2010 Census
Census Bureau Generally Follows Selected Leading Acquisition Planning Practices, but Continued Management Attention Is Needed to Help Ensure Success Gao ID: GAO-06-277 May 18, 2006For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is making the most extensive use of contractors in its history to supply a number of mission-critical functions and technologies. Because of the critical role that contractors will play in the 2010 Census, GAO reviewed the Bureau's acquisition planning process. Specifically GAO's objectives were to (1) determine the status of the Bureau's major decennial contracts, and (2) evaluate the extent to which the Bureau is using selected leading practices to manage its acquisition planning for these contracts.
The Bureau has awarded three of its seven major decennial contracts consistent with their award date, but has changed the award dates of two of the remaining contracts (data dissemination and communications) because of changes in its acquisition approach. Bureau officials noted that the communications contract is currently on track. Still, changes in contract milestones--coupled with the Bureau's tight systems development schedule and interdependence of those systems--could affect the Bureau's ability to develop fully functional and sufficiently mature systems to be tested in concert with other operations during the 2008 Dress Rehearsal for the 2010 Census. Already, aspects of the Bureau's data dissemination system will not be assessed during the dress rehearsal because of changes to solicitation and contract award dates. To date, the Bureau has generally followed five selected leading practices for federal acquisition planning that we evaluated. For example, the Bureau has monitored the acquisition planning process for individual contracts, involved relevant stakeholders in the planning phase, and implemented certain actions to its business processes resulting from its reliance on contractors. However, as part of its strategic planning, the Bureau does not have a schedule for documenting what and when information needs to be provided to development teams to integrate all decennial systems. Additionally, in planning for its decennial acquisition workforce--which includes staff who award or manage contracts--the Bureau has not fully implemented key strategic workforce planning principles. For example, while the Bureau took steps at the division level to plan for its acquisition workforce, it does not assess or monitor at a high level gaps in the skills needed by its decennial acquisition workforce. The Bureau also has not identified the needs of the decennial acquisition workforce in its human capital management plan and did not involve all relevant acquisition workforce stakeholders in the development of this plan.
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Report to Congressional Committees:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
May 2006:
2010 Census:
Census Bureau Generally Follows Selected Leading Acquisition Planning
Practices, but Continued Management Attention Is Needed to Help Ensure
Success:
GAO-06-277:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-277, a report to Congressional Committees.
Why GAO Did This Study:
For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is making the most
extensive use of contractors in its history to supply a number of
mission-critical functions and technologies. Because of the critical
role that contractors will play in the 2010 Census, GAO reviewed the
Bureau‘s acquisition planning process. Specifically GAO‘s objectives
were to (1) determine the status of the Bureau‘s major decennial
contracts, and (2) evaluate the extent to which the Bureau is using
selected leading practices to manage its acquisition planning for these
contracts.
What GAO Found:
The Bureau has awarded three of its seven major decennial contracts
consistent with their award date, but has changed the award dates of
two of the remaining contracts (data dissemination and communications)
because of changes in its acquisition approach. Bureau officials noted
that the communications contract is currently on track. Still, changes
in contract milestones”coupled with the Bureau‘s tight systems
development schedule and interdependence of those systems”could affect
the Bureau‘s ability to develop fully functional and sufficiently
mature systems to be tested in concert with other operations during the
2008 Dress Rehearsal for the 2010 Census. Already, aspects of the
Bureau‘s data dissemination system will not be assessed during the
dress rehearsal because of changes to solicitation and contract award
dates.
Table: Status of Major Contracts Related to the 2010 Census Contract:
Contract: Master Address File/ Topologically Integrated Geographic
Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Accuracy Improvement Project;
Purpose: Delivery of accurate, improved, and current information to
MAF/TIGER system; Target Award Dates: June 2002 (actual);
Contract: Decennial Response Integration System; Purpose: Data
capture/processing and respondent assistance; Target Award Dates:
October 2005 (actual);
Contract: Field Data Collection Automation; Purpose: Providing
automated resources and support for field data collection; Target Award
Dates: March 2006 (actual);
Contract: Data Access and Dissemination System II; Purpose: Providing a
replacement for legacy tabulation and dissemination system; Target
Award Dates: October 2006;
Contract: 2010 Communications;
Purpose: Development of an advertising and outreach campaign to promote
the 2010 Census; Target Award Dates: Calendar year 2007;
Contract: 2010 Census printing contracts; Purpose: Printing and
distribution of census questionnaires and other documents; Target Award
Dates: March 2007-April 2009;
Contract: Decennial Census Leasing;
Purpose: Leasing, build-out, and management of regional census centers
and local census offices; Target Award Dates: April 2007-June 2009
(sign leases for individual offices).
Source: GAO Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
[End of Table]
To date, the Bureau has generally followed five selected leading
practices for federal acquisition planning that we evaluated. For
example, the Bureau has monitored the acquisition planning process for
individual contracts, involved relevant stakeholders in the planning
phase, and implemented certain actions to its business processes
resulting from its reliance on contractors. However, as part of its
strategic planning, the Bureau does not have a schedule for documenting
what and when information needs to be provided to development teams to
integrate all decennial systems. Additionally, in planning for its
decennial acquisition workforce”which includes staff who award or
manage contracts”the Bureau has not fully implemented key strategic
workforce planning principles. For example, while the Bureau took steps
at the division level to plan for its acquisition workforce, it does
not assess or monitor at a high level gaps in the skills needed by its
decennial acquisition workforce. The Bureau also has not identified the
needs of the decennial acquisition workforce in its human capital
management plan and did not involve all relevant acquisition workforce
stakeholders in the development of this plan.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO is recommending to the Secretary of Commerce that the Bureau (1)
ensure that key systems to be provided by contractors are fully
functional and ready to be assessed as part of the dress rehearsal, (2)
establish a schedule for the definition of interfaces between all
decennial systems so that this information can be provided on a timely
basis to development teams, and (3) devote further attention to
planning strategically for its decennial acquisition workforce by,
among other actions, identifying and assessing acquisition workforce
skill gaps. In commenting on a draft of this report, the Secretary
neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendations but described
steps the Bureau is taking that address the last recommendation.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-277].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Brenda S. Farrell at
(202) 512-6806 or farrellb@gao.gov
[End of Section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
The Bureau Has Made Progress on Major Decennial Contracts, but
Adherence to Contract Milestones Will Be Essential:
The Bureau Is Generally Following Five Leading Acquisition Planning
Practices, but Continued Management Focus Will Be Critical:
Conclusion:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
Appendix III: MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP) Contract
Details:
Appendix IV: Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS) Contract
Details:
Appendix V: Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) Contract Details:
Appendix VI: Data Access and Dissemination System (DADS II) Contract
Details:
Appendix VII: Summaries of Major Decennial Contracts Planned for Award
in 2007 or Later:
Appendix VIII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Related GAO Products:
Table:
Table 1: Status of Major Decennial Contracts:
Figures:
Figure 1: The Bureau's Testing and Development Schedule and Contract
Activities Overlap:
Figure 2: Decennial Contracts and Other Census Systems Will Need to
Work in Concert with One Another:
Figure 3: Selected Leading Practices for Acquisition Planning:
Abbreviations:
CMMISM: Capability Maturity Model Integration:
DADS II: Data Access and Dissemination System II:
DRIS: Decennial Response Integration System:
FDCA: Field Data Collection Automation:
GPO: Government Printing Office:
GSA: General Services Administration:
MAF/TIGER: Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic
Encoding and Referencing:
MTAIP: MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project:
RFP: request for proposal:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
May 18, 2006:
The Honorable Susan M. Collins:
Chairman:
The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman:
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Tom Davis:
Chairman:
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman:
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Government Reform:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Michael Turner:
Chairman:
The Honorable Wm. Lacy Clay:
Ranking Minority Member:
Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census:
Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives:
For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is making the most
extensive use of contractors in its history, turning to the private
sector to supply a number of different mission-critical functions and
technologies. These functions range from data capture and processing
services to the manufacture and support of hundreds of thousands of
handheld mobile computing devices that temporary census workers will
use to locate addresses and to collect and transmit data
electronically. The Bureau estimates that of the $11.3 billion it will
cost to conduct the 2010 Census, around $1.9 billion (nearly 17
percent) will be spent on its seven major decennial contracts. More
importantly, the success of these contracts will largely determine
whether the Bureau meets its goals to improve the accuracy, reduce the
risk, and contain the cost of the 2010 Census.
Contractors can help address the challenges the Bureau faces as it
plans for and implements the 2010 Census. Because of various social and
demographic trends, the nation's population has become increasingly
difficult to count. Due to this and other challenges, the Bureau
recognized that it is not equipped to perform the needed tasks using
its own staff and capabilities and has been looking outside the agency
to obtain the expertise and services essential for a complete and
accurate enumeration.
That said, increased reliance on contractors also entails certain
management challenges. The Bureau's experiences in the 2000 Census--the
first time the Bureau relied on contractors to perform a large number
of major decennial activities--highlight the importance of a rigorous
acquisition planning process[Footnote 1] to help mitigate those
challenges and better ensure that contractors meet the Bureau's needs
in an effective, economical, and timely manner. For example, the
Department of Commerce (Commerce) Office of Inspector General raised
questions regarding the Bureau's ability to acquire critical systems
and services. Although these projects were ultimately successful in
supporting the 2000 Census, the Inspector General concluded they were
more costly than necessary.[Footnote 2]
In March 2006, we testified on the Bureau's acquisition and management
of two critical information technology systems that contractors are
developing for the 2010 Census. The two contracts--Field Data
Collection Automation and the Decennial Response Integration System--
are two of the seven major decennial acquisitions for the 2010 Census.
We noted that, while the project offices responsible for these two
contracts have carried out initial acquisition management activities,
neither office has the full set of capabilities they need to
effectively manage the acquisitions. Until these basic management
activities are implemented, both projects face increased risks of cost
overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls.[Footnote 3]
Because of the mission-critical role contractors will play in the 2010
Census, we reviewed the Bureau's acquisition planning process under the
Comptroller General's statutory authority. As agreed with your office,
we are providing this report to you because it contains information
that will be useful for your oversight responsibilities for the
decennial census. Specifically, our objectives were to (1) determine
the status of the Bureau's major contracts related to the 2010 Census,
and (2) evaluate the extent to which the Bureau is using selected
leading practices to manage its acquisition planning process for the
decennial census.
To address the first objective, we reviewed documents related to the
seven major 2010 Census acquisitions (as defined by Bureau officials)-
-including acquisition plans, strategic planning documents, requests
for proposals, finalized contracts, and budget requests to the Office
of Management and Budget--and interviewed knowledgeable Bureau
officials responsible for contracting and acquisition planning.
To evaluate the Bureau's use of leading acquisition planning practices,
we first reviewed (1) our own guidance, reports, and testimonies on the
acquisition function; and (2) external studies to identify leading
acquisition planning practices used in the federal government. From
these, we adapted five leading acquisition planning practices most
relevant to the Bureau's acquisition planning efforts for its major
decennial contracts. We then evaluated the extent to which the Bureau
employed these leading practices for its seven major decennial
contracts by interviewing officials, reviewing Bureau documents, and
observing acquisition activities related to these contracts. Appendix I
provides additional information on our scope and methodology. We
conducted our work from July 2005 through March 2006 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
This report is the latest in a series of evaluations that we have
issued on the Bureau's preparations for the 2010 Census. Most recently,
this March, we testified on the progress of the Bureau's planning and
testing activities and information technology systems.[Footnote 4] See
the Related GAO Products section for a list of selected reports we have
issued to date.
Results in Brief:
The Bureau has awarded three of its seven major decennial contracts
consistent with their award dates and is preparing for the award of the
remaining four. The three contracts that have been awarded represent
about $1.3 billion of the $1.9 billion the Bureau expects to eventually
award.
* In June 2002, the Bureau awarded the Harris Corporation a $209
million contract to modernize its Master Address File/Topologically
Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) system,
which provides the address list, maps, and other geographic support
services for the Census and other Bureau surveys. Known as the MAF/
TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP), the contract is currently
meeting milestones for project deliverables and remains on budget,
according to Bureau documents we reviewed.
* In October 2005, the Bureau awarded the Lockheed Martin Corporation a
contract for more than $500 million to develop and operate the
Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS), to capture and integrate
paper, Internet, and telephone responses to the census, in addition to
providing assistance to census respondents. Progress on DRIS is running
60 to 90 days behind schedule because of a bid protest that was later
withdrawn. Bureau officials are working to revise the contract schedule
and believe this schedule change will not be a significant setback.
* In March 2006, the Bureau awarded the Harris Corporation a contract
for an estimated $600 million to provide automated resources for
supporting field data collection, including the provision of handheld
mobile computing devices used by the enumerators. The Bureau had
originally intended to award the contract, known as Field Data
Collection Automation (FDCA), in late 2005, but pushed it back so that
it could first conduct a short field test to evaluate prototypes
developed by multiple offerors of the mobile computing devices that
enumerators are to use in their fieldwork. The Bureau then successfully
awarded the contract consistent with its revised award timeline.
Of the four contracts that have not yet been awarded, the Bureau has
pushed back the target award dates of two contracts due to changes in
its acquisition approach.
* The Bureau changed, twice, the award date and scope of a contract
related to its Data Access and Dissemination System (DADS II). Most
recently, the Bureau delayed the release of the request for proposal
(RFP) by 6 months and expanded the contract scope to require
contractors to acquire an integrated system. Consequently, the Bureau
is delaying the contract award by 2 months to October 2006.
* The Bureau originally planned to award the 2010 Communications
contract to advertise and promote the census in October 2006, but has
decided to award the contract at a later date because it still
researching various approaches to the acquisition. Bureau officials
noted that they plan to award this contract during the 2007 calendar
year.
Bureau officials have stated that the 2010 Communications contract is
currently on track to award the contract in 2007. Moreover, the Bureau
expects to award the two remaining contracts--one for printing census
forms and the other for leasing temporary field census offices--on
time.
However, any change in acquisition milestones--coupled with the
Bureau's tight systems development schedule, and the interdependence of
decennial systems--could affect its ability to develop fully functional
and sufficiently mature systems that can be demonstrated in concert
with other operations during the dress rehearsal for the 2010 Census
scheduled for 2008. For example, aspects of the DADS II contract will
not be assessed during the dress rehearsal as the Bureau originally
intended because of the delayed solicitation release and contract
award. The 2008 Dress Rehearsal will be the Bureau's last opportunity
to assess the various procedures and systems for the decennial census
under as near-census-like conditions as possible. During the 1998 Dress
Rehearsal for the 2000 Census, a number of new features were not test-
ready, and the Bureau said it could not fully evaluate with any degree
of assurance how they would affect the census.
In preparing for these seven contracts to date, the Bureau has
generally adhered to the leading acquisition planning practices we
evaluated.
1. Planning strategically: The Bureau has documented how major
decennial contract operations and its integration will achieve 2010
Census objectives.
2. Monitoring the acquisition planning process: To date, the Bureau
monitored the acquisition planning process for individual contracts.
3. Involving stakeholders: The Bureau has so far involved relevant
stakeholders in the acquisition planning process.
4. Addressing business process changes: The Bureau has addressed
changes to its business processes resulting from its increased reliance
on contractors.
5. Planning for the acquisition workforce: The Bureau is taking steps
to strategically plan for its acquisition workforce, which includes
census staff who award or manage contracts.
However, the Bureau has not completed necessary actions regarding
certain activities within two of the practices. First, while the Bureau
has taken steps to plan for the integration of its decennial systems,
it does not have a schedule for documenting what and when information
needs to be provided to development teams that will integrate all
decennial systems. Successful systems integration will facilitate the
Bureau's ability to achieve its goals for a successful enumeration
during the 2010 Census.
Second, the Bureau does not assess or monitor, at an agencywide level,
gaps in the skills needed by its decennial acquisition workforce. It
also has not incorporated the needs of the decennial acquisition
function in its agency human capital plan or in a plan specific to the
acquisition workforce. Taking these actions could help the Bureau
anticipate and address challenges that may be faced by the acquisition
workforce stemming from demands brought on by the Bureau's greater
reliance on contractors for conducting the 2010 Census.
We are making three recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce in
this report. First, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce ensure
that the key systems to be developed or provided by contractors for the
2010 Census are fully functional and ready to be assessed in concert
with other operations as part of the 2008 Dress Rehearsal. To help
ensure the successful integration of decennial systems, we are also
recommending that the Secretary direct the Bureau to establish a
schedule for the definition of interfaces between all decennial systems
so that these data can be provided on a timely basis to development
teams. Third, the Secretary should direct the Bureau to devote further
attention to planning strategically for its decennial acquisition
workforce by, among other actions, identifying and assessing
acquisition workforce skill gaps, and involving appropriate acquisition-
related stakeholders in identifying the needs of the acquisition
workforce in its workforce plans.
The Secretary of Commerce provided written comments on a draft of this
report (see app. II). While Commerce neither agreed nor disagreed with
our recommendations it described actions the Bureau is taking that, to
some extent, address our third recommendation for the Bureau to devote
further attention to decennial acquisition workforce planning. We
believe that these are important first steps. We also believe that
fully incorporating the key strategic workforce planning principles we
describe in our report would help the Bureau to better align its
acquisition workforce with the demands brought on by the Bureau's
greater reliance on contractors to help carry out the 2010 Census.
Background:
The Constitution vests Congress with the authority to conduct the
decennial census in such manner as it determines, and Congress in turn
has granted the Secretary of Commerce (and by delegation, the Director
of the Census Bureau) considerable latitude in carrying out the census.
In counting the nation's population, it is important for the Bureau to
stay on schedule, as the Secretary of Commerce is statutorily required
to (1) conduct the census on April 1 of the decennial year, (2) report
the state population counts to the President for purposes of
congressional apportionment by December 31 of the decennial year, and
(3) send population tabulations to the states for purposes of
redistricting no later than 1 year after the April 1 census date. To
meet these mandated reporting requirements, census activities need to
take place at specific times and in the proper sequence. As Census Day
approaches, the tolerance for any operational delays or changes becomes
increasingly small.
Throughout its history, the Bureau has mostly relied on its in-house
capabilities to conduct the decennial census.[Footnote 5] However, the
2000 Census marked the first time the Bureau relied on contractors to
perform a large number of major decennial activities. For example, the
Bureau awarded a data capture contract--to scan more than 100 million
questionnaires, capture and read that data, and send the information to
headquarters for additional processing--to TRW, and awarded the
advertising firm of Young & Rubicam a contract to develop an outreach
and promotion campaign.
Although the contractors generally performed well,[Footnote 6]
Commerce's Office of Inspector General identified several shortcomings.
For example, incomplete quality assurance procedures for the Bureau's
printing contracts led to one contractor printing and mailing out
approximately 20 million misaddressed letters informing households that
the decennial questionnaires would soon follow, resulting in
unnecessary negative publicity just weeks before the Bureau was to send
out census forms.
Further, the Inspector General found that the Bureau did not have
sufficient program management staff with the training and experience to
efficiently acquire systems and manage complex, high-dollar contracts.
As a result, the Bureau incurred higher costs than necessary. For
example, costs for the data capture system increased from a projected
$49 million at the time of contract award in 1997 to $238 million by
the end of the decennial because of continually changing and expanding
requirements late in the decade. The Commerce Office of Inspector
General recommended that for the 2010 Census, the Bureau would need a
sufficient number of highly skilled and properly trained personnel
dedicated to the planning and management of decennial contracts.
The Bureau Has Made Progress on Major Decennial Contracts, but
Adherence to Contract Milestones Will Be Essential:
The Bureau has awarded three of its seven major decennial contracts on
time, and is working to accomplish contract milestones for these three
and preparing for the award of the remaining four contracts. However,
the tight systems development and testing schedule coupled with the
interdependence of decennial systems may affect the Bureau's ability to
meet its ambitious schedule for completing the testing necessary for a
successful census.
The Bureau Has Awarded Three Contracts and Is Working to Achieve
Contract Milestones:
As shown in table 1, the Bureau has awarded three of its seven major
decennial contracts on time, and is working to accomplish contract
milestones for these three and preparing for the award of the remaining
four contracts. However, the Bureau has pushed back the award dates of
two of the remaining four contracts because of changes in its
acquisition approach for the contracts (additional detail about each of
the seven contracts is presented in apps. III through VII). Going
forward, it will be important for the Bureau to stay on schedule so
that key systems can be demonstrated in concert with one another as
part of the 2008 Dress Rehearsal.
Table 1: Status of Major Decennial Contracts:
Contract: Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic
Encoding and Referencing Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP);
Contractor/agency managing contracts: Harris Corporation;
Contract purpose: Delivery of accurate, improved, and current
information to the Master Address File/ Topologically Integrated
Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database;
Estimated contract cost: $209 million;
Target award dates: June 2002 (actual).
Contract: Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS);
Contractor/ agency managing contracts: Lockheed Martin Corporation;
Contract purpose: Providing a solution for data capture and respondent
assistance;
Estimated contract cost: More than $500 million;
Target award dates: October 2005 (actual).
Contract: Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA);
Contractor/agency managing contracts: Harris Corporation;
Contract purpose: Providing automated resources for supporting field
data collection, including the provision of mobile computing devices
used by enumerators;
Estimated contract cost: $600 million;
Target award dates: March 2006 (actual).
Contract: Data Access and Dissemination System II (DADS II);
Contractor/agency managing contracts: To be determined;
Contract purpose: Develop a replacement for legacy tabulation and
dissemination system;
Estimated contract cost: To be determined;
Target award dates: October 2006.
Contract: 2010 Communications;
Contractor/agency managing contracts: To be determined;
Contract purpose: Development of an advertising campaign to promote the
2010 Census;
Estimated contract cost: To be determined;
Target award dates: Calendar year 2007.
Contract: 2010 Census printing contracts; Contractor/agency managing
contracts: Government Printing Office (will manage contracts);
Contract purpose: Printing and distribution of census questionnaires
and other documents;
Estimated contract cost: To be determined;
Target award dates: March 2007 (contract for major operations) November
2008 - April 2009 (other printing contracts).
Contract: Decennial Census Leasing;
Contractor/agency managing contracts: General Services Administration
(will manage leasing);
Contract purpose: Leasing, build-out, and management of regional census
centers and local census offices;
Estimated contract cost: To be determined;
Target award dates: April 2007 - June 2009 (leases signed for
individual offices).
Source: GAO analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
[End of table]
The MTAIP contract, for about $209 million, was awarded in June 2002 to
the Harris Corporation (Harris). Harris is to correct in the Bureau's
geographic information system, called the Topologically Integrated
Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) database, the location of
every street, boundary, and other map feature so that coordinates are
aligned with their true geographic locations. Our review of Bureau
documents indicates that Harris is meeting expected schedule and cost
targets for the MTAIP contract. According to Bureau documents, Harris
completed work for 75 counties in fiscal year 2003, as was planned for
the first year of production for the contract. Bureau documents also
show that in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, Harris was both on schedule
and within budget, completing 602 counties in 2004 and 623 counties in
2005. Similarly, for the first 2 months of fiscal year 2006, Harris was
also on schedule and within budget. Bureau plans call for Harris to
finish its work for all remaining counties by the end of fiscal year
2008.
The DRIS contract was awarded in October 2005 to Lockheed Martin and is
expected to cost more than $500 million. Bureau officials told us that
work on the DRIS contract is slightly behind schedule. The
implementation of the DRIS contract was pushed back by 60 to 90 days,
according to Bureau officials, because of a bid protest that was
ultimately withdrawn. Bureau officials told us they did not expect this
change to substantially affect the contractor's ability to complete the
work as planned. DRIS staff are working to adjust the schedule for the
first few months of the contract to accommodate the change.
The Bureau awarded the FDCA contract to Harris for an estimated cost of
$600 million. Although the award date was consistent with its schedule,
the Bureau had revised the original award date for FDCA from late 2005
to March 2006 to enable multiple offerors to develop and test
prototypes of the mobile computing device that will be used by
enumerators during their fieldwork. The Bureau held a 3-day field
demonstration in January 2006 to evaluate the prototype, and considered
the results as part of the process for selecting a contractor. Bureau
officials with responsibility for FDCA believe this strategy had
multiple advantages. For example, they believe the development of a
prototype prior to contract award increases the likelihood of having a
working device in time for the first operation of the 2008 Dress
Rehearsal.
Of the four remaining contracts, the Bureau has also revised the
original award dates for two but expects to award the contracts for
printing and field office leasing according to its original schedule.
The two contracts for which the Bureau has pushed back the award dates
are the DADS II contract to replace the Bureau's data tabulation and
dissemination system and the 2010 Communications contract to advertise
and promote the 2010 Census.
The Bureau has twice changed the DADS II award date and contract scope.
It originally planned to establish a new Web-based system that would
serve as a single point for public access to all census data and
integrate many dissemination functions currently spread across multiple
Bureau organizations. The Bureau had planned to award that contract in
the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. However, due to fiscal and
resource constraints, the Bureau decided against investing in this
integrated approach and opted instead to rely on contractors to enhance
the DADS system used for the 2000 Census. The Bureau planned to release
a RFP for DADS II on February 27, 2006, and to award the contract in
August 2006.
On March 8, 2006, however, the Bureau announced its plan to delay the
release of the RFP by 6 months to gain a clearer sense of budget
priorities before issuing a delegation of procurement authority. The
Bureau also changed its plan to acquire a contractor to maintain and
enhance the system used for the 2000 Census. In its draft RFP for the
DADS II contract, the Bureau noted that because the system used in 2000
was becoming obsolete, it planned to revert back to its original plan
to acquire an integrated system. The Bureau currently estimates it will
delay the award of the DADS II contract from August to October of 2006.
The Bureau had also originally planned to award the 2010 Communications
contract in October 2006--earlier in the decade than for Census 2000,
when the Bureau awarded its advertising contract in October 1997--but
has decided to do so at a later date because it is still researching
various approaches to the acquisition. Bureau officials told us they
plan to award the contract during the 2007 calendar year. They also
told us that the contract is currently on track.
Tight Time Frames May Affect the Bureau's Ability to Properly Test Key
Systems:
The tight schedule for systems development and testing schedule coupled
with the interdependence of decennial systems may affect the Bureau's
ability to meet its ambitious time frame for completing the testing
necessary for a successful census. For example, as shown in figure 1,
the FDCA contract--the scope of which will provide handheld mobile
computing devices to be used by enumerators--was awarded in March 2006
to Harris. This occurred in the midst of the 2006 Census Test[Footnote
7] during which the Bureau is assessing the use of these devices.
Although the Bureau noted that it provided competitors for the FDCA
contract information about the design, requirements, and specifications
for the 2006 test in its RFP, Harris will have only a short time to
incorporate performance information from the 2006 test into the
development of new mobile computing devices, as these devices need to
be ready by April 2007 for the address canvassing operation of the 2008
Dress Rehearsal. The dress rehearsal will be the Bureau's last
opportunity to assess the various procedures and systems for the
decennial census under as near-census-like conditions as possible.
Figure 1: The Bureau's Testing and Development Schedule and Contract
Activities Overlap:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Moreover, several of the Bureau's key decennial systems--both those
developed by contractors and those developed by the Bureau itself--will
need to exchange data (or interface) with each other to carry out
decennial operations, as illustrated in figure 2. The decennial system
is comprised of many systems that must work in concert and rely on one
another. Because of these interdependencies, these various systems need
to stay on schedule during the development phase. For example, data
collected by the mobile computing devices supplied under the FDCA
contract need to be processed by the data capture system provided by
the DRIS contractor to be consistent with data from other sources, such
as the Internet or telephone.
Figure 2: Decennial Contracts and Other Census Systems Will Need to
Work in Concert with One Another:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
More broadly, the principal census-taking activities and systems need
to be sufficiently mature so they can be demonstrated in concert with
one another as part of the 2008 Dress Rehearsal. Based on the Bureau's
past experience, a true dress rehearsal--which requires the Bureau to
specify all design features by 2007--is critical for meeting the
Bureau's goals and objectives. We previously reported that during the
1998 Dress Rehearsal for the 2000 Census, a number of new features were
not test-ready; as a result, the Bureau said it could not fully
evaluate with any degree of assurance how they would affect the
census.[Footnote 8] These late design changes and hastily developed
untested systems resulted in additional costs to that census.
For the 2010 Census, changes to the acquisition milestones of both the
FDCA and DADS II contracts affected the testing programs for both of
those systems. For example, as the Commerce Office of Inspector General
concluded in a recent report,[Footnote 9] delaying FDCA time frames
reduced the amount of time after contract award to complete the
remainder of the work needed to prepare for, and begin, the dress
rehearsal. Moreover, pushing back the award date resulted in a missed
opportunity for the FDCA contractor to observe the real-time use of the
mobile computing devices for address canvassing in 2005 as part of the
2006 test. According to the Inspector General, observations of the 2006
Test could have provided the contractor with a level of understanding
of key census-taking operations that would have been difficult to
obtain in any other fashion.
Additionally, the DADS II system will not be developed in time to be
fully tested during the 2008 Dress Rehearsal, partly due to the delay
in its acquisition milestones. Moreover, because the Bureau moved the
release date for the RFP from February to August 2006 and plans to
award the contract in October 2006, the time frame the Bureau now has
to prepare for awarding the contract has been compressed from 6 to 2
months. In 2 months, the Bureau has to (consistent with planning
activities leading up to contract award by governments acquiring
systems) prepare for and evaluate responses, conduct supporting
negotiations, and recommend a contract award, among other activities
involved in selecting a contractor.
The Bureau Is Generally Following Five Leading Acquisition Planning
Practices, but Continued Management Focus Will Be Critical:
In planning its major acquisitions for the 2010 Census, the Bureau has
generally adhered to the five leading practices for acquisition
planning we selected (see fig. 3).
Figure 3: Selected Leading Practices for Acquisition Planning:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
However, additional efforts are needed within two of these practices in
the Bureau's activities leading up to contract award. As part of its
strategic planning process (practice 1), the Bureau needs to complete
its plan for integrating its major decennial systems. Further, in
planning for its decennial acquisition workforce (practice 5), the
Bureau needs to fully implement key principles of strategic workforce
planning. In the years ahead, it will be important for Bureau
management to follow these leading practices to successfully plan for
and award its remaining contracts for the development of mission-
critical systems to support activities for the 2010 Census.
The Bureau Has Developed a Strategic Plan Linked to Program Goals but
Needs to Fully Address Systems Integration:
Leading results-oriented organizations that rely on acquisitions to
accomplish their missions use strategic plans to align the activities
of individual contractors with the organizations' overall objectives.
Linking an organization's acquisition activities to specific program
goals is particularly important for the census, where various systems
have to work seamlessly and in the right sequence. For example, the
National Academy of Sciences reported that during the 2000 Census,
weaknesses in the Bureau's strategic planning for major systems
developed by contractors led to a patchwork of information systems that
were costly, complex, and high risk.
For the 2010 Census, the Bureau has developed a strategic plan linking
some activities to be performed by contractors to the Bureau's program
goals. To enhance its planning process and improve systems efficiency,
the Bureau is developing a 2010 Census Architecture, which is a
blueprint of its business process, data, applications and interfaces,
and the technologies needed to efficiently conduct the census. This
architecture will also serve as the basis on which the Bureau and its
contractors will build systems necessary to complete the 2010 Census.
The National Academy of Sciences has endorsed the Bureau's development
of the 2010 Census Architecture and noted that its full use has the
potential to greatly reduce risk in system development and enable the
various information subsystems of the census to communicate effectively
with each other.
Within this architecture, the Bureau has several documents that detail
its plans to produce a census that achieves its program goals for the
reengineered 2010 Census. Although these documents do not specifically
identify contracts, they do link activities that will be performed by
contractors to achieving specific program goals. For example, the 2010
Baseline Design specifies that automation and use of mobile computing
devices--to be provided by the FDCA contractor--will significantly
reduce the amount of paper used in the field. It will also cut down on
the large number of staff and the office space required to handle that
paper, thereby also reducing the cost of the census. Likewise, in a
budget document submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, the
Bureau also links contracted activities to decreased workload and
costs.
The Bureau is planning for the integration of DRIS, FDCA, DADS II, and
its other information technology systems. Successful systems
integration involves almost every aspect of the project and reaches
from the very beginning through the maintenance phase of a system's
life cycle. To facilitate this planning, the Bureau will use the 2010
Census Architecture to coordinate technical planning for systems
integration. As part of this architecture, the Bureau has developed the
Physical Architecture, which specifically identifies which systems need
to exchange data or interface with one another. Contractors will be
required to follow this document as they develop interoperable systems.
Bureau officials stated that they plan to finalize the Physical
Architecture by the spring of 2006.
As the Bureau continues its testing and development for the 2010
Census, it will be important for it to fully develop and carry out its
plan to integrate its decennial systems. The Bureau has taken the
responsibility of managing systems integration itself. Therefore, it
needs to provide each contractor with the information needed to enable
the systems they develop to work in concert with other decennial
systems. Bureau officials indicate that they intend to define these
information needs after all major information technology contracts have
been awarded and will implement a joint effort with the Bureau's
contractors and in-house developers to integrate its systems
development schedules at that time.
However, the Bureau has not yet established a schedule for defining
this information that needs to be shared with contractors or other
census teams for their development of decennial systems. To
successfully provide this information on schedule so as to ensure the
successful integration of decennial systems, the Bureau--in its role as
the systems integrator--should establish a schedule to define
interfaces between all decennial systems so that the interface
information can be provided on a timely basis to development teams.
Consistent with the leading acquisition planning practice of
strategically planning for contracts, the successful integration of
decennial systems is a key factor in the Bureau's ability to meet its
internal milestones. This integration will decrease the chance for
unanticipated cost increases as well as technical and programmatic
risks.
To Date, the Bureau Has Monitored the Acquisition Planning Process for
Individual Contracts:
Agencies relying on contractors should monitor planning activities
leading up to contract award so that appropriate corrective actions can
be taken if the process begins to deviate from plan. These planning
activities involve (1) planning for and performing the actions
necessary to develop and issue a solicitation package, (2) preparing
for the evaluation of responses, (3) conducting an evaluation, (4)
conducting supporting negotiations, and (5) making recommendations for
award of the contract. Without appropriate monitoring of acquisition
planning, agencies run the risk of delaying contract award and other
contract milestones, which can result in acquisitions becoming more
costly than necessary.
The Bureau has monitored activities leading up to contract award for
the three major contracts it has awarded and is monitoring its
acquisition planning for the remaining four major contracts. For two of
its awarded contracts--MTAIP and DRIS--the Bureau has established
acquisition project schedules and processes, while also tracking
whether its acquisition activities are performed on time through the
maintenance, review, and inspection of detailed contract files. The
Bureau was relatively close to meeting the dates specified in its
contracts' revised planning schedules for the issuance of the MTAIP and
DRIS RFPs and subsequent award of those contracts. The Bureau has also
been monitoring the planning process for the award of its remaining
major decennial contracts.
Continued monitoring of contractor performance after contract award
will also factor heavily into the success of major decennial contracts.
For example, in our March 2006 testimony[Footnote 10] focusing on the
DRIS and FDCA contracts, we noted that several plans needed for post-
award contract monitoring for the two contracts, such as detailed
performance measures for tracking the contractor or the Bureau's own
internal progress, were not yet developed. While the Bureau does not
have a policy requiring such plans to be completed prior to contract
award, not having them in place could limit the Bureau's ability to
determine when performance deviates from expectations and could
increase the risk of delays in identifying problems with the project
and taking appropriate corrective actions.
The Bureau Has So Far Involved Relevant Stakeholders in the Acquisition
Planning Process:
In our previous work,[Footnote 11] we found that engaging relevant
stakeholders[Footnote 12] and empowering them to coordinate acquisition
actions help agencies to better define their needs and to identify,
select, and manage providers of goods and services. For the inputs of
stakeholders to be useful during the acquisition planning phase,
careful selection of relevant stakeholders is necessary. A plan for
stakeholder involvement should include a list of relevant stakeholders,
the roles and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders, and a
schedule for stakeholder involvement. The Bureau, in its evaluations of
the 2000 Census, reported that it could have had greater involvement
from internal division stakeholders in its planning process. Likewise,
the Commerce Office of Inspector General found that inadequate
stakeholder participation--namely, the lack of coordination between the
General Services Administration (GSA), the contractors GSA managed, and
Bureau staff--resulted in many wasted hours of government employee time
and increased contractor cost on the contract involving the opening of
over 500 local offices during the 2000 Census.
For some decennial contracts, the Bureau developed plans that include a
list of relevant stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities, and
schedules of when the involvement of each is needed. For example, the
project management plan for the FDCA contract includes a strategy to
communicate between internal and external stakeholders and the
different management and technical teams that will provide oversight of
the FDCA contract. It also details specific roles and responsibilities
for individuals within project teams that will support the management
and technical activities for the FDCA contract. In another example, the
charter for the DRIS acquisition review team details the composition of
the team, membership responsibilities, and guidelines in reviewing the
acquisition of the system.
After contract award, Bureau attention to stakeholder involvement will
remain important. For example, each participant's role in post-
contract-award activities should be clearly defined and shared among
stakeholders for each contract. We noted in our testimony evaluating
the Bureau's progress on the DRIS contract[Footnote 13] that in at
least one case, the Bureau has not yet obtained written stakeholder buy-
in on a project plan for managing the contract.
The Bureau Has Implemented Actions to Address Changes in Business
Processes Resulting from Its Increasing Reliance on Contractors:
An agency's increased reliance on contractors may result in changes to
its business processes that can adversely affect staff and the
performance of the contractor. For example, a 2003 IBM study[Footnote
14] found that during the 2000 Census, some Bureau employees felt
threatened by the presence of contractors because they believed that
their roles and responsibilities had been taken away from them.
Additionally, the Bureau did not have established processes to transfer
knowledge and information from Bureau personnel to contractors. This
lack of effective communication created tensions and engendered a less-
than-constructive working relationship between contractors and Bureau
staff, according to IBM. Moreover, the study found that because Bureau
employees did not know how to properly define contractual requirements
and deliverables, there were cost overruns.
For the 2010 Census, the Bureau has planned several needed changes to
its business processes. For example, to improve how it defines
contractual requirements and deliverables, project teams led by the
Bureau's Decennial Management Division are to oversee the development
and management of requirements for particular operations and associated
contracts. The teams will also work in conjunction with contractors to
facilitate the understanding and execution of system requirements.
To improve communication between Bureau and contractor staff, Bureau
officials are relying on the 2010 Census Architecture to provide a
formal means of sharing processes and requirements with contractors.
Other Bureau officials have observed that the sharing of 2010 Census
Architecture work products with contractors that has occurred to date
has already resulted in improvements: the Bureau received better
proposals from potential contractors, better conveyed its systems needs
to contractors during the RFP phase, and had a means to provide answers
to contractors' inquiries about systems specifications.
The Bureau Has Taken Steps to Plan for Its Decennial Acquisition
Workforce, but Needs to Fully Incorporate Key Strategic Workforce
Planning Principles:
Agencies that rely heavily on acquisitions to accomplish their missions
stand to benefit greatly by planning strategically for their
acquisition workforces. In a previous report, we noted that this
planning should include developing a strategic workforce plan that
defines the capabilities that will be needed by the acquisition
workforce in the future, as well as strategies that can help this
workforce meet these capabilities.[Footnote 15] During the 2000 Census,
the Bureau experienced some difficulty managing its contracts because
of a lack of skilled acquisition and contract-management personnel.
For example, the Commerce Office of Inspector General reported that,
because the Bureau's Decennial Systems and Contracts Management Office
lacked staff with the experience needed to manage large-scale
contracts, the Bureau did not prepare a written contract surveillance
and management plan when it awarded a contract to a firm to help
respondents complete their census questionnaires over the telephone.
(Surveillance and management plans describe the responsibilities,
roles, and interactions among the program office, contracting officer,
and contractor.) Although the Department of Commerce, in commenting on
a draft of this report, noted that the Bureau carried out these
surveillance and management activities without a written plan, a
written plan would have provided greater assurance that the contracts
were (1) executed successfully, (2) not changed without authorization,
and (3) that the contractor performs as expected. For the 2010 Census,
the Bureau continues to face acquisition workforce challenges.
Senior officials told us that the agency lacks and has trouble
recruiting qualified acquisition personnel with the necessary
experience and skills to award and oversee complex contracts.
Additionally, the Bureau has not strengthened the monitoring of its
mission-critical workforce more closely and at a higher level, as we
noted in a June 2005 report.[Footnote 16] (According to a Commerce
planning document, the Bureau considers its decennial acquisition
workforce to be mission-critical.) For example, the Bureau did not
identify its decennial acquisition workforce in its overall human
capital management plan, nor did it solicit the input of the
Acquisition Division in developing that plan. An April 2005 Office of
Management and Budget policy letter to federal departments and agencies
underscores the importance of this type of planning by requiring high-
level acquisition officials to provide substantial input to their
agency's human capital strategic plans regarding the acquisition
workforce.[Footnote 17]
We have previously identified five key principles that strategic
workforce planning should address: (1) involving top management,
employees, and other stakeholders in developing and implementing the
workforce plan; (2) determining critical skills and competencies needed
to achieve programmatic results; (3) developing strategies tailored to
address gaps in critical skills and competencies; (4) building the
capability needed to address administrative, educational, and other
requirements important to support workforce strategies; and (5)
monitoring and evaluating the agency's progress toward its human
capital goals.[Footnote 18]
The Bureau has incorporated some key strategic workforce planning
principles in planning for its acquisition workforce,[Footnote 19] but
primarily at a division level. Divisions within the Bureau that have
responsibility for acquisition-related staff have independently
implemented certain strategic workforce planning actions, including
working to determine the critical skills and competencies needed to
award and manage decennial contracts and developing strategies to have
adequate skilled staff in place in time for the decennial. For example,
as part of its workforce planning, the Decennial Systems and Contracts
Management Office retained a contractor to conduct a study of what
grades, competencies, and skills were needed to effectively manage the
DRIS contract. Bureau divisions are also turning to formal training to
enhance the capabilities of their staff. For instance, the Decennial
Management Division is requiring some of its employees to take project
management or contracting officer's technical representative training.
Likewise, the Decennial Systems and Contracts Management Office has
trained some of its staff in program management as well as in the
development of enterprise architecture.
At an agencywide level, the Bureau has taken some initial steps to
identify the skills and competencies needed to manage contracts, but
more could be done. For example, in the Bureau's strategic human
capital plan, the Bureau acknowledges that project and contract
management are among the new skills required for its staff for the
reengineering of the 2010 Census. To build the capacity to help staff
obtain these and other skills, the Bureau has established a Project
Management Master's Certificate Program and an Information Technology
Master's Certificate Program, and has developed competency guides as
well. According to Commerce, these certificate programs, initiated in
1998, are a way to develop the management and leadership skills needed
in mid-to-senior level career employees to successfully oversee Bureau
operations well beyond the 2010 Census.
However, the Bureau still lacks an agencywide approach to strategically
planning for its acquisition workforce. First, as we previously
noted,[Footnote 20] the Bureau does not assess or monitor gaps in
numbers by mission-critical occupation at an agencywide level. Instead,
it focuses on "building infrastructure" by recruiting and developing
competencies. The Bureau delegates decisions to line managers to fill
vacancies, and believes there is no need to assess workers by mission-
critical categories. In not performing this agencywide assessment, the
Bureau cannot monitor its mission-critical occupations related to
acquisitions more closely and at a higher level within the agency. As a
result, it may not know overall if it has the acquisition-related
competencies it needs in place agencywide to be prepared for conducting
the 2010 Census as efficiently or effectively as possible.
Second, the Bureau has not identified the needs of its decennial
acquisition workforce in its agencywide human capital management, nor
has it developed a separate plan specific to the acquisition workforce
that identifies these needs. Further, according to Bureau officials in
the Acquisition Division, their input was not sought in the development
of the Bureau's existing human capital management plan.
This lack of high-level attention to the decennial acquisition
workforce in the Bureau's strategic human capital planning process is
notable, especially in light of the Bureau's challenges of recruiting
qualified acquisition personnel. It will be important for the Bureau to
address the needs of its acquisition workforce in its agencywide human
capital management plan or a separate plan and to involve the
Acquisition Division in this planning effort. Taking these actions
would help facilitate a better alignment between the acquisition
workforce and the demands brought on by the Bureau's greater reliance
on contractors for the successful conduct of the 2010 Census.
Conclusion:
As the 2010 Census approaches, the Bureau faces the challenge of
managing its extensive network of contractors to perform mission-
critical operations. The Bureau is well aware that early planning,
testing, and development will help facilitate a successful decennial
census. Acquisition planning plays a key role in that process and
provides a road map the Bureau can use to manage its contracts to
increase the likelihood of timely deliverables at reasonable cost.
Overall, progress on the seven major decennial contracts is moving
forward. Still, as Census Day 2010 draws closer, it will become
increasingly difficult for the Bureau to make up any time lost to
delays. Already, aspects of the Bureau's DADS II system will not be
assessed in the dress rehearsal because of a change in the contract's
acquisition milestones, while changes to FDCA time frames have reduced
the amount of time the Bureau will have to complete the work needed to
prepare for, and begin the dress rehearsal.
Further, to help the contractors stay on track, Bureau officials will
need to document a schedule for when information needs to be exchanged
between contractors and census teams working to develop these
interoperable systems for the 2010 Census. The Bureau also needs to pay
attention to strategically--and at an agencywide level--managing the
human capital planning for its acquisition workforce.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To help the Bureau improve the management of the 2010 Census, we
recommend that the Secretary of Commerce direct the Bureau to take the
following three actions:
* Ensure that the key systems to be developed or provided by
contractors for the 2010 Census are fully functional and ready to be
assessed in concert with other operations as part of the 2008 Dress
Rehearsal.
* Establish a schedule for the definition of interfaces between all
decennial systems so that these data can be provided on a timely basis
to development teams.
* Devote further attention to planning strategically for its decennial
acquisition workforce by (1) assessing, at a higher level within the
agency, whether it has the acquisition-related skills needed to conduct
the 2010 Census by developing strategies to identify and address gaps,
monitoring and evaluating progress toward closing gaps, and adjusting
strategies accordingly; and (2) identifying the needs of the
acquisition workforce in its human capital management plan or another
acquisition-specific workforce plan and involving appropriate
stakeholders in this planning effort.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
In written comments on a draft of this report, Commerce neither agreed
nor disagreed with our recommendations. Commerce commented on aspects
of our principal findings and our third recommendation regarding its
planning for the decennial acquisition workforce. Its comments included
some technical corrections and suggestions where additional context was
needed, and we revised the report to reflect these comments as
appropriate. Commerce's comments are reprinted in their entirety in
appendix II.
Commerce did comment on our first principal finding concerning the
Bureau's readiness for the 2008 Dress Rehearsal. This finding led to
our first recommendation for the Bureau to ensure that its key systems
are fully functional and ready to be assessed in concert with other
operations during the dress rehearsal. Commerce noted that the Bureau
provided competitors for the FDCA contract information about the
design, requirements, and specifications for the 2006 Test in its RFP
(we have now added this information to our report). Commerce also noted
that the Bureau will be sharing preliminary results from the 2006 Test
with Harris--the firm that was awarded the contract--as soon as the
results are available. However, the Bureau did not specify when this
might be. Moreover, as we discussed in the report, the mobile computing
devices will need to be ready by April 2007, when the Bureau is to use
them for the address canvassing operation for the 2008 Dress Rehearsal.
Consequently, the contractor will have around a year, perhaps less, to
study the results of the 2006 Test; assess what worked and what
improvements, if any, are needed; and develop and test any solutions in
time to be included in the devices that will be used in 2007.
For our second principal finding that the Bureau does not have a
schedule for defining what and when information needs to be provided to
development teams to better integrate the systems they develop,
Commerce did not comment on our recommendation for the Bureau to
develop such a schedule, but stated that it was not clear how the
Bureau could have had such a schedule prior to awarding the contracts.
Commerce further noted that the Bureau plans to implement a joint
effort with its contractors and in-house developers to integrate its
development schedules. Our report acknowledged that the Bureau intended
to define these information needs after it awards the major information
technology contracts. We believe that establishing a schedule defining
the interfaces between all decennial systems as soon as practical is
critical because it allows the Bureau to better manage the process and
hold various components accountable to a schedule and thus help ensure
the successful integration of decennial systems.
In its comments related to our third finding and recommendation for the
Bureau to assess the decennial acquisition workforce at a higher level
within the agency, Commerce described the actions the Bureau is taking
consistent with this recommendation. For example, Commerce reported
that high-level Bureau officials will be regularly briefed on the
status of each decennial acquisition. Commerce also detailed the steps
the Bureau is taking with stakeholders to plan for the needs of the
Bureau's acquisition-related workforce as part of its human capital
management plan. Commerce noted that this plan includes input from
managers who represent each Bureau directorate.
These are important first steps toward addressing our third
recommendation. While the Bureau has begun working closely with
stakeholders to plan for the decennial acquisition workforce as part of
its human capital management plan, it has not yet begun incorporating
that information into the plan. As we stated in our report, documenting
its decennial acquisition workforce needs in the Bureau's strategic
human capital plan would help facilitate a better alignment between the
acquisition workforce and the demands brought on by the Bureau's
greater reliance on contractors for the successful conduct of the 2010
Census.
In addition, Commerce commented on information in our report that was
obtained from our March 2006 testimony and a 2002 Commerce Office of
Inspector General study. Specifically, our report notes that in March
2006, we testified that neither the FDCA nor DRIS contract project
offices had the full set of capabilities they need to effectively
manage those acquisitions.[Footnote 21] Commerce commented that full
project management offices were not needed to carry out the Bureau's
initial acquisitions and will be staffed in time to effectively manage
the contracts. As discussed in the testimony and noted in our report, a
full set of capabilities--including the institution of requirements
management or risk management processes--are significant factors in
successful systems acquisitions and development programs. Having these
capabilities in place will also improve the likelihood of meeting cost
and schedule estimates as well as performance requirements. Regarding
the Inspector General's study, we noted that the Inspector General
found that the cost of the data capture system for the 2000 Census
increased almost fivefold by the end of that decennial cycle because of
continually changing and expanding requirements late in the decade, and
the Inspector General recommended that for 2010, the Bureau would need
a sufficient number of trained personnel dedicated to the planning and
management of decennial contracts. In its comments, Commerce noted that
the issue of changing and expanding requirements must be addressed by
program management, and that the Bureau, in its preparations for the
2010 Census, is following practices for rigorous requirements
management.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Commerce,
Commerce Office of Inspector General, the Director of the U.S. Census
Bureau and other interested congressional committees. We will make
copies available to others upon request. This report will also be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at [Hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me on (202) 512-6806 or by email at farrellb@gao.gov. Contact
points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs
may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major
contributions to this report are listed in appendix VIII.
Signed by:
Brenda S. Farrell:
Acting Director Strategic Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Our objectives for this report were to (1) determine the status of the
U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) major contracts related to the 2010
Census, and (2) evaluate the extent to which the Bureau is using
selected leading practices to manage its acquisition planning process
for the decennial census. To address our first objective, we reviewed
documents related to major 2010 Census acquisitions, including
acquisition plans, requests for proposals (RFP), finalized contracts,
and budget requests to the Office of Management and Budget. We also
reviewed the Bureau's strategic planning documents, such as its 2010
Census Management Plan, 2010 Census Architecture, and 2010 Baseline
Design for Reengineering the Decennial Census.
Additionally, we interviewed Bureau officials about the status of and
future plans for the major contracts for the 2010 Census (as defined by
Bureau officials). Those officials include those from the Decennial
Management Division, which is responsible for implementing the
decennial census; the Decennial Systems and Contracts Management
Office, which manages selected system contracts supporting the
decennial census; and the Acquisition Division, which carries out
acquisition activities, including setting up and signing contracts, for
other Bureau offices. Further, we interviewed an official from the
Decennial Information Technology and Geographic Systems division.
For the second objective, we identified selected leading acquisition
planning practices used in the federal government from a variety of
sources. Sources included our own guidance, reports, and testimonies on
the acquisition function[Footnote 22] as well as external works, such
as the Capability Maturity Model" Integration (CMMISM)[Footnote 23]
model. The CMMISM model was developed by Carnegie Mellon University's
Software Engineering Institute, recognized for its expertise in
software and system processes. The CMMISM model includes criteria to
evaluate, improve, and manage system and software development
processes. We adapted these CMMISM criteria to evaluate system and
software development issues during acquisition planning for the four
information technology contracts (Field Data Collection Automation,
Decennial Response Integration System, MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement
Project, and Data Access and Dissemination System II). From these, we
selected five leading practices based on the acquisition-related
challenges the Bureau faced during Census 2000. The five leading
practices we selected focused on management oversight of the Bureau's
acquisition planning process, not on the Bureau's acquisition strategy
for specific contracts or compliance with the Federal Acquisition
Regulation.
To evaluate the extent to which the Bureau followed these leading
practices, we reviewed relevant Bureau documents, such as acquisition
plans, strategic planning documents, RFPs, finalized contracts, and
budget requests to the Office of Management and Budget; observed some
acquisition-related events at the Bureau, including Bureau
presentations for potential bidders and contract monitoring meetings;
and interviewed knowledgeable Bureau officials about acquisition
planning. We focused on the Bureau's activities to date in planning for
its major decennial contracts. Because the Bureau is still planning
most of these acquisitions, our review presents findings about current
status and plans as reported by Bureau officials or as supported by
Bureau documents. We conducted our work from July 2005 through March
2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
The Secretary Of Commerce:
Washington, O. C. 20230:
April 24, 2006:
Ms. Brenda S. Farrell:
Acting Director:
Office of Strategic Issues:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Farrell:
The U.S. Department of Commerce appreciates the opportunity to comment
on the United States Government Accountability Office draft report
entitled 2010 Census: Census Bureau Generally Follows Selected Leading
Acquisition Planning Practices, but Continued Management Attention Is
Needed to Help Ensure Success. The Department's comments on this report
are enclosed.
Sincerely,
Signed by Carlos M. Gutierez:
Enclosure:
U.S. Department of Commerce Comments on the United States Government
Accountability Office Draft Report Entitled 2010 Census: Census Bureau
Generally Follows Selected Leading Acquisition Planning Practices, but
Continued Management Attention Is Needed to Help Ensure Success (GAO-
06-277):
General Comments:
In case the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) would
like to add this information to the final report, the Field Data
Collection Automation (FDCA) contract was awarded to the Harris
Corporation. The contract was awarded on schedule, March 31, 2006, for
an estimated $600 million.
Page-Specific Comments:
On pages 3-4, the report states that neither the FDCA nor Decennial
Response Integration Systems (DRIS) contract project offices has the
full set of capabilities they need to effectively manage the
acquisitions.
Comment: The project offices had what they needed to carry out all
initial acquisition management activities. We do not believe the full
Project Management Offices (PMOs) were needed for that phase. The full
PMOs will be staffed in time to effectively manage the contracts.
On pages 7-8, the report states: "[The Bureau] does not have a schedule
for documenting what and when information needs to be provided to
development teams to integrate all decennial systems. "
Comment: It is not clear how the Census Bureau could be expected to
have such a schedule prior to awarding these major contracts. Since the
Census Bureau is outsourcing for solutions, it would not know the
specific detailed schedule for development of systems until it has
awarded each contract to a specific vendor. The Census Bureau does plan
to implement a joint effort with its contractors and in-house
developers to integrate its development schedules.
On page 10, the report states: ".costs for data capture system
increased [for Census 20001 from a projected $49 million . to $238
million . because of continually changing and expanding requirements."
Comment: The report implies this resulted from a lack of training and
experience of contract management staff. The issue of changing and
expanding requirements is beyond the scope or authority of the contract
management staff. It must be addressed by overall program management.
The absence of a rigorous requirements and management and traceability
discipline during the 2000 cycle is being rectified for this cycle by
the Census Bureau's commitment to Capability Maturity Model Integration
(CMMI) processes. CMMI includes specific practices for rigorous
requirements management. We and our contributors follow CMMI Level 3.
On page 14, the report states that the Census Bureau delayed Data
Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS) to "develop a strategy to
provide potential bidders with a more comprehensive understanding."
Comment: The contract award for DADS was delayed to gain a clearer
sense of budget priorities before issuing a delegation of procurement
authority.
On pages 15-16, the report states: "The FDCA contractor will have only
a short time to incorporate performance information from the 2006 Test
into the development of new mobile computing devices."
Comment: Competitors for the FDCA contract were provided information
about design, requirements, and specifications for the 2006 Census Test
as part of Section J of the Request for Proposal. The Census Bureau
will be sharing preliminary results from the test as soon as they are
available.
On page 16, the report provides a schedule of major activities and
contract award dates.
Comment: The dates shown for "Award remaining printing contracts" are
not current. The dates should read "March/April 2007 through April
2009."
On page 17, the report shows a schematic of data exchanges between
decennial contracts and systems.
Comment: The schematic shows a direct link between DRIS and our
geographic support systems, but this link is not part of the Census
Bureau's current plans. Similarly, the direct link shown between FDCA
and DADS is not part of their current plans.
On page 29, the report states: "The Bureau did not prepare a contract
surveillance and management plan."
Comment: The report quotes an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report
here, but does not add the additional context that the OIG report also
recognized that the Census Bureau carried out these surveillance and
management activities in spite of the lack of a written plan.
On page 30, the report references the June 2005 (GAO-05-585) report and
states that the Census Bureau has not monitored its mission-critical
acquisition workforce more closely as GAO has recommended.
Comment: The June 2005 report makes no mention of the Census Bureau's
acquisition workforce.
On page 31, the report notes that divisions within the Census Bureau
that have acquisition-related staff have "independently implemented
certain strategic workforce planning actions."
Different offices at the Census Bureau, such as the Decennial Systems
and Contracts Management Office (DSCMO), Decennial Management Division
(DMD), and Acquisition Division have different occupational mixes,
professional competencies, and responsibilities. The Acquisition
Division is comprised of Contracting Officers who have specific and
unique roles. They are the only organization with GS-1102 Contract
Specialists. That occupation has unique characteristics and
responsibilities. The type of training and the competencies required
for staff in the Acquisition Division will vary significantly from
staff in DSCMO and/or DMD. There are, however, standards in place for
acquisition-related staff in terms of the training they are required to
have.
Since March 2004, the Department of Commerce has implemented a
"Contracting Officer Representative Certification Program" for
acquisition personnel. The goal of this program is to provide
individuals who are managing government contracts with the necessary
tools and abilities to do so effectively and efficiently. Based on the
level of responsibilities an individual has and the size of the
contracts they are managing, the individual is assigned a level, from I
to III, that specifies the number of and types of courses they are
required to take. Bureaus have the discretion to require any additional
courses and/or hours that they feel are necessary. The Census Bureau
requires all their Contracting Officer Technical Representatives
(COTRs) to be Level II-certified, which requires them to take 40 hours
of acquisition training, with a refresher course every 3 years and 18
hours of Project Management training. Census Bureau task managers are
required to be Level I-certified, which requires them to take 18 hours
of acquisition and 12 hours of Project Management training.
On page 32, the report notes that the Project Management (PM) Master's
Certificate and the Information Technology (IT) Master's Certificate
were established to help staff gain the project and contract management
skills needed for the reengineering of the 2010 Census.
The PM and IT programs were initiated in 1998 as part of the Census
Bureau's much larger succession planning practices. The certificate
programs are a way to develop the management and leadership skills
needed in mid-to-senior level career employees to successfully oversee
Census Bureau operations well beyond the 2010 Census. Since its
inception, the programs have had participants from across the Census
Bureau. By the end of 2005, there were 758 employees who had completed
the program.
Comments on Recommended Actions:
GAO's Recommended Actions: "Devote further attention to planning
strategically for its decennial acquisition workforce by (1y assessing,
at a higher level within the agency, whether it has the acquisition-
related skills needed to conduct the 2010 Census by developing
strategies to identify and address gaps, monitoring and evaluating
progress toward closing gaps, and adjusting strategies accordingly and
(2) identifying the needs of the acquisition workforce in its human
capital management plan or another acquisition-specific workforce plan
and involving appropriate stakeholders in this planning effort."
On page 32, the report suggests that the Census Bureau needs to track
the acquisition workforce "at a higher level within the agency." We
have begun a regular assessment of Census Bureau acquisition-related
skills and processes. The Associate Director for Decennial Census and
the Assistant Director for Decennial Information Technology and
Geographic Systems, as well as the Census Bureau's Chief Information
Officer (CIO), will be regularly briefed on the status of each
decennial census acquisition. Further, the Census Bureau's Associate
Director for Administration and Chief Financial Officer (ADACFO), the
Bureau's CIO, and oversight groups from GAO and the OIG have been
issued a standing invitation to attend all program review meetings.
The Human Capital Management Council (HCMC) has been working closely
with the Decennial Acquisition Management staff to develop strategies
to help them obtain the experienced staff they need to successfully
oversee the 2010 Census contracts. The HCMC have also been working
closely with the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management to obtain additional flexibilities to help staff
key positions in the acquisition arena on a time-limited basis.
One flexibility that has been granted to the Census Bureau is the
direct-hire authority for acquisitions-related personnel. On January
30, 2006, the Department of Commerce granted the Census Bureau the
direct-hire authority for contract specialists and procurement analyst
positions, GS-1102, in GS 5 through 14. This authority will help the
Census Bureau recruit and appoint qualified acquisition personnel
needed to successfully conduct the 2010 Census.
The Census Bureau's Human Capital Management Plan was developed
corporately by HCMC, which consists of managers who represent each
directorate, including both the decennial and the administration
directorates (of which the Acquisition Division is a part). The
directorates' human capital representatives were responsible for
soliciting the input of their senior managers to reflect goals, needs,
and priorities in the plan. Senior managers, including senior level
officials in the Acquisition Division, provided their Council
representatives with the information they determined was appropriate
and necessary for the corporate-level Human Capital Management plan
covering fiscal years 2005 through 2010. The ADACFO provided guidance
and direction to ensure that the plans and relevant issues for
acquisition were developed and expressed in concert with all of the
administrative areas, reflecting a more comprehensive view. The ADACFO
also won support from key acquisition stakeholders to fill three senior
contracting officer and two contract specialist positions to manage/
support the large decennial contracts.
[End of section]
Appendix III: MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP) Contract
Details:
[See PDF for Image]
[End of Section]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS) Contract
Details:
[See PDF for Image]
[End of Figure]
[End of section]
Appendix V: Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) Contract Details:
[See PDF for Image]
[End of Figure]
[End of section]
Appendix VI: Data Access and Dissemination System (DADS II) Contract
Details:
[See PDF for Image]
[End of Figure]
[End of section]
Appendix VII: Summaries of Major Decennial Contracts Planned for Award
in 2007 or Later:
[See PDF for Image]
[End of Figure]
[End of section]
Appendix VIII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Brenda S. Farrell (202) 512-6806 or farrellb@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, Robert Goldenkoff, Assistant
Director; Betty Clark; Shirley Hwang; Anne McDonough-Hughes; and
Brendan St. Amant made key contributions to the report. Tim DiNapoli,
Richard Donaldson, Richard Hung, John Krump, Donna Miller, and Amy
Rosewarne provided significant technical support.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
Selected GAO Reports on the 2010 Decennial Census:
2010 Census: Planning and Testing Activities Are Making Progress. GAO-
06-465T. Washington, D.C.: March 1, 2006.
Census Bureau: Important Activities for Improving Management of Key
2010 Decennial Acquisitions Remain to be Done. GAO-06-444T. Washington
D.C.: March 1, 2006.
Data Quality: Improvements to Count Correction Efforts Could Produce
More Accurate Census Data. GAO-05-463. Washington, D.C.: June 20, 2005.
Information Technology Management: Census Bureau Has Implemented Many
Key Practices, but Additional Actions Are Needed. GAO-05-661.
Washington, D.C.: June 16, 2005.
2010 Census: Basic Design Has Potential, but Remaining Challenges Need
Prompt Resolution. GAO-05-9. Washington, D.C.: January 12, 2005.
Data Quality: Census Bureau Needs to Accelerate Efforts to Develop and
Implement Data Quality Review Standards. GAO-05-86. Washington, D.C.:
November 17, 2004.
American Community Survey: Key Unresolved Issues. GAO-05-82.
Washington, D.C.: October 8, 2004.
2010 Census: Cost and Design Issues Need to Be Addressed Soon. GAO-04-
37. Washington, D.C.: January 15, 2004.
Decennial Census: Lessons Learned for Locating and Counting Migrant and
Seasonal Farm Workers. GAO-03-605. Washington, D.C.: July 3, 2003.
Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Hispanic
Subgroup Data Need Refinement. GAO-03-228. Washington, D.C.: January
17, 2003.
Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data on the
Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need Refinement. GAO-
03-227. Washington, D.C.: January 17, 2003.
Selected GAO Reports on Acquisition Planning:
Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function at Federal Agencies.
GAO-05-218G. Washington, D.C.: September 2005.
Human Capital: Selected Agencies Have Opportunities to Enhance Existing
Succession Planning and Management Efforts. GAO-05-585. Washington,
D.C.: June 30, 2005.
Homeland Security: Successes and Challenges in DHS's Efforts to Create
an Effective Acquisition Organization. GAO-05-179. Washington, D.C.:
March 29, 2005.
Transportation Security Administration: High-Level Attention Needed to
Strengthen Acquisition Function. GAO-04-544. Washington, D.C.: May 28,
2004.
Federal Procurement: Spending and Workforce Trends. GAO-03-443.
Washington, D.C.: April 30, 2003.
Acquisition Workforce: Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future
Needs. GAO-03-55. Washington, D.C.: December 18, 2002.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The Federal Acquisition Regulation defines acquisition planning as
"the process by which the efforts of all personnel responsible for an
acquisition are coordinated and integrated through a comprehensive plan
for fulfilling the agency need in a timely manner and at a reasonable
cost. It includes developing the overall strategy for managing the
acquisition." Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) § 2.101(b)(2).
[2] Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, Improving our
Measure of America: What Census 2000 Can Teach Us in Planning for 2010,
OIG-14431 (Washington, D.C.: Spring 2002).
[3] GAO, Census Bureau: Important Activities for Improving Management
of Key 2010 Decennial Acquisitions Remain to be Done, GAO-06-444T
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 1, 2006).
[4] GAO-06-444T and GAO, 2010 Census: Planning and Testing Activities
Are Making Progress, GAO-06-465T (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 1, 2006).
[5] In conducting the census, the Bureau hires enormous numbers of
temporary employees to conduct field data collection as well as other
tasks. For example, during the 2000 Census, the Bureau hired around
500,000 enumerators.
[6] For example, the data capture system exceeded its performance goals
for accuracy, and the advertising campaign blanketed the country with
more than 250 advertisements in 17 languages, which helped boost the
response rate higher than the Bureau had expected.
[7] The Bureau's testing and development program for the 2010 Census
included field tests in Georgia and New York during its 2004 Census
Test, as well as ongoing field tests in Texas and South Dakota for the
2006 Census Test. In 2008, the Bureau plans to hold a dress rehearsal
in California and North Carolina, which is to be a demonstration of the
operations and systems planned for 2010.
[8] GAO, 2010 Census: Basic Design Has Potential, but Remaining
Challenges Need Prompt Resolution, GAO-05-9 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 12,
2005).
[9] U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, FDCA
Program for 2010 Census Is Progressing, but Key Management and
Acquisition Activities Need to be Completed, OSE-17368 (Washington,
D.C.: August 2005).
[10] GAO-06-444T.
[11] GAO, Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function at Federal
Agencies, GAO-05-218G (Washington, D.C.: September 2005).
[12] Relevant stakeholders include representatives from program
offices, contract officials, financial managers, human capital
officials, and information technology officials.
[13] GAO-06-444T.
[14] IBM Business Consulting Services, Management Evaluation of Census
2000 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 8, 2003).
[15] GAO-05-218G.
[16] GAO, Human Capital: Selected Agencies Have Opportunities to
Enhance Existing Succession Planning and Management Efforts, GAO-05-585
(Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2005).
[17] Office of Management and Budget, Developing and Managing the
Acquisition Workforce, Policy Letter 05-01 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 15,
2005).
[18] GAO, Human Capital: Key Principles for Effective Strategic
Workforce Planning, GAO-04-39 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 11, 2003).
[19] The Bureau defines its acquisition workforce broadly, including in
its definition both Acquisition Division employees, such as contracting
officers and contract specialists, and employees in other divisions
that play a significant role in acquisitions, such as contracting
officer technical representatives, program managers, and individuals
responsible for defining contract requirements.
[20] GAO-05-585.
[21] GAO-06-444T.
[22] See for example, GAO, Framework for Assessing the Acquisition
Function at Federal Agencies, GAO-05-218G (Washington, D.C.: September
2005).
[23] CMM", Capability Maturity Model, and Capability Maturity Modeling
are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. CMMISM is a
service mark of Carnegie Mellon University.
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