Achieving acquisition reform through professional, community-based standards

By: Michael Fischetti, J.D., CPCM, Fellow, CAE, Executive Director, National Contract Management Association

This content is sponsored by NCMA

Improving government contracting requires a concerted effort by all involved, and at all levels. Traditional attempts at change have consisted of congressional legislation, which beget yet more regulations (since existing ones never end) and subsequent complexity. Newer initiatives for change have come from the executive branch—such as OMB and individual agencies—and take the form of Executive Orders, policy letters, memoranda, best practice guides, training, and agency “supplemental” regulations. These actions are important, and they may indeed help, but most would agree that, over time, none of them have fundamentally or significantly altered things for the better.

One reason may be that the changes are driven by outside stakeholders, such as elected representatives, lobbyists, consultants, trade groups, etc. However, truly effective change must emanate from those closest to and involved with actually performing the work. Toward that end, through the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), practitioners of contract management across all sectors (i.e., federal, state, and local government and the commercial sector) have come together to develop a “Contract Management Standard” (CMS), which describes the profession in terms of the contract management processes created through integration and interaction of job tasks and competencies, as well as the purposes they serve. The common and repeated use of the CMS will improve productivity, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.

Contract management is a very diverse profession. Across sectors and from one organization to the other, the terminology, practices, policies, and processes used can vary. The CMS attempts to integrate and standardize common functions and processes—incorporating such parallel areas as acquisition management, procurement management, subcontract management, and supply chain management. When such standardization is applied and interpreted consistently, the likelihood of successful contract performance is significantly raised.

However, the CMS is not intended to become yet another rule or regulation directing how contract management is to be performed. Those who use the CMS as a guide to develop and maintain contract management practices, policies, and processes; training courses and programs; and college courses and curricula should increase the likelihood of successful individual competence and organizational capability.

Many professions can be categorized into a single function. The contract management profession, however, is made more complex by being divided into two distinct functions—buyer and seller. For example, government procurement typically focuses on the government as a buyer. Depending on the contract life cycle stage (i.e., pre-award, award, or post-award), each function has its own job tasks, competencies, and deliverables. However, at other points in the contract life cycle, these items come together to create direct interaction between buyers and sellers. Therefore, a foundational understanding of the entire contract life cycle of the buyer and seller functions must exist in order for either function to achieve success.

Instead of a legislative body, the contract management community itself is best suited to develop standards, best practices, and the informal leadership necessary to create innovative and effective change—so long as it is allowed to become a viable, professional community (similar to law, medicine, education, engineering, or finance). Professional communities are created through the standardization, networking, collaboration, and professional development offered through professional associations dedicated to these communities. As the professional association of contract management practitioners, NCMA has developed the CMS, as well as the new 5th edition of the Contract Management Body of Knowledge (CMBOK), as a significant step toward standardization. NCMA also provides the networking, collaboration, and professional development opportunities contract management professionals require locally (through physical and business proximity), virtually (through a variety of online tools), as well as through traditional “in-person” conferences and live events. The largest of these, with well over 2,000 attendees, is NCMA’s World Congress, to be held July 23–26 in Chicago, where individuals from government and industry will come together for networking and training for all career levels.

With contract management, outside parties play such significant roles and inject such influence that they have restricted the ability of the contract management professionals themselves—with frontline knowledge and experience to best engineer improvements—to improve outcomes for our increasingly outsourced government, which is today’s reality. As in other areas of human endeavor, the most effective and long-lasting changes come from those individuals actually involved in day-to-day implementation. Set the proper standards and change will occur. Continue to manage change via traditional methods and expect traditional (i.e., mediocre) results. The World Congress theme this year is “Enriching the Community through Inspired Collaboration.” Doesn’t that say it all?

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