NASA Procurement Career Development and Training Policy GSFC Procurement Forum April 15, 2008

New NASA Policy Reasons for Policy Changes Agency Impacts 1102 Workforce Impacts Key Roles Certification Statistics

Reasons for Policy Changes Recent Policy Decision OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce -April 2005 Applicable to acquisition workforce within all civilian agencies Key components Established government-wide framework for creating a federal acquisition workforce Defined agency responsibilities Mandated that acquisition workforce core competencies be updated Developed federal acquisition certification programs

Reasons for Policy Changes Federal Acquisition Certification Common certification programs reflecting a government-wide standard for education, training and experience Certifications demonstrate that employees meet the core education, training and experience requirements of the field Certifications to be accepted by all civilian agencies as evidence for meeting the above requirements Certification is not mandatory Certification is required for all new CO warrants issued after Jan. 1, 2007

Reasons for Policy Changes Federal Acquisition Certification (cont.) Education requirements – consistent with GS 1102 Qualification Standard (not the same as the DAWIA requirements for GS 7 - 12) Training requirements – OFPP directed to establish uniform core training requirements for civilian and defense workforce Experience requirements - consistent with GS 1102 Qualification Standard Continuous Learning Requirements – 80 hours of continuous learning points every 2 years to maintain federal acquisition certification

Reasons for Policy Changes Federal Acquisition Certification (cont.) Applicable Career Fields Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) – January 2007 Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) – July 2007 Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (FAC-COTR) – October 2007

Agency Impacts NASA responsibilities as a result of OFPP mandates Requirement: Develop and manage an agency-wide acquisition career management program Action: Career development and training policy updated to comply with new certification standards http://ec.msfc.nasa.gov/hq/library/training.html Working to develop implementation procedures for FAC-P/PM and FAC-COTR Implement and manage Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) program Revised NASA policy implemented April 2007 Requested NASA Certification equivalency with FAC-C FAI determined that NASA Level I and II certifications with electives are equivalent to FAC-C certifications

NASA 1102 Impacts Education Requirements Effective Jan. 1, 2007 GS 1102 employees at grades 5 – 12 must have a bachelor’s degree or 24 semester hours in business related fields GS 1102 employees at grades 13 – 15 must have both a bachelor’s degree and the 24 semester hours The 24 semester hours may be included in or in addition to coursework taken to complete the degree program What changed? Qualification Standard for 1102 series changed in 2000 Old policy NASA determined that individuals with tenure* in their current positions met the new standard Compliance with the new requirements was necessary for promotions *Tenure - employees continuously employed in GS-1102 series positions since January 1, 1998

NASA 1102 Impacts Training Requirements Level II Level III Mandatory Core Courses 2 Electives Level III CON 353 – Advanced Business Solutions for Mission Support What changed? CON 353 or CON 333 requirement for Level III CON 301 alone does not satisfy requirement for Level III Electives requirement - Any training opportunity, related to the employee’s job, necessary for career development, or for cross training. An elective must be at least 16 hours in length.

NASA 1102 Impacts Experience Requirements Level II – minimum 2 years experience Level III – minimum 4 years experience Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) Requirement Skills currency training completed after receipt of any level certification CLPs can be earned through training, professional activities, education, and experience A minimum of 80 CLPs are required every two years to maintain the certification What Changed? Previous policy required 40 hours of continuing education every 2 years – (not rigorously monitored or required for warrants) CON 301 refresher every 5 years before course was discontinued

NASA 1102 Impacts FAC-C Application Process What changed? Requests are initiated by individual employees through immediate supervisors Individuals provide necessary documentation to verify that requirements are satisfied Supervisors assess the skill and competencies of the individuals Supervisor signs application and forwards to the Center Procurement Training Coordinator with documentation Center Procurement Training Coordinator ensures that the document package is complete and forwards the application to the Agency Procurement Training Office for review FAC-C applications are forwarded to the ACM for approval Certifications are issued by the SPE What changed? NASA certifications were prepared by the Headquarters Procurement Training Coordinator for SPE signature upon completion of mandatory courses

NASA 1102 Impacts Warrant authority linked to certification levels Applicable to new warrants – eff. 1/1/07 Certification Level Warrant Authority Level I $0 - $1M Commercial (Part 12) $0 - $100K Non-commercial Level II $0 - $10M Commercial (Part 12) $0 - $10M Non-commercial Unlimited incremental funding Level III Unlimited (Subject to Center work instructions and Procurement Officer discretion) What changed? Warrant authority was not linked to certification level Center unique policies guided the issuance of warrants

NASA 1102 Impacts Career Advancement FAC-C Level I required for promotion to GS-9 (or a GS-11 position, if hired as a GS-9) FAC-C Level II required for promotion to GS-13 FAC-C Level III required for promotion to GS-14 and above What Changed? Certification Levels were not previously tied to promotions

FAC-C Level II (Intermediate) FAC-C Levels FAC-C Level I (Entry) GS 5 - 7 FAC-C Level II (Intermediate) GS 9 - 11 FAC-C Level III (Advanced) GS – 13 and above Mandatory Education: Baccalaureate degree OR 24 semester hours in a business discipline. Mandatory Education: Baccalaureate degree AND 24 semester hours in a business discipline. Mandatory Experience: 1 year of contracting experience Mandatory Experience: 2 years of contracting experience Mandatory Experience: 4 years of contracting experience Mandatory Training: CON 100, CON 110, CON 111, CON 112 and CON 120 (or their predecessors, CON 101 and CON 104) AND 1 elective Mandatory Training: NEW for 2008 – CON 214, CON 215, CON 216, CON 217, CON 218 AND 2 electives CON 353 (or its predecessor CON 333)

Key Roles Acquisition Career Manager (ACM) Leads the acquisition career management program Procurement Functional Advisor Responsible for the procurement career development and training program and policy Works closely with the ACM Headquarters Analysis Division Office responsible for establishing career development policy ACM & Functional Advisor reside in this office Agency Procurement Training Office Responsible for all administrative and operational activities of the career development program Activity resides at NSSC Center Procurement Training Coordinator Center training POCs

FAC-C Statistics

FAC-C Statistics

FAC-C Statistics

2007 CON Course Attendance

2007 CON Course Attendance

2007 CON Course Attendance