The DOD’s process for obtaining funding for new acquisition programs typically takes multiple years. To address a DOD capability shortfall, the shortfall must be linked to a request to Congress for funding that would be provided in a future year. For solutions that will rely on information technology, the time frame for seeking funding can be many times longer than the actual time needed to develop or procure the solution. If it is to achieve a more rapid delivery of information technology solutions, the DOD will need a more responsive process for justifying and allocating funding to address capability shortfalls.
In the longer term, the DOD could work with Congress to establish a new set of funding mechanisms for IT-supported requirements that would align congressional funding with mission or capability areas rather than with individual acquisition programs. Under this concept, Congress would allocate funding to a mission area that would be governed in the DOD through a process similar to portfolio management. In implementing this concept, DOD officials would be responsible for setting priorities and allocating the funding to individual IT projects after the congressional appropriation of funds to a portfolio of mission requirements.
This approach can ensure appropriate justification of funding needs tied to mission requirements during budget submission as well as the rapid allocation of appropriated funding consistent with the pace of evolving mission requirements and technology advancements. Currently the DOD uses a process similar to this concept for funding maintenance upgrades to aircraft avionics software. Likewise, a somewhat similar process is used for managing IT projects funded through working-capital funding processes. These and other examples of flexible and rapid funding processes should be useful models as the DOD works with Congress to establish a new funding process for acquisition of information technology.
This is a major issue unaddressed by acquisition reform, such as from Middle-Tier rapid acquisition as well as the new Section 801 authorities for rapid software development. Agile development processes require agile funding to succeed.
Source: Committee on Improving Processes and Policies for the Acquisition and Test of Information Technologies in the Department of Defense, et al. Achieving Effective Acquisition of Information Technology in the Department of Defense, National Academies Press, 2010.
Leave a Reply