GMU Releases Draft Acquisition Playbook, Invites Your Feedback
George Mason University is developing a playbook to help government work with innovative industry partners. After more than 70 interviews with expert practitioners, the Center […]
Management
GAO investigates why agency funds get cancelled
About 1.6 percent of the total available budget authority government-wide was cancelled from fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2019, averaging $23.9 billion per year… […]
What’s left to be done after the Adaptive Acquisition Framework?
We need reform in our requirements processes and our budgets to allow for the same speed and agility the #AAF gives us. We have a framework for […]
OSD’s data-driven oversight of the military services and an alternative path forward
GAO’s Shelby Oakley: I think the biggest thing that I see right now that is a challenge for Ms. Cummings’ office is their ability to, […]
Bold recommendations for Space Force acquisition
A viable path from start-up to a program of record has yet to be charted, and this remains a significant obstacle to entry… Creating a […]
Tweet of the week: Defense modernization fail
Summed up into a single #miltwitter meme. @AcqTalk @PeteModi @thedanward pic.twitter.com/Z5FaPYJ35O — The Merge (@MergeNewsletter) May 12, 2021 I like that thread because it highlights […]
Is DoD’s acquisition culture a threat to national security?
I also worry whether DoD’s culture is a threat to national security. Culture is the system of values and norms that govern behavior. How we […]
What’s the secret sauce in AFRL’s Space Vehicle Directorate?
… our secret sauce is that we have some organic capability to do things. What I mean by that is we have actual scientists and […]
There isn’t enough freedom for our program managers, HASC Chair Adam Smith says
When we’re looking at regulating how we do these contracts with the programs of record, it’s too much in a box. There isn’t enough freedom […]
Two views of defense budget reform
The combination of congressional limitations and DOD inflexibility undermine any effort to transfer funds rapidly, from a hi-tech program that appears to be going nowhere […]
Make 2021 the year of defense budget reform!
Three excellent reports addressing defense budget reform were released between February 25 and March 8, 2021: Competing in Time: Ensuring Capability Advantage and Mission Success […]
Redefining military readiness for Great Power Competition
Under the current readiness paradigm, our answer to “what needs to be ready?” is “the stuff we have today.” However, as we observed earlier, the […]
A bridge fund can’t solve the Pentagon’s emerging tech problem
Matt MacGregor and I published an article in Defense News outlining five reasons that a bridge fund or prototyping fund won’t solve DoD’s valley of […]
How can the Pentagon escape its Soviet-style acquisition system?
DoD’s FY21 President’s Budget Request organizes major weapon systems via nine Mission Area Categories (MACs), which can also be viewed as Strategic Capabilities (Figure 4). These provide […]
General Hinote: We ought to reimagine budgeting and oversight
That sector is going so fast that I don’t know what the specific solution set might look like in 2027 when we’re going to be […]