Inspiring and Developing Excellence in Acquisition Leaders
(IDEAL)

DESCRIPTION

IDEAL is a leader development program for GS-12 and -13 (or broadband equivalent) Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) new and emerging supervisors. Participants should possess clearly documented potential for supervisory or leadership positions.

There will be one FY 2025 cohort.  The cohort will meet in Huntsville, AL for three one-week resident sessions held over a period of approximately four months. In between sessions, participants will return to their workplaces where they will utilize newly learned skills and put into practice the concepts and competencies they studied and examined during the resident sessions.

The IDEAL curriculum includes classroom instruction, engagement with senior leaders, a site visit and group activities.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:

• Must be a permanent tenure Civilian member of the Army Acquisition Workforce. Exception: per Section 1109, of the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Section 11.A.3.f, 82 of Federal Register 43339, eligibility to participate in the IDEAL program is extended to flexible length and renewable term technical appointment employees in the Department of Defense laboratories designated as Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories (STRLs).  Term employees not appointed under Section 1109, FY16 NDAA are not eligible for the IDEAL program. Tenure status is indicated on the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, Block 24.
• Must be GS-12 or -13 (or broadband equivalent)
• Must meet DAWIA position certification requirement or be within the certification grace period
• Strongly recommended: Completion of Acquisition Leadership Challenge Program-I (ALCP-I). For more information on this program, please visit https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program/.
  NOTE:  Completion of ALCP-I greatly enhances the IDEAL experience.  ALCP-I participants complete several personality inventories and learn how preferences and tendencies affect the way we interact with others.  IDEAL participants who have completed ALCP-I are able to apply what they learned about personalities to obtain a more robust understanding of behaviors and styles in leadership situations.  To obtain a seat in ALCP-I, contact your local training official.  You’ll find more information at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program/.

KEY DATES

Announcement Opening: 22 May 2024
Announcement Closing: 31 July 2024
Applicant Selection Notification:  September 2024
Cohort starts: 4 November 2024

DETAILS

Focus on Supervisor/Leader Development

Training and equipping supervisors to lead across the workforce leads to increased retention and higher productivity.  The development of Army leaders and supervisors is critical in managing the talents of our personnel.  This course focuses on Self-development, Interpersonal Relationships, and Strategic Management to enhance existing skills and abilities to meet our multi-domain operations-capable force objectives.

Target Audience

IDEAL is targeted to new and emerging supervisors who are seeking to refine their leadership skills or develop them in preparation for a supervisory or leadership position. If supervisory development and preparation is not your focus, please visit our website to learn about other programs for the AAW:  https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs.

Locations

The FY 2025 cohort will meet in Huntsville, AL for all resident sessions.

Cohort Dates

Dates for the FY 2025 resident sessions are as follows:

Session 1: 4 – 8 November 2024
Session 2: 13 – 17 January 2025
Session 3: 3 – 7 March 2025

For each resident session, participants will attend class all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with half days on Friday.  PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND ALL SESSIONS, ALL CLASSES.

Continuous Learning Points (CLPs)

Participants completing the three resident weeks of IDEAL and all IDEAL activities and assignments will receive 112 CLPs.

Funding and Travel

The Army DACM Office will fund tuition and fees for all IDEAL participants, as well as TDY (travel, per diem, lodging, and rental car) for those who must travel to attend.

The DACM Office will not reimburse travel time; travelers seeking travel comp time or any other type of compensation for traveling must make arrangements with their command/organization.  Organizations and commands are responsible for the compensation, salary, and benefits of their employees attending IDEAL.  IDEAL participants remain on their organizations’ TDAs.

Curriculum and Competencies

IDEAL utilizes a competency-based approach focused on Army leadership competencies identified in Army Regulation 600-100, Army Profession and Leadership Policy. The competencies are standard across all Acquisition Functional Areas.

• Prepares Self
• Builds Trust
• Stewards the Profession
• Communicates
• Develops Others
• Leads by Example
• Gets Results
• Creates a Positive Environment
• Leads Others
• Extends Influence

The focus of each resident session will be as follows:
Session 1:  Self-development
Session 2:  Interpersonal Relationships
Session 3:  Strategic Management

Classroom instruction will consist of facilitator-led modules that explore the stated program competencies, as well as multi-day classes that provide a deeper dive into supervisory and leadership topics.  Participants will enhance and supplement their learning with an acquisition-relevant site visit, group activities, and engagements with senior leaders who visit the class in guest speaker roles.  IDEAL participants have further opportunity to practice leadership skills in their workplaces between the program sessions.

HOW TO APPLY

The application process is located online in the Army Acquisition Professional Development System (AAPDS).  To access AAPDS,

• Log into the Career Acquisition Management Portal (CAMP) at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/
• Click “CAPPMIS”
• Click “AAPDS”
• Click “Apply”
• Find Inspiring and Developing Excellence in Acq Ldrs (IDEAL) FY25 in the list and click the associated “Apply” link in the rightmost column

Follow the instructions within each section and click the “Submit Application” button when you have completed your application.  If you would like to save your work and return to your application later, click the “Save” button.

Note for flexible length and renewable term AAW employees of Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories (STRLs):  In order to apply for IDEAL, your supervisor must verify that you are an STRL employee appointed under Section 1109, FY16 NDAA.  Supervisor must submit verification email to the IDEAL program manager (contact info at bottom of this page).  You will not be able to start your application in CAPPMIS until the program manager has received and responded to the email.  STRL employees must meet all other IDEAL eligibility requirements.

Complete online applications must be finalized and submitted NLT midnight 31 July 2024. Late applications will not be accepted.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The following documents must be submitted and information must be accurate in AAPDS.

• Verification of Applicant/Supervisor Data. Validate your email address and your supervisor’s information; check the boxes if your email address and supervisor’s information is correct.
• Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB). Ensure your ACRB is updated and correct prior to submission of application. Confirm that your ACRB is accurate by checking the provided box. Applicants may update and correct specific fields of their ACRB using the edit functions within CAPPMIS.  For areas in the ACRB that cannot be changed by the applicant, please request assistance from the USAASC Help Desk by clicking “Help Request” within CAMP / CAPPMIS and submitting an online request.
• Resume. Upload your resume in PDF format. Please use 12-point Times New Roman with a 1-inch margin and a maximum of 3 pages. Be sure to address positions that highlight your leadership capabilities.  Applicants should also highlight their qualities and strengths instead of listing responsibilities.  Ensure experience descriptions and dates match those in the ACRB.  Strongly suggest you use the resume template at https://asc.army.mil/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Resume-Template.pdf.
• Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE). Ensure that your most recent SRPE is in the system. Your most recent SRPE should have an end date of 30 September 2023. Failure to have a current completed/finalized SRPE in the CAPPMIS system at the time of announcement closing will result in the applicant being declared ineligible and the application will not be provided to the Board for consideration.  All applicants are advised to engage early with their supervisors to ensure that a SRPE is complete/finalized in time to apply for the IDEAL program.  For more information about the SRPE, log into CAMP (https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/), click on CAPPMIS, and then click on the SRPE tab.
• Statement of Interest. Type your statement of interest in this section. In 2,500 characters or less, please describe your reasons for applying to IDEAL. Clearly articulate your goals, desired career path, how IDEAL will help you achieve your specific goals, and the benefits the Army will gain by your participation.

SELECTION PROCESS

The Army DACM Office will administer a Board to review and rate eligible applications, with the DACM making final selections. The IDEAL program manager will notify all candidates of the status of their applications.