

Thanks.

1. The best way to learn is the traditional way. In person, required reading, consequences for not grasping the subject matter.

2. On the Job training is central to the proper application of the rules and concepts that are taught in the traditional manner. It has to be prioritized inside each contracting shop.

Is it just that simple?

On February 2, 1982, while I was assigned to the headquarters of the Air Force Systems Command, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Federal Expenditures, Research, and Rules, 97th Congress, Second Session, conducted a hearing about "the Federal procurement work force."

Here is a quote from the opening statement by Senator John C. Danforth, the subcommittee chair:

Today's hearing concerns the Federal procurement work force. The 100,000 men and women who do the Government's buying spent 130 billion tax dollars during fiscal year 1981. They will spend that much and more this year.

The present procurement system requires the implementation of a veritable library of regulations and procedures that define the buyer-seller relationship. Obviously, the people using this system must be qualified, trained, and capable of exercising good judgment.

Concern over the quality of the procurement work force is not new. Its importance was highlighted in the report of the Commission on Government Procurement, released almost 10 years ago. It is a central theme of the draft proposal for a uniform Federal procurement system, which was issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy last October.

A trained, self-confident, and professional work force will be required to implement the simplified Federal procurement system. A single Government-wide regulatory framework will rid the system of thousands of pages of redundant regulations. There is great concern, however, that the procurement work force may not be up to its new job. A system that relies less on regulations and more on plain good judgment requires a trained work force.

Efforts to improve the professionalism of the procurement work force are already underway. This morning's witnesses will describe the training and certification programs being undertaken by Government and by universities, professional associations, and others in the private sector. This partnership is being encouraged through the efforts of the Federal Acquisition Institute. Clearly, such cooperative efforts should be continued and expanded.

Increased professionalism within the work force demands recognition that procurement people are professionals. Sometimes such recognition is absent. The Office of Personnel Management's proposed classification standards for procurement personnel, the GS1102 series standards-downgrading certain procurement positions-are a case in point. While not the focus of these hearings, they remain of concern to this subcommittee and to many commentators both inside and outside Government. Senator Chiles and I have joined Government contractors in opposing OPM's plan, and we have been joined, in turn, by Senator Roth and Senator Cohen. We will be watching the progress of these standards closely.

Finally, we must remember that the Government's procurement work force has a significant impact on the Government's relations with its contractors. Unnecessary controversy, all too often born of ineptitude, misunderstanding, or unnecessary rigidity can be avoided-to the mutual benefit of the contractor and the taxpayer. In short, the investment we make in training contract officers in making them smart buyers and tough, but fair, customers-can pay the Government back several times over.I ha

Testimony, written statements, and letters were submitted by the OFPP Administrator, a government contracting firm, the Aerospace Industries Association, other industry representatives, a prominent law firm, and NCMA,.

I have attached the hearing record (74 pages).

OPM finally classified 1102s as professionals as of January 1, 2000.

Two questions for discussion:

1. What is the distinction between professional and other work?

2. What personal characteristics distinguish professionals from other workers?

Free speech is welcome, but PLEASE answer both questions before making other remarks.

Senate Hearing-Federal Procurement Workforce.pdf

Purchasing agents would handle small-dollar transactional buys𑁋such as purchases of simple product buyes, simple services, and small-scale construction

Contracting officers would handle large-dollar long-term relational buys𑁋such as product and software development and production and other complex services, and large-scale construction.

Wouldn't that simplify and reduce the costs of training and make purchasing agent jobs open to those without 4-year college degrees?

You don't see many such articles today. Why do you think that is? Is the matter settled?

What is the role of the contracting officer?

IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL ROLES OF PROGRAM MANAGERS AND CONTRACTING OFFICERS.pdf The Contracting Officer_ His Authority to Act and His Duty to Act.pdf The Role and Environment of the Contracting Officer.pdfThe Future Role of the Contracting Officer.pdf

• HHS lost the most 1102s of any department or independent agency.

• GS-7/9/11: 65% loss across HHS.

• The big three spending agencies within HHS (each obligates ~$8 billion per year), Center for Medicare and Medicaid, National Institute of Health, and Center for Disease Control: >50% loss

• For contrast: DoD: -9% (2,500 FTEs) and all civilian agencies: -20% (3,200)

You are in charge, what do you do?

P.S. You have also lost half of your certified CORs.

Careers will be made and broken during the coming year.

There will be a lot of uncertainty in the acquisition workplace. Uncertainty about rules and processes and uncertainty about careers.

For some, the uncertainty will present the opportunity of a career lifetime.

Who are the "some"?

• Those who are curious., thoughtful, and ingenious

• Those who get what it's all about and move out sharply in hot pursuit

• Those who study, learn, and are able to explain to others.

Study what? Learn what? Be able to explain what to others?

• Concepts

• Principles

• Rules

• Processes

• Procedures

• Methods

• Techniques

Who are the some?

Those who move out sharply! Those who do!

Edit: adding volunteer to lead/test procurements using RFO. Be the first at your office to try it out.

It is a failure by all who contributed to it, regardless of position, party or opinion, regardless of whether by act or omission.

I know that the last nine months have been chaotic and hard on almost everyone, whether in government or in industry, and very discouraging.

I say to all that are bearing the burden of firings, furloughs, work without pay, and business disruptions, that you are very much appreciated.

Hang in there, and let's hope this madness is curable before it's too late.

I am in a foreign country and have a contract for the delivery of a commodity in May of 2025. In January of 2025, the country's government introduced a 10% increase in customs fees which resulted in a $43K increase for the contractor.

Facts to consider:

• Contract Awarded in Sep 2024 with delivery required in March 2025

• The country's government added the additional fee on 31 Jan

• Request for Equitable Adjustment from the contractor and all documents submitted appropriately

• Contractor is foreign based and the items came from USA

• FAR 52.216-4 and 52.229-6 are included in the contract

My current line of thinking: The contractor did everything correctly, and because the cost increase was not foreseeable, I believe this REA should be approved for the full amount.

*I do recognize that the decision to approve this adjustment and for how much is up to me, but as I have not encountered this situation before and am not bound by a time restriction, I'd like to discuss. There may very well be parts of the FAR or legal precedent I am not aware of. I will also be discussing this with my legal office.

Besides feeling like a very overworked deck chair shuffler on the RMS Titanic, I feel your pain with the loss of personnel. My procurement shop has been decimated. It hurts enough to lose so many from our newest and most experienced ranks, but worst of all has been the amount of mid-career 1102s who walked because they finally, finally, finally had enough with the White House's lunatic mission to render government work as untenable as possible. There's no level of peer that I haven't lost to this never-ending tumult, and yet none of this "streamlining the government" ever happens because the work actually doesn't change. I just end up taking on the contracts of 2 other people.

And another:

I’m a Contracting Officer with an unlimited warrant. 14+ years experience. I’m burnt out with all the changes, loss of personnel and overall chaos in the government. I’m eligible for VERA if they offer it again and considering taking it if I get the chance. My question is what is available to me in the private sector if I pull the plug. I’m trying to decide if I just need to relax and do my best even if that means mission failure or take my chances and try something new. I truly love my team and my organization. My leadership is top notch. I’m just finding it impossible to keep my head above water, be a good leader and take care of my own mental health.

The initial point is that everyone contributes to the culture. Leaders have an important say, but workers at every level contribute. Even if you are the most junior person in the room, you can and should contribute positively to the culture. Next, the three prongs of a healthy culture that I'm working with are:

1. Be Curious. Read widely, interrogate the regulation, and figure out how other people are doing things.

2. Know your mission. Understand what your office does, why it is important, and the major challenges your office faces.

3. Center people. Invest in relationships, host training, book talks, and simply tell people about things you are interested in. (And this goes for all the stakeholders of a contracting office.)

Thoughts or critiques? Certainly there are thousands of values one could include, but I'm trying to identify what's most broadly applicable.

If you'd like to contribute formally, reach out to me by DM and I would be happy to interview you. I am not interested in stealing anyone's work, so I will provide attribution or anonymity as requested.

Last note--there are many references to acquisition culture in the forums, but I was not able to identify one that addressed it head on.

Would it be possible for Admin to move the threads that are unrelated to this discussion area to the appropriate areas?

Just sayin’. It’s a pet peeve that goes way back to my days with the DOD “Ask a Professor” website. Thanks, if you can move threads.

Fast forward to now. I keep seeing articles about how conversations worth having are becoming a lost art, something mostly associated with older generations. It got me wondering: Are technology and specifically AI making us dumber? Is our fate already a foregone conclusion?

Last night, I was reading Understanding Deep Learning by Simon J.D. Prince (MIT Press, 2023), which I will be reading for many nights to come, and it sparked a thought. While I’m not overly worried about relying less on rote memorization, what does concern me is the potential erosion of creative and critical thinking in an AI-driven world. Deep learning itself is built on neural networks, systems about which there is still far more we don’t know than we truly understand.

But here’s the flip side. Maybe the very concepts behind how deep learning models are designed could actually help revive a golden age of thinking, bringing us back to a sharper, more thoughtful way of solving problems. Maybe studying how neural networks process information could remind us how to think more like the great minds of the past, e.g., Antisthenes, Galileo, Jefferson, who were masters of careful, iterative reasoning.

Here’s a specific question for the forum that’s been rattling around in my head:
What can the concept of backpropagation in deep learning teach us about how we process information and make decisions, especially when drafting or negotiating something as complex as legal contracts?

I am curious what others think.

anyone here ever been part of standing up a PEO-S program? If so, did it include a staffing model? If so, can you share with me? Thank you.

dave

All solicitations shall include, immediately after the cover form, a sheet of paper which states who prepared it, as follows in the middle of the page, and nothing else. For example:

This solicitation was prepared by

Arthur Lowe, Contract Specialist

and was approved by

Jane Doe, Contracting Officer

DATE

Statements of work shall on the cover page, for example:

This statement of work was written by

Captain Janet Foster, Project Officer, and Contract Specialist Tom Brennan

DATE

Would that instill pride in workmanship?

What do you think of the idea?