ACQUISITION TRAINING, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
WHAT’S NEW?
CATALOG OF FY24 PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Happy new (fiscal) year! Now is your chance to map out your leader development and training opportunities with the newly published fiscal year 2024 program announcements! Whether it’s obtaining a degree, paying off a student loan, learning team and leadership skills or broadening your experience with a developmental opportunity, there’s something for everyone. Check out all the upcoming programs, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/program-timeline.
NEW MEMO – FY24 ARMY ACQUISITION WORKFORCE (AAW) STANDARDS
To comply with Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) statutory requirements and Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) policies, the AAW Standards Memorandum is published at the start of every fiscal year. The memo outlines the standards that the Army Acquisition Executive (AAE) has set for AAW professionals and their parent organizations to achieve and address DAWIA certification (entire AAW, Critical Acquisition Positions (CAPs) and Key Leadership Positions (KLPs)), Individual Development Plans (IDPs), Continuous Learning Points (CLPs), annual acquisition ethics training, and Senior Rater Potential Evaluations (SRPEs). To access the signed memo, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/fy24-army-acquisition-workforce-standards and select “FY24 Army Acquisition Workforce Standards” located to the right of the small envelope icon.
NOW OPEN FOR PERMANENT GS-14 / GS-15 CIVILIANS – DAU SENIOR SERVICE COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP
The DACM Office is now accepting applications for the Defense Acquisition University Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF) program through Jan. 24, 2024. The DAU-SSCF program is a 10-month educational senior leadership development opportunity sponsored by the DACM. DAU-SSCF is conducted under the auspices of the DAU through the Huntsville, Alabama; Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; and virtual seminars. The virtual seminar is an excellent SSC/SSCF option for any interested and eligible acquisition workforce member located outside of Huntsville and Picatinny. DAU-SSCF provides leadership and acquisition training to prepare senior level civilians for leadership roles such as product and project manager, program executive officer and other key acquisition leadership positions to include contracting. The DAU-SSCF program is also approved as a Military Education Level-1 (MEL-1) Senior Service College equivalent. For the O6 and GS-15 centralized selection list (CSL), an MEL-1 is required before assumption of command. DAU-SSCF is the only civilian fellowship approved by the Army. To learn more, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/defense-acquisition-university-senior-service-college.
LEVEL UP WITH LEAD – LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AND ACQUISITION DEVELOPMENT (LEAD) PROGRAM
Level up your career with LEAD. Are you ready to take the next step toward positions of greater responsibility? Interested in transitioning from a technical functional area into program management? If so, prepare early and consider applying for the Leadership Excellence and Acquisition Development (LEAD) program. LEAD is the premier 24-month leadership development program for GS-12/13 (or broadband equivalent) acquisition professionals, offering expanded training through a series of education, leader development and broadening assignments to build those skills required for positions of greater responsibility. LEAD evolved from an in-depth evaluation of the 23-year running Competitive Development Group/Army Acquisition Fellowship. The LEAD application window is open starting Nov. 6 and closes on Dec. 8, 2023.
View the list of past graduates on the LEAD Yearbook page. Any questions can be directed to the LEAD program manager, Kelly Terry at kelly.l.terry2.civ@army.mil.
DOD CYBER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (DOD CYSP)
The 2024-25 student recruitment season is now open. DOD Cyber Scholarship Program (CySP) is designed to support higher education while preparing the DOD workforce to deal with threats against critical DOD network infrastructures. DOD CySP is sponsored by the DOD Chief Information Office and administered by the National Security Agency (NSA). The objectives of the program are to promote higher education in all disciplines of cybersecurity, to enhance the DOD’s ability to recruit and retain cyber and IT specialists, increase the number of military and civilian personnel in the DOD with this expertise and, ultimately, to enhance the nation’s cyber posture.
Retention DOD Cyber scholarship applications are being accepted; eligible DOD civilian and military personnel who are pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in cyber-related fields of study may apply.
For details and how to apply, go to https://www.dodemergingtech.com/cyber-scholarship-program-cysp.
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (SLRP) APPLICATIONS DUE
The Army DACM Office can help repay your student loans. The fiscal year 2024 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is open to civilian acquisition employees and provides up to $10,000 toward repayment of federally insured student loans. The application window closes on Nov. 16, 2023. Go to the Army DACM Office website for specific program details and how to apply: http://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/student-loan-repayment-program.
NEWS IN YOUR ACQUISITION FUNCTIONAL AREA
EXPERTISE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS – REVISED DOD PERFORMANCE BASED LOGISTICS (PBL) GUIDEBOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
The recently revised DOD Performance Based Logistics (PBL) Guidebook, posted at https://www.dau.edu/tools/dod-performance-based-logistics-pbl-guidebook, describes procedures and best practices for executing PBL arrangements, which are outcome-based support strategies and associated solutions (e.g., contracts or intra-governmental arrangements) that deliver integrated and affordable product support that satisfies warfighter requirements while reducing operating and support costs.
Looking for more product support tools? Browse through the Product Support Analytical Tools repository, which houses hundreds of government and commercial tools to facilitate product support decisions at https://www.dau.edu/tools/product-support-analytical-tools-database.
For additional insights, consider attending a DAU-hosted web event on Nov. 8, 2023, at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. To register, go to https://www.dau.edu/events/intellectual-property-ip-considerations-performance-based-logistics-pbl. If you have any questions regarding the guidebook, contact your life cycle management organization, service or agency staff, or send an email to osd.pentagon.ousd-a-s.mbx.dasd-product-support@mail.mil. To access DOD Guidebooks in other acquisition functional areas, go to https://www.dau.edu/tools.
NEWS FOR OUR CONTRACTING PROFESSIONALS
On Oct. 16, 2023, the Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to recognize parity and reciprocity between the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) DOD Contracting Professional Certification and the Federal Acquisition Institute’s (FAI) Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional). More information is available in the memorandum on DAU’s website, go to https://www.dau.edu/blogs/dod-and-fai-contracting-certification-reciprocity-achieved.
Army Acquisition Workforce professionals who possess an FAC-C certification can submit a Help Request ticket at the following link: https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/index.cfm?fuseaction=support.helpRequest along with a copy of their FAC-C certificate for reciprocity. Upon receipt, an acquisition career manager will update their Acquisition Career Record Brief in the Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management Information System (CAPPMIS) database to reflect DAWIA Contracting Professional certification.
GREAT NEWS FOR OUR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS
Visit the new program management resource page. We will roll out the remaining acquisition Functional Area pages as soon as they are ready. Bookmark this brand-new page and check out the latest improvements such as:
- Program management acquisition functional leader and acquisition functional advisor biographies.
- Workforce demographics of the Army’s acquisition program management functional area.
- Program management certification information and guidance.
- Exam prep course and certification exam, materials, eligibility and registration information.
- Position Category Description information for the Program Management functional area
- DOD program management career functional competencies guidance.
- Army Acquisition Functional Leader recommended Continuous Learning Points Memorandum.
- Program management functional area credential options.
- Civilian program management notional career model for professional growth.
All this and more can be found at https://asc.army.mil/web/dacm-office/functional-areas/program-management.
REMINDERS
SENIOR RATER POTENTIAL EVALUATION (SRPE)
As an Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) member, rater, or senior rater of an AAW professional, you must ensure a Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE) is completed for fiscal year 2023 by Dec. 31, 2023. To prepare, first ensure your email address is current in the Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management Information System (CAPPMIS) at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp. Update your email address using the Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB) edit feature. AAW members should ensure their Individual Development Plan (IDP) identifies the correct rating scheme; this enables the Army DACM Office to notify all parties of critical updates and actions required.
IMPORTANT: The SRPE policy requires the rater to modify the annual default dates and identify a new effective end date corresponding to the status change or supervision date. This ensures the AAW professional does not have any un-rated SRPE time and that their annual SRPE cycle remains intact.
For guidance on completing the SRPE, to include helpful hints and system guides, visit the dedicated SRPE webpage. If you have any questions about the SRPE process, contact your Organization’s Acquisition Point of Contact (OAP) or Acquisition Career Management Advocate (ACMA). A list of OAPs can be found on MilSuite at https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-640236.
DAU NEWS
DAU has announced a call for papers for the inaugural Defense Acquisition Workforce Writing Awards, established in 2023 to encourage curiosity and persistence in overcoming obstacles and to promote innovation in defense acquisition. Participants can compete in two categories:
- Innovation in Overcoming Obstacles
- Innovation in Implementing Acquisition Flexibilities
Papers should document approaches to program management that emphasize innovation and local adaptation. These would include the use of simplified acquisition procedures, inherent flexibilities within the Federal Acquisition Regulation, commercial contracting approaches, public-private partnership agreements and practices, cost sharing arrangements, innovative contractor incentive practices and other innovative implementations of acquisition flexibilities and authorities.
Five award recipients may be selected in the Innovation in Overcoming Obstacles category and one recipient in the Innovation and Implementing Acquisition Flexibilities category. Recipients will receive a $5,000 cash prize. All military and civilian members of the defense acquisition workforce are eligible to compete for the 2024 Defense Acquisition Workforce Writing Awards. Contractors and DAU employees are not eligible for this award. Essays should be 1,000 to 1,500 words and must be submitted by email to writing.award@dau.edu by Feb. 1, 2024. Additional submission requirements and information is available at: https://www.dau.edu/writing-awards.
