Acquisition, contracting options at your fingertips

By December 11, 2018Acquisition
ACQ_Con-Tools

by Army AL&T Staff

 

The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)), in conjunction with Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and MITRE Corp., has developed two online reference tools to help acquisition professionals understand the full range of acquisition and contracting strategies available to them.

“Speed and agility are critical elements for delivering military capabilities today,” said Hon. Ellen Lord, USD(A&S), in an article for DAU. “As acquisition professionals, we need to make sure we use the best available acquisition and contracting strategies to satisfy operational objectives.”

The first of the interactive tools launched by USD(A&S) and DAU is the Adaptive Acquisition Framework. It shows the many different paths an acquisition program can follow and lets users click through the details for each path. Additional pathways, tailored models and new content will be added over time, Lord said.

“Critical thinking and ‘creative compliance’ are vital to successful programs, so I encourage acquisition professionals to be deliberate as we select pathways to follow,” Lord said. “While this framework is not a replacement of existing policy, it offers a different starting point to support acquisition decision-making.”

The second reference tool is the Contracting Cone. It outlines the full spectrum of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and non-FAR contract strategies, and supporting materials provide details about each strategy. The goal of the tool is to provide visibility into new or lesser-known strategies and ensure that the full range of contract strategies is considered.

“These acquisition and contracting pathways are intended to help acquisition professionals navigate acquisition policy with greater knowledge, confidence and success,” Lord said.

Read Lord’s full article at https://www.dau.mil/News/New-Acquisition-and-Contracting-Frameworks-Online.


Subscribe to Army AL&T News – the premier online news source for the Army Acquisition Workforce.
Subscribe