1. MEMORANDUM FOR ACQUISITION PROFESSIONALS
BETTER BUYING POWER: GUIDANCE FOR OBTAINING GREATER EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN DEFENSE SPENDING

2. Memo from USD (AT&L)
14 Sep 2010 Memo from Dr. Ashton B. Carter presents guidance for the DoD Efficiencies Initiative
Implements Guidance in five major areas and 23 principal actions
Guidance expected to make a significant contribution toward Secretary Gates’ $100B goal

3. The Five Major Areas Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth
Incentive Productivity and Innovation in Industry
Promote Real Competition
Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition
Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy

4. 23 Principal Actions
Each of the Five Major Areas contain a total of 23 principal actions to improve efficiency
Specific guidance was contained in supplemental directives on 14 Sep 2010
Each of the Principal Actions are underlined for clarity.

5. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth
Mandate affordability as a requirement
At Milestone A, the Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) approving formal commencement of the program will contain an affordability target to be treated by the program manager (PM) like a Key Performance Parameter (KPP)
The design parameter shall not be sacrificed or compromised

6. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
At Milestone B when a system’s detailed design is begun, a required presentation of a systems engineering tradeoff analysis showing how cost varies as the major design parameter and time to complete are varied shall be prepared

7. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
Drive productivity growth through Will Cost/Should Cost management
Managers of each major program to conduct a Should Cost analysis justifying each element of program cost and showing how it is improving by year or meeting relevant benchmarks for value
The Department will continue to set the program budget baseline using an Independent Cost Estimate (ICE)
Used also in ADMs and Selected Acquisition Reports (SARS)

8. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
Eliminate redundancy within warfighter portfolios
USD (AT&L) intends to conduct portfolio reviews at the joint and Department-wide level with any eye toward identifying redundancies
USD (AT&L) directs components to do the same for smaller programs and report the results

9. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
Make production rates economical and hold them stable
Beginning immediately, USD (AT&L) expects production rate to be part of the affordability analysis presented at Milestones A and B
At Milestone C, USD (AT&L) will set a range of approved production rates
Deviations from range without prior approval will lead to revocation of the Milestone

10. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
USD (AT&L) expects a 5 percent annual increase in the number of ACAT 1D and 1C programs executing at their Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) level

11. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
Set shorter program timelines and manage to them
When requirements and proposed schedules are inconsistent, USD (AT&L) will work on an expedited basis with the Services and the Joint Staff to modify requirements as needed before granting authority for the program to proceed
USD (AT&L) will not grant authority to release requests for proposals until he is confident requirements and proposed schedules are consistent

12. Target Affordability and Control Cost Growth cont.
USD (AT&L) also requires as part of the cost tradeoff analysis at Milestone B to support affordability, a justification for the proposed program schedule
Justification will be part of the ADM authorizing the program to proceed
Deviation from that schedule without USD (AT&L) approval will lead to revocation of the Milestone

13. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry
Reward contractors for successful supply chain and indirect expense management
USD (AT&L) has instructed the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) to review the Weighted Guidelines for profit with the aim of emphasizing the tie between profit and performance

14. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Immediately USD (AT&L) expects all managers of ACAT 1D programs to provide, as part of their acquisition strategy, the reward and incentive strategy behind their profit policy, including consideration of breakout alternatives where appropriate
CAEs are directed to do the same in programs for which they have acquisition authority

15. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Savings are to be expected from this direction will be in cost, not in profit
Savings are not expected in profit per se since in some instances profit will increase to reward risk management and performance
If profit policy incentivizes reduction in program cost, the overall price to the taxpayer (cost plus profit) will be less

16. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Increase the use of Fixed-Price Incentive Firm Target (FPIF) contract type where appropriate using a 50/50 share line and 120 percent ceiling as the point of departure
USD (AT&L) is considering whether to issue more formal guidance on this matter
Effectively immediately a justification of contract type for each proposed contract settlement be made to the relevant acquisition executive before negotiations are concluded

17. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Adjust progress payments to incentivize performance
As a matter of practice, on all fixed price type contracts, USD (AT&L) expects that the basis of negotiations shall be used of customary progress payments
After agreement on price on the basis of customary progress payments, the contractor shall have flexibility to propose an alternative payment arrangement for the Government’s consideration

18. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
The Director of DPAP shall develop a cash flow model to be used by all contracting officers contemplating financing other than customary progress payments
The developed guidance shall insure that the improved cash flow opportunities provide benefit to both industry (at both prime and subcontractor level) and the taxpayer

19. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Extend the Navy’s Preferred Supplier Program to a DoD-wide pilot
The Navy shall continue to lead the pilot program but to immediately include the other Services and DoD components in order to transition to a full DoD program as soon as possible

20. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Reinvigorate industry’s independent research and development and protect the defense technology base
USD (AT&L) directs three steps within six months:
Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) shall engage the largest of the performers of IRAD to
Collect data on how they have used these funds in recent years
The resulting benefits to government and industry
How they obtain insight into technical areas of potential interest to the government

21. Incentivize Productivity and Innovation in Industry cont.
Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) shall collect and provide USD (AT&L) IRAD financial data from all firms with allowable IRAD costs
DDR&E shall provide within 60 days a plan for a pilot program to improve the return on IRAD investments for industry and government
The pilot program is to apply to as much as a third of the IRAD allocations and will reflect early insights from the collected data

22. Promote Real Competition
Present a competition strategy at each program Milestone
A presentation of a competitive strategy for each Milestone and expect the Component Acquisition Executives (CAEs) to do the same at their level

23. Promote Real Competition cont.
Remove obstacles to competition
Contracting officers shall conduct negotiations with all single bid offerors and the basis of that negotiation shall be cost or price analysis, as the case may be, using non-certified data
Each competition advocate shall develop a plan to improve both the overall rate of competition and the rate of effective competition
Plans should establish an improvement rate of at least 2 percent per year for overall competition
An improvement rate of at least 10 percent per year

24. Promote Real Competition cont.
Plans are to be approved by the CAEs
Department’s competition advocate shall brief overall progress made to achieve these goals

25. Promote Real Competition cont.
Require open systems architectures and set rules for acquisition of technical data rights
At Milestone B, a business case analysis shall be conducted in concert with the engineering trade analysis that would outline an approach for using open systems architectures and acquiring technical data rights to ensure sustained consideration of competition

26. Promote Real Competition cont.
Increase dynamic small business role in defense marketplace competition
CAEs shall institute in all competitive and non-competitive procurement actions emphasis on small business utilization through weighting factors in past performance and in fee construct

27. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition
Create a senior manager for acquisition of services in each component, following the Air Force’s example
CAEs of the military departments and the commanders and directors of the other DoD components shall establish a senior manager for acquisition of services, who will be at the General Officer, Flag, or SES level

28. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Adopt uniform taxonomy for different types of services
Each component shall use the following primary categories of service spend
Knowledge-based services
Electronics and Communication services
Equipment Related services
Medical services
Facility Related services
Transportation services

29. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Derived from and consistent with
Product Service Code (PSC) categories contained in the PSC manual maintained by:
General Services Administration,
Federal Procurement Data Center, or
Office of Management and Budget
The taxonomy will be used by each component to ensure basic consistency

30. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Address causes of poor tradecraft in services acquisition
Assist users of services to define requirements and prevent creep via requirements templates
First, Services and DoD components shall establish, through their senior managers for services, maximum use of standard templates in developing Performance Work Statements (PWS) to improve contractor solicitations
Second, market research shall be strengthened in order to understand industry’s capabilities and appropriate pricing with the market in which we are buying

31. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Finally, military departments and DoD components shall achieve this by establishing dedicated market research teams at the portfolio management level

32. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Enhance competition by requiring more frequent re-competes of knowledge based services
Military departments and DoD components shall review the length of time that services contracts remain in effect before re-competition occurs
Servicer components shall align contract spend data, to the maximum extent that is practical, to the functional/requirements elements executing the spend

33. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Where “1-bid” proposals are received
Require fully negotiated pricing and cost data as appropriate
Solicitations that receive only one bid, and that are open to industry for less than 30 days, shall be re-advertised for a minimum additional period of 30 days

34. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Limit the use of time and materials and cost plus [sic] award fee contracts for services
Further detailed guidance for establishing a taxonomy of preferred contract types in services acquisitions
Starting immediately, services acquisitions shall be predisposed toward Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) or Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee (CPIF) arrangements when robust competition or resent competitions pricing history does not exist to build sufficient cost knowledge of those services within that market segment
Cost knowledge gained from these contracts shall inform the Should Cost estimates of future prices and contract type negotiations
The term “award fee contracts” is incorrect. Cost Plus Award Fee is the correct usage; Fixed Price Award Fee is not recommended for use in DoD.

35. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
When robust competition already exists or there is recent competitive pricing history, components shall be predisposed toward Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) type contract arrangements
FFP should also be used to the maximum extent reasonable when ongoing competition is utilized in multiple award contract scenarios

36. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Require that services contracts exceeding $1 billion contain cost efficiency objectives
Beginning immediately, services contracts valued at more than $1 billion shall contain provisions in the contract to achieve productivity improvements and cost efficiencies throughout the contract period

37. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
Increase small business participation in providing services
USD (AT&L) directs the OSD Office of Small Business Programs to
Review acquisition plans for services acquisitions exceeding $1 billion
Be members of the OSD peer reviews of service acquisitions

38. Improve Tradecraft in Services Acquisition cont.
When multiple award contracts are used for services acquisitions, specific tasks suitable for small businesses will be set aside
Military departments and DoD components will seek opportunities to compete Multiple Award/IDIQ contracts for small businesses

39. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy
Reduce the number of OSD-level reviews to those necessary to support major investment decisions or to uncover and respond to significant program executive issues
Realign OSD Acquisition Reviews to add more value
USD (AT&L) directs Acquisition Resources and Analysis [sic] ARA to review the current list of OSD reviews (DABs, Pre-DABs, OIPTs, PSRs, and TRLs etc.) to recommend specific realignments of those reviews/meetings to ensure they focus their propose on the major acquisition investment decisions made by the Department
The 14 Sep 2010 memo used the acronym “ARA” without defining the full definition. The term should be Acquisition Resources and Analysis (ARA).

40. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Review DAB documentation requirements to eliminate non-relevant content
USD (AT&L) directs ARA to complete the review of all DAB documents by March 1, 2011
Provide recommendations for streamlining
Focus these documents on needed content to support AT&L level decisions

41. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Reform TRL reviews to focus on technology as opposed to engineering and integration risk
DDR&E shall review this process
Make recommendations to refocus the TRL certification process to be consistent with its original intent

42. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Eliminate low-value-added statutory processes
USD (AT&L) is targeting specific oversight processes, described below, to reduce or eliminate costs associated with unnecessary overhead burdens that add marginal or questionable value
Directing streamlining some processes that are important to keep but require significant efficiency improvement
The Department will continue to comply will all statutory requirements but will tailor how to achieve compliance
Work with Congress to modify statutory requirements where the intended goal is clearly not being achieved

43. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Three targeted specific oversight processes
Request Nunn-McCurdy Rules for Special Situations
USD (AT&L) will work with Congress to eliminate the requirement for the full suite of Nunn-McCurdy assessments and reporting activities in special circumstances where quantity-induced or other external reasons cause critical breaches to occur
2366a and 2366b Certification Process Review
USD (AT&L) will work with OSD staff and Congress to reassess both the need for and the overall method of implementation we have imposed on ourselves to respond to the requirement for retroactive 2366a/b certifications to ensure objectives are met without burdensome and inefficient bureaucracy

44. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Congressionally-mandate organizational changes within AT&L
USD (AT&L) will work with Congress to ensure that all oversight functions are adequately staffed and performed without inserting inefficiencies and unnecessary overhead into the acquisition process

45. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Reduce by half the volume and cost of internal and congressional reports
USD (AT&L) directs a bottom-up review of all internally-generated reporting requirements and to work with ASD (Legislative Affairs) to conduct a bottom-up review of all congressionally mandated acquisition reports to
Eliminate at least 50 percent of the overall reports
Substantially shortens the remaining reports

46. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
ARA shall impose reasonable page count caps when reports are assigned for production and to indicate the estimated cost to prepare each report on its cover

47. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Align Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) processes to ensure work is complementary
Director of DPAP shall develop guidance that will clearly spell out roles and responsibilities of each organization in those areas where duplication and overlap occur

48. Reduce Non-Productive Processes and Bureaucracy cont.
Increase use of Forward Pricing Rate Recommendations (FPRRs) to reduce administration costs
DCMA shall promulgate all FPRRs
In those cases where DCAA has completed an audit of a particular contractor’s rates, DCMA shall adopt the DCAA recommended rates as the Department’s position with regard to those rates

49. Conclusion
14 Sep 2010 Memo is not the end of the process but is only the beginning of vigorous implementation and further refinement
Companion memorandums have been signed out to DPAP, ARA, DDR&E, and OSD-level OIPTs
AT&L professionals should absorb the guidance and begin acting on it within the scope of their existing authority