NOAA
Next Steps to Strengthen Its Acquisition Function Gao ID: GAO-06-594 June 7, 2006The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) accounts for about half of the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) acquisition spending, over $851 million in fiscal year 2005 alone. In recent years however, NOAA has experienced instances of poor contract management. GAO was asked to determine if NOAA is positioned to effectively carry out its acquisition function. Specifically, GAO assessed the extent to which NOAA has structured an acquisition organization that provides appropriate oversight; established policies and processes that promote, among other things, a knowledge-based acquisition process for development and production of complex systems; and planned and managed its contracting workforce to address future retirement challenges.
NOAA has yet to structure all of its field acquisition activities under the direct oversight of its acquisition organization, increasing the risk that taxpayers are not getting the best value for their dollars. To improve oversight of its acquisition function, NOAA reorganized in 2005 by having all acquisition divisions report to the NOAA Director of Acquisition and Grants. However, NOAA's acquisition director still lacks direct line authority to oversee a National Weather Service field office that is responsible for one of the agency's contracts worth up to half a billion dollars. Also, without appropriate oversight from the acquisition organization, collateral duty field staff who are not career contracting officers have bought millions of dollars in goods and services. Our work has shown that a well-functioning acquisition organization has direct lines of oversight between the head of acquisition and various components to help enforce policies that enable efficient and effective contract spending. Although NOAA has established clear and consistent policies for some key areas, such as advance acquisition planning, the agency lacks a knowledge-based process for developing and producing complex systems--a situation that can increase the risk of cost increases and schedule delays. NOAA is missing key elements that promote successful outcomes for complex developmental systems because it must adhere to Commerce's acquisition policies that do not support a knowledge-based approach. Without such an approach, the multibillion-dollar satellite investment that NOAA is in the early stages of acquiring is at a higher risk of not meeting program requirements. NOAA has yet to focus on succession planning and management for its contracting workforce, although the agency is pursuing hiring flexibilities to recruit new contracting employees in anticipation of an impending wave of retirements. NOAA is facing a human capital challenge because of its aging contracting workforce and has reported that about 43 percent of contracting employees are now eligible to retire or will be eligible to retire by 2009. While senior acquisition managers are concerned with the loss of a high percentage of their contracting staff to retirement and other attrition, NOAA has not specifically addressed such contracting workforce challenges in its strategic human capital plan. Also, it is unclear whether human capital planning under way by Commerce will determine the gaps in numbers and skills in the contracting workforce. Unless the future retirement and workforce capacity challenges are strategically addressed, NOAA could soon lose a significant portion of its contracting knowledge base.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-06-594, NOAA: Next Steps to Strengthen Its Acquisition Function
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Report to the Chairman, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
June 2006:
NOAA:
Next Steps to Strengthen Its Acquisition Function:
NOAA Acquisition Function:
GAO-06-594:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-594, a report to the Chairman, Committee on
Finance, U.S. Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) accounts for
about half of the Department of Commerce‘s (Commerce) acquisition
spending, over $851 million in fiscal year 2005 alone. In recent years
however, NOAA has experienced instances of poor contract management.
GAO was asked to determine if NOAA is positioned to effectively carry
out its acquisition function. Specifically, GAO assessed the extent to
which NOAA has structured an acquisition organization that provides
appropriate oversight; established policies and processes that promote,
among other things, a knowledge-based acquisition process for
development and production of complex systems; and planned and managed
its contracting workforce to address future retirement challenges.
What GAO Found:
NOAA has yet to structure all of its field acquisition activities under
the direct oversight of its acquisition organization, increasing the
risk that taxpayers are not getting the best value for their dollars.
To improve oversight of its acquisition function, NOAA reorganized in
2005 by having all acquisition divisions report to the NOAA Director of
Acquisition and Grants. However, NOAA‘s acquisition director still
lacks direct line authority to oversee a National Weather Service field
office that is responsible for one of the agency‘s contracts worth up
to half a billion dollars. Also, without appropriate oversight from the
acquisition organization, collateral duty field staff who are not
career contracting officers have bought millions of dollars in goods
and services. Our work has shown that a well-functioning acquisition
organization has direct lines of oversight between the head of
acquisition and various components to help enforce policies that enable
efficient and effective contract spending.
Although NOAA has established clear and consistent policies for some
key areas, such as advance acquisition planning, the agency lacks a
knowledge-based process for developing and producing complex systems”a
situation that can increase the risk of cost increases and schedule
delays. NOAA is missing key elements that promote successful outcomes
for complex developmental systems because it must adhere to Commerce‘s
acquisition policies that do not support a knowledge-based approach.
Without such an approach, the multibillion-dollar satellite investment
that NOAA is in the early stages of acquiring is at a higher risk of
not meeting program requirements.
NOAA has yet to focus on succession planning and management for its
contracting workforce, although the agency is pursuing hiring
flexibilities to recruit new contracting employees in anticipation of
an impending wave of retirements. NOAA is facing a human capital
challenge because of its aging contracting workforce and has reported
that about 43 percent of contracting employees are now eligible to
retire or will be eligible to retire by 2009. While senior acquisition
managers are concerned with the loss of a high percentage of their
contracting staff to retirement and other attrition, NOAA has not
specifically addressed such contracting workforce challenges in its
strategic human capital plan. Also, it is unclear whether human capital
planning under way by Commerce will determine the gaps in numbers and
skills in the contracting workforce. Unless the future retirement and
workforce capacity challenges are strategically addressed, NOAA could
soon lose a significant portion of its contracting knowledge base.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends establishment of policies for using a knowledge-based
approach for complex developmental acquisitions and other actions to
strengthen oversight of NOAA contracting activities and build capacity
of NOAA‘s contracting workforce to address the agency‘s retirement
challenges. After reviewing a draft of this report, Commerce concurred
with our findings and recommendations.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-594].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Lisa Shames, 202-512-
4841, shamesl@gao.gov.
[End of Section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
NOAA Lacks Oversight of Some Field Acquisition Activities:
Advances in Day-to-Day Acquisition Policies Not Matched in Policies for
Complex Developmental Systems:
NOAA Has Taken Limited Actions to Address Contracting Workforce
Retirement Challenges:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Framework for Complex
Developmental Systems:
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Table:
Table 1: NOAA's Acquisition Divisions and Locations:
Figures:
Figure 1: Organizational Placement of NOAA Acquisition Function:
Figure 2: Demographics of the NOAA Contracting Specialists and
Procurement Analysts as of September 2005:
Figure 3: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Framework:
Abbreviations:
CPDF: Central Personnel Data File:
GOES-R: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite:
GS: general series:
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
OPM: Office of Personnel Management:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
June 7, 2006:
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley:
Chairman:
Committee on Finance:
United States Senate:
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of
the largest agencies within the Department of Commerce (Commerce) and
accounts for 45 percent of the department's dollars spent on
acquisition. In fiscal year 2005 alone, NOAA's acquisition organization
contracted for over $851 million in goods and services in support of
the agency's mission. NOAA's mission is to understand and predict
changes in the Earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and
marine resources to meet the nation's economic, social, and
environmental needs. To accomplish this mission, NOAA acquires goods
including ships, satellites, aircraft, and high-performance computers
as well as services such as hydrographic surveys, fisheries analyses,
and buoy maintenance. For the first time, NOAA is managing an expected
$6.2 billion acquisition investment for developing a complex
geostationary environmental satellite.
NOAA relies more and more on contractor support to conduct its mission-
critical work. However, in recent years, NOAA has experienced instances
of poor contract management that prompted the Commerce Inspector
General to designate management of Commerce's acquisition processes as
one of the top 10 departmental management challenges. The Commerce
Inspector General identified a lack of effective oversight and
management controls over acquisition processes as a contributing factor
to the poor contract management.
In response to your request, we examined whether NOAA is positioned to
effectively carry out its acquisition function. Specifically, we
assessed the extent to which NOAA has (1) structured an acquisition
organization that provides appropriate oversight; (2) established clear
and consistent acquisition policies and processes that promote, among
other things, a knowledge-based acquisition process for development and
production of complex systems; and (3) planned and managed its
contracting workforce to address future retirement challenges. See
appendix I for additional details on scope and methodology.
To conduct this work, we assessed information from NOAA headquarters
and acquisition divisions and compared this information against what
our previous work has shown to be best acquisition practices. We
reviewed agency directives, memorandums, and other documentation;
interviewed agency officials; and analyzed agency systems and
processes. We conducted our review from August 2005 to April 2006 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
NOAA has yet to structure all of its field acquisition activities under
the direct oversight of its acquisition organization, increasing the
risk that taxpayers are not getting the best value for their dollars.
To improve oversight over its acquisition function, NOAA reorganized
its acquisition divisions nationwide under the single authority of a
headquarters office, headed by the Director of Acquisition and Grants.
Yet NOAA's acquisition director still lacks direct line authority to
oversee the National Data Buoy Center, which is responsible for one of
the agency's largest contracts--worth up to half a billion dollars. In
addition, field staff who are not contracting officers but whose
collateral responsibility is to acquire millions of dollars in goods
and services annually manage contract actions without appropriate
oversight from the acquisition organization. Our best practices work
has shown that a well-functioning acquisition organization has direct
lines of authority and oversight between the head of acquisition and
various components of the organization in order to enforce acquisition
policies effectively.
Although NOAA has established clear and consistent acquisition policies
and processes in some key areas such as advance acquisition planning,
the agency still lacks a knowledge-based acquisition process for
development and production of complex systems. NOAA acquires a number
of high-cost systems and is in the early acquisition stages of
developing a new multibillion-dollar geostationary environmental
satellite. However, it must adhere to Commerce's policies for
development and production of major systems and does not support a
knowledge-based approach to acquiring such complex developmental
systems. Senior Commerce and NOAA officials believe that NOAA program
managers remain uncertain about the information they must provide to
senior leaders for each key decision point. We have found that a
knowledge-based approach enables program managers to be reasonably
certain, at critical junctures, or "knowledge points," in the
acquisition life cycle, that complex developmental systems are likely
to meet established cost, schedule, and performance targets, and
therefore they will be able to provide senior leaders with information
needed to make sound investment decisions.
NOAA has yet to focus on succession planning and management for its
contracting workforce, although recognition of an impending wave of
retirements prompted the agency to obtain approval to use more flexible
direct hire authority to recruit new contracting employees. NOAA is
facing a human capital challenge because of its aging contracting
workforce and could soon lose a significant portion of its contracting
knowledge base. For example, almost 52 percent of its contracting
specialists are more than 49 years old, and 66 percent have served at
least 20 years with the agency. Senior NOAA acquisition managers
expressed concern about the looming retirements and other attrition of
a high percentage of the contracting workforce. However, while NOAA
completed a strategic human capital plan to help ensure it has the
expertise necessary to achieve its mission, the plan does not address
potential gaps in the agency's contracting workforce. Also, while
Commerce's acquisition management office is developing a human capital
plan to address challenges facing the contracting workforce, it is too
early to determine if it will address the gaps in numbers and skills.
We are making a recommendation to the Secretary of Commerce to
incorporate a knowledge-based approach for complex developmental
systems in revising the department's acquisition policies and
processes. We are also recommending that the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (1) take the necessary steps to
provide oversight authority for NOAA's acquisition director over field
acquisition activities and (2) conduct an assessment of the contracting
workforce needed to help achieve NOAA's mission-critical work. After
reviewing a draft of this report, Commerce concurred with our findings
and recommendations. The full text of Commerce's comments may be found
in appendix III.
Background:
The NOAA acquisition function is carried out by the headquarters
acquisition office, headed by the Director of Acquisition and Grants,
as well as 10 divisions, of which 6 are located at NOAA headquarters in
Silver Spring, Maryland, and 4 in regions throughout the country (see
table 1). In 2005, NOAA employed 123 contracting and acquisition
support staff in its acquisition function across headquarters and
regional locations.
Table 1: NOAA's Acquisition Divisions and Locations:
Acquisition division: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and
Information Service;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: National Ocean Service/National Marine Fisheries
Service/Oceanic and Atmospheric Research;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: National Weather Service;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: Staff Offices and External Clients;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: High Performance Computing;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: Satellite Program;
Location: Silver Spring, Md.
Acquisition division: Eastern Region;
Location: Norfolk, Va.
Acquisition division: Central Region;
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Acquisition division: Mountain Region;
Location: Boulder, Colo.
Acquisition division: Western Region;
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Source: NOAA.
[End of table]
NOAA's acquisition function also provides procurement services to
several other Commerce components, including the International Trade
Administration, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Economic
Development Administration. In fiscal year 2005, NOAA administered over
15,000 contract actions with total awards over $851 million.
In recent years, NOAA has experienced problems in acquiring goods and
services. For example, NOAA's inadequate negotiations and oversight,
and lack of proper review, led the National Weather Service to pay for
defective equipment and execute a contract modification without
adequate negotiation for the transition power source for a high-
resolution Doppler weather radar system jointly designed, acquired, and
operated by Commerce, the Department of Defense, and the Department of
Transportation.[Footnote 1] As a result, contract costs increased by
approximately $4.5 million. Similarly, the Commerce Inspector General
reported that NOAA had insufficient management controls to ensure
adequate oversight of the procurement of over $65 million in new
fisheries research vessels.[Footnote 2] For example, NOAA did not have
the information required to effectively monitor the schedule and cost
of the vessels and failed to implement an effective award fee plan on a
timely basis to encourage superior performance by the contractor.
NOAA Lacks Oversight of Some Field Acquisition Activities:
Although NOAA has taken some actions, the agency has yet to structure
all of its field acquisition activities under the appropriate oversight
of its acquisition organization, increasing the risk that taxpayers are
not getting best value for their dollars. After the Commerce Inspector
General criticized the lack of effective oversight and management
controls over acquisition processes, NOAA changed the structure of its
acquisition organization in 2005 to have acquisition divisions report
to the Director of Acquisition and Grants. Yet the acquisition director
lacks direct line authority over a field acquisition office in
Mississippi. In addition, some NOAA field operations rely on staff who
are not career contracting officers but whose collateral
responsibilities are to procure goods and services without appropriate
oversight from the acquisition organization. Our work has shown that a
well-functioning acquisition organization has direct lines of oversight
between the head of acquisition and various components of the
organization to help enforce acquisition policies that enable the
agency to get the best value on goods and services.[Footnote 3]
Acquisition Office Reorganization Was Not Comprehensive:
In some respects, NOAA's reorganization has fallen short in providing
comprehensive authority to the NOAA acquisition director to provide
appropriate oversight to field acquisition activities. After the
Commerce Inspector General faulted NOAA's contracting oversight, in an
effort to better ensure oversight and management of acquisition across
the agency, NOAA established an Acquisition and Grants Office in
headquarters in 2005. The reorganization elevated the office, formerly
part of the NOAA Office of Finance and Administration, as a new staff
office reporting directly to the Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere. Also, the NOAA regional acquisition divisions--which
previously were separate entities reporting to the directors of the
regional service centers in which they were located--all now report
directly to the Director of the Acquisition and Grants Office as part
of the reorganization. By elevating its acquisition office to a level
that reports directly to an Under Secretary and having the divisions as
direct reports to the acquisition director, NOAA has positioned itself
to appropriately oversee agencywide acquisition activities and enforce
acquisition policies.
However, the reorganization was not comprehensive because it did not
include the National Weather Service's National Data Buoy Center
acquisition office at the Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.
Specifically, the Buoy Center does not report to the NOAA acquisition
director (see fig. 1), even though this acquisition office is
responsible for administering multiple contracts, including one of
NOAA's largest contracts, worth up to $500 million.[Footnote 4] While
contracting officers in the Buoy Center acquisition office derive their
contracting authority from headquarters, they report through the Buoy
Center chain of command, not to NOAA's acquisition director.
This reporting relationship was first established more than 20 years
ago in a Commerce appropriation act,[Footnote 5] which created the Buoy
Center acquisition office, and was stipulated in each subsequent
appropriations act through 1988, but not since. During the recent
reorganization, NOAA officials believed these laws prohibited NOAA from
changing the reporting relationship to one where the Buoy Center
acquisition office would report directly to the NOAA Acquisition and
Grants Office. However, an analysis by our general counsel found no law
requiring the Buoy Center acquisition office to report to the Director
of the Buoy Center or prohibiting NOAA from making this change.
Commerce's General Counsel agreed with our assessment. Although we did
not identify any inefficiencies resulting from this current reporting
relationship, we believe NOAA runs the risk of poor outcomes of
contracts.
Figure 1: Organizational Placement of NOAA Acquisition Function:
[See PDF for image]
Source: NOAA.
[End of figure]
NOAA Relies on Staff Who Have Collateral Contracting Responsibilities:
Certain NOAA field offices rely on "collateral duty" contracting
officers who perform contracting duties in addition to their mission-
related responsibilities but who are not career contracting officers.
In these locations, collateral duty contracting officers have authority
to make individual purchases of up to $25,000 for such day-to-day needs
as provisions for ships. While NOAA relies on collateral duty
contracting staff for a relatively small share of total agency
procurement spending, these staff administered about 6,400 contract
actions worth over $36 million alone in fiscal year 2005.
NOAA's acquisition director as well as senior field division
contracting officers expressed concern about how well they can monitor
the actions by staff with collateral duty contracting responsibilities
to ensure that they follow NOAA acquisition policies. For example,
unlike with their own contracting staff, some NOAA regional acquisition
divisions provide only sporadic oversight over collateral duty
contracting officers through occasional audits, either performed in
person or through contract file samples sent by these staff for review.
One regional acquisition division is only able to audit work by staff
with collateral contracting responsibilities once every 2 to 3 years.
NOAA acquisition managers attributed their inability to provide regular
oversight to limited time and resources, given other responsibilities.
Our review of contracting weaknesses at a Department of Homeland
Security agency found challenges similar to NOAA's with regard to
providing appropriate oversight to collateral duty contracting
officers.[Footnote 6] In view of such situations, we have found that an
agency needs to explore ways of making collateral duty contracting
officers in field locations accountable through the acquisition
function for the contracting work.
Advances in Day-to-Day Acquisition Policies Not Matched in Policies for
Complex Developmental Systems:
Although NOAA has established clear and consistent acquisition policies
and processes for day-to-day acquisitions of goods and services, the
agency lacks a knowledge-based acquisition process for development and
production of complex systems. For example, NOAA has implemented
planning processes intended to improve opportunities to achieve savings
and reduce administrative burden in acquiring goods and services.
However, NOAA has experienced difficulties in acquiring more complex
developmental systems such as lacking sufficient management controls
when it acquired its new fisheries research vessels. NOAA is missing
key elements that promote successful outcomes because it must adhere to
Commerce's acquisition policies that do not promote a knowledge-based
approach to acquiring complex developmental systems. Our work has shown
that a knowledge-based approach would enable decision makers to be
reasonably certain, at critical investment decision junctures in the
acquisition life cycle, that the system is likely to meet cost,
schedule, and performance targets.
New NOAA Policies and Processes Intended to Improve Acquisition
Outcomes:
To facilitate effective planning, award, and administration of
contracts that help to ensure the best value on goods and services,
NOAA recently implemented new policies and processes to guide the
agency's acquisition activities. For example, to ensure consistency of
the NOAA acquisition process, a new acquisition handbook establishes
standard operating procedures, which the agency previously lacked, such
as required reviews and approvals, and quality assurance of acquisition
activities within the agency. To ensure that contracting employees are
adhering to proper procedures, NOAA instituted periodic acquisition
management reviews. Under these reviews NOAA's acquisition director (or
a senior contracting officer appointed by the director) personally
inspects a sample of completed contract files from an acquisition
division in order to identify and remedy any systemic problem areas and
identify best practices to share with other divisions. In the last few
years, reviews in several divisions found a lack of proper contract
file management, as required in part 4.8 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation. The acquisition director consequently instructed the
division heads to take steps with their staff to correct this problem.
Recognizing that NOAA lacked effective acquisition planning and that
this lack was hindering effective workload management, the Acquisition
and Grants Office in fiscal year 2005 implemented new advance
acquisition planning requirements. For example, all staff offices and
programs must develop annual acquisition plans that include
acquisitions that are over $100,000 or expected to result in new
contracts. To support these new planning requirements and provide real-
time data, the acquisition office deployed an online strategic
acquisition management tool in fall 2005, in which NOAA staff offices
and programs enter their annual acquisition plans for the upcoming
fiscal year. Although the tool is new and still requires occasional
modifications, NOAA officials generally agreed that it provides
considerable benefits for the acquisition process to better plan the
agency's use of resources and reduce the administrative burden
previously experienced with managing unscheduled contracting
requirements.
NOAA's Acquisition Process for Development of Complex Systems Lacks a
Knowledge-Based Approach:
Because of the high dollar value and risk associated with acquiring
complex developmental systems, Commerce requires that its subordinate
organizations, including NOAA, adhere to departmentwide policy and
processes regarding such acquisitions. However, Commerce policies and
processes do not promote a knowledge-based approach for acquiring these
systems, increasing the risk that Commerce will make decisions to
commit the government to major investments without knowing that NOAA's
systems can be developed at estimated costs, according to planned
schedules, and with expected performance. Commerce officials
acknowledged that their acquisition policy for developing major systems
is outdated and said they are revising it.[Footnote 7] While the
current policy identifies key decision points that a program must
complete while acquiring a complex developmental system, it still lacks
key features of a knowledge-based acquisition framework--specific
criteria and metrics--that can be used to measure whether a program is
ready to move through each key decision point.
Our work has shown that leading developers in industry and government
organizations use a knowledge-based approach to deliver high-quality
products on time and within budget. An acquisition policy that requires
such a framework for complex developmental systems enables program
managers to be reasonably certain, at critical junctures, or knowledge
points, in the project's acquisition life cycle, that their products
will meet established cost, schedule, and performance targets. Such an
acquisition policy also enables program managers to provide senior
leaders with the information necessary to make sound project investment
decisions for their agencies. Highlights of an acquisition policy that
incorporates best practices for the development of complex systems
include the equivalent of:
* Knowledge point 1: Resources and needs match. This point occurs when
a match is made between the customer's requirements and the product
developer's available resources in terms of knowledge, time, money, and
capacity.
* Knowledge point 2: Product design is stable. This point occurs when a
program determines that a product's design will meet customer
requirements, as well as cost, schedule, and reliability targets.
* Knowledge point 3: Production processes are mature and the design is
reliable. This is demonstrated when the product can be manufactured
within cost, schedule, and quality targets.
(See app. II for additional information on the knowledge-based
acquisition framework for complex developmental systems.)
Having a knowledge-based framework to guide acquisitions of complex
developmental systems is especially critical given that NOAA is in the
early acquisition stages of developing a geostationary environmental
satellite at a projected investment cost of about $6.2
billion.[Footnote 8] According to a Commerce official, in the past NOAA
relied on agencies outside of Commerce to acquire such systems, but
experienced cost and schedule problems.[Footnote 9] To maintain
management control over contractor performance, NOAA chose to manage
the acquisition of its new satellite--the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES-R), which the agency plans to launch in
2012.
Amplifying the need for clear guidance, NOAA officials told us the
agency is "feeling its way" through the GOES-R acquisition by relying
on existing Commerce and NOAA policies, but also learning from lessons
drawn from previous satellite acquisitions at other agencies. According
to senior officials directly involved, NOAA was forced to prepare for
the most recent key decision point in 2005--authorizing program
definition and risk reduction activities in the GOES-R acquisition--
with vague guidance from Commerce over what specific criteria and
metrics were required for the program to pass through the key decision
point.
In order to be ready for the next key decision point, NOAA officials
said that clearer guidance from Commerce is needed on the information
required. The next key decision point is scheduled for fiscal year 2007
and will commit the agency to development and production of the GOES-R
series. Commerce acquisition management officials told us they are
briefing NOAA officials and developing a plan for necessary
documentation on the requirements for the project's next key decision
point. It remains to be seen whether these steps will provide
sufficient clarity not only for what NOAA is expected to do to prepare
for the remaining key decision points but also sufficient knowledge to
make a well-informed decision on proceeding with the GOES-R
acquisition.
NOAA Has Taken Limited Actions to Address Contracting Workforce
Retirement Challenges:
NOAA is facing a human capital challenge because of its aging
contracting workforce, and senior acquisition managers are concerned
about the loss of a high percentage of their contracting staff to
retirement and other attrition. However, NOAA has yet to focus on
succession planning and management for its contracting workforce, even
though the agency has approval to use flexible direct hire authority in
anticipation of an impending wave of retirements.
NOAA relies on contract specialists and procurement analysts to carry
out its acquisition function.[Footnote 10] However, NOAA's acquisition
director is worried about the near-term retirements of experienced
contracting employees. Our analysis of Office of Personnel Management's
(OPM) personnel data for NOAA confirms there is cause for this sense of
urgency, given that almost 52 percent of the agency's contract
specialists and procurement analysts are more than 49 years old and
that 66 percent had at least 20 years of service (see fig. 2).
Moreover, NOAA reported in January 2006 that about 43 percent of its
contracting employees are already eligible to retire or will become
eligible to retire between now and fiscal year 2009. Given that NOAA
has historically found that 50 percent of employees who are eligible to
retire do so within 3 years, it could lose a significant portion of its
contracting workforce within the next few years.
In addition to being concerned about retirements, senior acquisition
managers are very concerned about the significant acceleration in
contracting staff turnover as well as what they view as "fierce"
competition for federal contract specialists that prompts many to
accept jobs outside of NOAA. For example, NOAA reported in January 2006
that over 12 percent of headquarters contracting positions are vacant.
Moreover, NOAA's acquisition organization is concerned that the risk of
continuing losses is high, given that governmentwide, Commerce had the
highest reported agency attrition rate of 19 percent for contracting
employees as recently as fiscal year 2004. Our analysis of OPM's fiscal
year 2005 personnel data affirms their concern, since about half of the
contracting specialists and procurement analysts that separated that
year from NOAA transferred to jobs in other agencies (6 of the 13
employee separations).
Figure 2: Demographics of the NOAA Contracting Specialists and
Procurement Analysts as of September 2005:
[See PDF for image]
Source: OPM.
Notes: GAO analysis of data from OPM's Central Personnel Data File.
Percentage may not add to 100 because of rounding.
[End of figure]
In 2006 NOAA's workforce management office completed a strategic human
capital management plan intended to respond to recognized challenges
and to help ensure the agency has the scientific, technical, and
administrative expertise necessary to accomplish NOAA's mission.
However, the plan does not specifically address the potential gaps in
NOAA's contracting workforce even though NOAA is responsible for
executing up to 25 percent of the Department of Commerce's budget on
acquiring goods and services. Furthermore, because contracting
expertise was not recognized as mission-critical, the acquisition
director said she was not asked and did not provide input about the
challenges to the workforce management office. Involving senior
management, employees, and other stakeholders in strategic human
capital planning is an important step toward its successful
implementation.
In addition, Commerce has taken some initial steps to address this
retirement challenge in its contracting workforce. The Secretary of
Commerce's Office of Acquisition Management and Financial Assistance
hired a contractor to develop a human capital plan for the department's
contracting workforce. However, it is too early to determine if this
Commerce-wide plan will determine the gaps in numbers and skills in the
contracting workforce to achieve mission-critical work and develop
strategies to address these gaps. Until this assessment of the
contracting workforce is completed at the departmental level, NOAA will
be hard pressed to make its own assessment. Also recognizing a critical
staffing shortage, in January 2006, Commerce approved NOAA's use of
flexible direct hire authority to recruit qualified
individuals.[Footnote 11] Civilian agency heads are authorized to
determine if a shortage exists in certain federal acquisition positions
so that persons with high qualifications can be recruited and directly
hired. Direct hire authority allows an agency the flexibility to
appoint individuals to positions without adherence to certain
competitive examination requirements. According to a NOAA official, to
date, NOAA has not implemented this authority.
The prospect of many retirements in experienced staff make NOAA's need
for contracting workforce planning more significant, and NOAA stands to
benefit greatly by planning strategically for its contracting
workforce. Our work has shown that to recruit, develop, and retain the
right number of people with the right skills to support mission needs,
leading organizations go beyond a succession planning approach that
focuses on simply replacing individuals and engage in broad, integrated
succession planning and management efforts that focus on strengthening
both current and future organizational capacity.[Footnote 12] A key
part of succession planning and management is to identify the talent
required to achieve organizational goals. To that end, effective human
capital planning involves (1) identifying the gaps in skills and
competencies that need to be filled to achieve current and future
mission-critical work, (2) developing strategies that are tailored to
address these gaps, and (3) monitoring and evaluating the progress
toward closing the gaps, and adjusting strategies accordingly. Unless
the future retirement and workforce capacity challenges are
strategically addressed, NOAA could soon lose a significant portion of
its contracting knowledge base.
Conclusions:
Effectively and efficiently acquiring goods and services will continue
to play a major role in enabling NOAA to accomplish its mission.
Therefore, NOAA's success depends greatly on how well it manages its
acquisition function. While NOAA has taken initial steps intended to
put in place an efficient, effective, and accountable acquisition
function, more can be done. NOAA can improve oversight of its field
acquisition operations by requiring direct reporting of all of its
acquisition offices and developing an oversight process for collateral
duty contracting officers; adopting a knowledge-based acquisition
process to help ensure that complex developmental systems meet cost,
schedule, and performance targets; and addressing the imminent
retirements of its contracting workforce to ensure it has a solid
knowledge base to carry out its acquisition function. These next steps
can facilitate achieving successful acquisition outcomes and enable
NOAA to responsibly and prudently manage its investments to help meet
the nation's economic, social, and environmental needs.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To close the gaps between NOAA's current acquisition process and best
practices for the development of complex systems, we recommend that the
Secretary of Commerce take the following actions:
* Incorporate a knowledge-based framework in the revision of Commerce's
policy for acquiring complex developmental systems. This framework
should identify requirements for major system projects to attain
specific product knowledge at significant stages in the acquisition
life cycle. Demonstration of this knowledge should be used as a basis
for decision making by departmental leadership at the following key
points:
* Before projects are approved to move from concept and technology
development to start the acquisition program, the policy should require
that customer requirements and product developers' resources match, as
indicated by achieving a high level of technology maturity.
* Before projects are approved to move from integration to
demonstration, the policy should require that the product design is
stable and performs as expected.
* Before projects are approved to move from demonstration into
production, the policy should require that its design is reliable and
can be manufactured within cost, schedule, and quality targets.
To provide appropriate oversight of NOAA's field acquisition
operations, we recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere take the following two actions:
* take steps to ensure that NOAA's Director of Acquisition and Grants
has direct authority over all acquisition entities within the agency by
realigning the National Data Buoy Center's Acquisition Office to report
directly to NOAA's acquisition director and:
* provide for regular monitoring of collateral duty contracting
officers in field offices to help ensure they are accountable to senior
acquisition officials for their contracting work.
To address the future retirement challenges of NOAA's contracting
workforce, we recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans
and Atmosphere take the following action:
* conduct a data-driven assessment of NOAA's contracting workforce to
(1) identify skill gaps, develop strategies to address these gaps,
evaluate progress toward closing these gaps, and adjust strategies
accordingly and (2) involve relevant stakeholders in the development of
this assessment.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
In written comments on a draft of this report signed by the Deputy
Secretary of Commerce, the department agreed with our findings and
recommendations. Commerce stated that the report presented an accurate
assessment of the major issues NOAA faces and described current or
planned actions to address the recommendations. The department's
comments are reprinted in appendix III.
As we agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce the
contents of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution of it
until 30 days from the date of this letter. We will then send copies to
other interested congressional committees, the Secretary of Commerce,
and the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere. We will make copies
available to others on request. In addition, the report will be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at [Hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-4841 or shamesl@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 IV.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Lisa Shames:
Acting Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
To determine if the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) has structured an acquisition organization that provides
adequate oversight, we interviewed NOAA's Director of Acquisition and
Grants, the acquisition division heads, and Commerce acquisition
management executives regarding NOAA's acquisition function. We
reviewed pertinent NOAA and Commerce organizational, management, and
policy documents pertaining to the oversight of its acquisition
activities. We also performed a legislative analysis of the
establishment of the National Data Buoy Center in Mississippi to
determine if there was a legal basis for not having its acquisition
office report directly to NOAA's Director of Acquisition and Grants. In
addition, we reviewed reports from Commerce's Office of the Inspector
General to obtain an understanding of relevant Commerce and NOAA
acquisition management challenges.
To determine if NOAA has established clear and consistent acquisition
policies and processes that promote, among other things, a knowledge-
based acquisition approach for development and production of complex
systems, we reviewed acquisition policies, processes, and guidelines.
We interviewed NOAA's acquisition and grants director and acquisition
division heads and reviewed information regarding new acquisition
policies, handbook guidance, quality assurance, and planning processes.
To determine if NOAA has established policies and processes that
promote a knowledge-based review process for complex developmental
systems acquisitions, we compared and discussed with NOAA and Commerce
acquisition officials their policies for major acquisitions to our
knowledge-based acquisition approach. Specifically, we compared and
contrasted Commerce and NOAA's major system acquisition review process
with criteria contained in GAO best practices work on systems
acquisition and space system acquisitions.
Finally, to determine the extent to which NOAA has planned and managed
its contracting workforce to address future retirement challenges, we
interviewed NOAA and Commerce officials responsible for contracting
workforce and strategic human capital planning. We also analyzed and
compared NOAA's contracting workforce and strategic human capital
planning efforts with principles of effective human capital management.
In addition to obtaining Commerce and NOAA officials' views and
concerns regarding future human capital challenges, we analyzed data
from Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File
(CPDF), which is its database of federal civilian employees.
Specifically, to assess the potential for retirements in the next few
years in NOAA's contracting workforce, the CPDF data we used reflected
information on NOAA employees--as of September 30, 2005--working in the
general series (GS) 1102 contracting series of contract specialists and
procurement analysts. We limited our analysis to focus on contract
specialists and procurement analysts because NOAA's Acquisition and
Grants Office workforce mainly consists of this occupational category.
We analyzed CPDF's separations and demographic data (on the ages and
years of service) and NOAA information for contract specialists and
procurement analysts in order to identify the extent to which NOAA's
experienced contracting workforce is eligible for and thus has the
potential for retiring in the near future. We did not independently
verify the CPDF data on NOAA's contracting series employees for the
year we reviewed. However, we previously reported that data from the
CPDF for key variables in another study--occupation, agency/subagency,
birth date, and service computation date--were 99 percent
accurate.[Footnote 13]
We conducted our review from August 2005 through April 2006 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Framework for Complex
Developmental Systems:
The federal government spends billions annually to research, develop,
and produce large custom projects, such as satellites, space projects,
weapon systems, air traffic control systems, and information technology
systems. However, undesirable acquisition outcomes often occur because
agency officials proceed further into development or production without
obtaining sufficient knowledge that the product will be able to meet
established cost, schedule, performance, and quality targets.
The risk of undesirable acquisition outcomes can be significantly
reduced. All product development acquisition projects, whether for a
ship, airplane, missile, or satellite, go through a complex process of
building knowledge. Ultimately, across the acquisition life cycle, this
process brings together and integrates the technology, components, and
subsystems needed for the product to work and be reliably manufactured.
Over the past decade, we have undertaken a body of best practices work
that draws upon lessons learned from product development practices of
leading commercial firms, which expect their program managers to
deliver high-quality products on time and within budget.
Our work has identified three discrete points in the process for
complex developmental systems at which obtaining certain levels of
knowledge promote successful project outcomes. These knowledge points,
depicted in figure 3, are defined in the following manner.
Figure 3: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Framework:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO.
[End of figure]
* Knowledge point 1: Resources and needs match. This point occurs when
a sound business case is made for the system--that is, a match is made
between customer requirements and the product developer's available
resources in terms of knowledge, time, money, and capacity. Achieving a
high level of technology maturity at the start of system development
acquisition is an important indicator of whether this match has been
made such that the technologies needed to meet essential product
requirements have been demonstrated to work in their intended
environment.
* Knowledge point 2: Product design is stable. This point occurs when a
program determines that a product's design will meet customer
requirements and cost, schedule, and reliability targets. A best
practice is to achieve design stability at the system-level critical
design review usually held midway through development. Completion of at
least 90 percent of engineering drawings at the system design review
provides tangible evidence that the design is stable.
* Knowledge point 3: Production processes are mature and the design is
reliable. This is demonstrated when a product can be manufactured
within cost, schedule, and quality targets. A best practice is to
ensure that all key manufacturing processes are in statistical control-
-they are repeatable, sustainable, and capable of consistently
producing parts within the product's quality tolerances and standards-
-at the start of production.
The attainment of each successive knowledge point builds on the
preceding one. While the knowledge itself builds continuously without
clear lines of demarcation, the attainment of knowledge points is
sequential. In other words, production maturity cannot be attained if
the critical technologies are not mature.
This knowledge-based approach is not just applicable to improving how
the Department of Defense manages the acquisition of weapon systems. As
we have recently reported, utilizing a knowledge-based approach to
manage complex developmental system acquisitions can likewise help
civilian agencies reduce risk by ensuring high levels of knowledge are
attained on individual acquisitions at key decision points, thereby
enabling senior leaders to make informed investment decisions.[Footnote
14] A knowledge-based approach can also provide inexperienced program
managers the necessary guidance to implement good management practices
and ensure that the correct data are on hand for decision makers.
Further, the methodology used by successful program managers to acquire
complex developmental systems does not differ based upon each
individual system being acquired. Notwithstanding the type of system
being acquired, these managers follow a regimented process that uses
common and consistent criteria for decision making.
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
The Deputy Secretary Of Commerce:
Washington, D.C. 20230:
June 5, 2006:
Ms. Lisa Shames:
Acting Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, NW:
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Ms. Shames:
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the Government
Accountability Office's draft report entitled NOAA: Next Steps to
Strengthen Its Acquisition Function (GAO-06-594). I enclose the
Department of Commerce's comments on this draft report.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
David A. Sampson:
Enclosure:
Department of Commerce Comments on the Draft GAO Report Entitled "NOAA:
Next Steps to Strengthen Its Acquisition Function" (GAO-06-594/June
2006):
General Comments:
The report on the acquisition function in NOAA presents an accurate
assessment of the major issues facing NOAA, and many other agencies, as
they impact the agency's ability to execute its mission.
Response to GAO Recommendations:
The draft GAO report states, "To close the gaps between NOAA's current
acquisition process and best practices for the development of complex
systems, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce take the following
actions:
Recommendation 1: "Incorporate a knowledge-based framework in the
revision of Commerce's policy for acquiring complex developmental
systems. This framework should identify requirements for major system
projects to attain specific product knowledge at significant stages in
the acquisition life cycle. Demonstration of this knowledge should be
used as a basis for decision making by departmental leadership at the
following key points:
* Before projects are approved to move from concept and technology
development to start the acquisition program, the policy should require
that customer requirements and product developers' resources match, as
indicated by achieving a high level of technology maturity.
* Before projects are approved to move from integration to
demonstration, the policy should require that the product design is
stable and performs as expected.
* Before projects are approved to move from demonstration into
production, the policy should require that its design is reliable and
can be manufactured within cost, schedule, and quality targets."
Response: The Department of Commerce (DOC) concurs with this
recommendation and NOAA will continue to work with the DOC Senior
Procurement Executive to develop and implement policy and process for
effectively managing major systems acquisitions.
The draft GAO report provides three recommendations for the
Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to (1) "provide
appropriate oversight of NOAA's field acquisition operations"
(Recommendations 2 and 3 below) and (2) "to address the future
retirement challenges of NOAA's contracting workforce" (Recommendation
4 below):
Recommendation 2: "Take steps to ensure that NOAA's Director of
Acquisition and Grants has direct authority over all acquisition
entities within the agency by realigning the National Data Buoy
Center's Acquisition Office to report directly to NOAA's acquisition
director."
Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation and will undertake the
steps necessary to move the organizational placement of the three
acquisition professionals from the National Weather Service to NOAA's
Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), including transfer of the FTEs and
associated funding. NOAA AGO will continue to physically locate the
three acquisition specialists at the National Data Buoy Center to
provide the acquisition support necessary to effectively implement and
execute their mission.
Recommendation 3: "Provide for regular monitoring of collateral duty
contracting officers in field offices to help ensure they are
accountable to senior acquisition officials for their contracting
work."
Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation and will develop and
implement a formal delegated procurement authority oversight process
and program recognizing the resource limitations (both dollars and
personnel) that exist within the organization. NOAA AGO will work with
NOAA program offices which have delegated procurement authority to
establish that process and to identify means to share the financial
burden for this oversight program.
Recommendation 4: "Conduct a data-driven assessment of NOAA's
contracting workforce to (1) identify skill gaps, develop strategies to
address these gaps, evaluate progress toward closing these gaps, and
adjust strategies accordingly and (2) involve relevant stakeholders in
the development of this assessment."
Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation and will work with the
DOC Office of Acquisition Management and Financial Assistance to
develop and conduct the workforce assessment. Recognizing the
limitations on resources (people and dollars), NOAA AGO will utilize,
to the extent possible, free training available from the Defense
Acquisition University, eLearning tools, and on-the-job training,
reserving limited training funds for those training requirements that
cannot be obtained through other sources. NOAH is exploring the
feasibility of instituting an outreach program to colleges and
universities designed to encourage applications for entry-level 1102
positions. NOAA AGO will utilize the recently approved Direct Hire
Authority to expedite the hiring of qualified acquisition
professionals.
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Lisa Shames, (202) 512-4841 or shamesl@gao.gov.
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to the individual named above, Carolyn Kirby, Assistant
Director; Ian Jefferies; Jose Ramos; Sylvia Schatz; Bob Swierczek; and
Greg Wilmoth made key contributions to this report.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Department of Commerce Inspector General, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration: Acquisition of NEXRAD Transition Power
Source Marred by Management, Technical, and Contractual Problems, Final
Inspection Report OSE-15676 (Washington, D.C.: September 2003).
[2] Department of Commerce Inspector General, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration: Program for Acquiring Fisheries Research
Vessels Needs Stronger Management Controls, Final Inspection Report STD-
14428-2-0001 (Washington, D.C.: June 2002).
[3] GAO, Homeland Security: Successes and Challenges in DHS's Efforts
to Create an Effective Acquisition Organization, GAO-05-179
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 29, 2005), and Transportation Security
Administration: High-Level Attention Needed to Strengthen Acquisition
Function, GAO-04-544 (Washington, D.C.: May 28, 2004).
[4] In 2005, the National Data Buoy Center awarded a 10-year (5-year
base with 5 option years) technical services contract to provide life
cycle support for NOAA's Marine Observation Network; other buoy
programs, including the network of Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting
of Tsunami stations; and its Data Assembly Center.
[5] Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriation Act,
1984, Pub. L. No. 98-166, November 28, 1983.
[6] GAO, Contract Management: INS Contracting Weaknesses Need Attention
from the Department of Homeland Security, GAO-03-799 (Washington, D.C.:
July 25, 2003).
[7] U.S. Department of Commerce, Major Systems Acquisitions for the
Department of Commerce, Department Administrative Order 208-3
(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 9, 1997).
[8] NOAA's geostationary satellites analyze data to detect and track
severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hailstorms,
and hurricanes. They orbit the earth at a speed matching the earth's
rotation, allowing them to hover over one position on the surface.
[9] GAO, Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites: Technical
Problems, Cost Increases, and Schedule Delays Trigger Need for
Difficult Trade-off Decisions, GAO-06-249T (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 16,
2005); Space Acquisitions: Stronger Development Practices and
Investment Planning Needed to Address Continuing Problems, GAO-05-891T
(Washington, D.C.: July 12, 2005); Polar Orbiting Environmental
Satellites: Information on Program Costs and Schedule Changes, GAO-04-
1054 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 30, 2004); and Military Space Operations:
Common Problems and Their Effects on Satellite and Related
Acquisitions, GAO-03-825R (Washington, D.C.: June 2, 2003).
[10] Under the Office of Personnel Management's general series (GS) of
federal occupations, GS-1102 (contracting series) employees are
contract specialists and procurement analysts.
[11] Section 1413 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003
(Public Law 108-136).
[12] GAO, Human Capital: Selected Agencies Have Opportunities to
Enhance Existing Succession Planning and Management Efforts, GAO-05-585
(Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2005), and Human Capital: Key Principles
for Effective Strategic Workforce Planning, GAO-04-39 (Washington,
D.C.: Dec. 11, 2003).
[13] See GAO, OPM's Central Personnel Data File: Data Appear
Sufficiently Reliable to Meet Most Customer Needs, GAO/GGD-98-199
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 30, 1998).
[14] GAO, NASA: Implementing a Knowledge-Based Acquisition Framework
Could Lead to Better Investment Decisions and Project Outcomes, GAO-06-
218 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 21, 2005), and Homeland Security: Successes
and Challenges in DHS's Efforts to Create an Effective Acquisition
Organization, GAO-05-179 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 29, 2005). See also
GAO, Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Major Weapon
Programs, GAO-06-391 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 31, 2006) and Defense
Acquisitions: Major Weapon Systems Continue to Experience Cost and
Schedule Problems under DOD's Revised Policy, GAO-06-368 (Washington,
D.C.: Apr. 13, 2006).
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