Acquisition Workforce
Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future Needs Gao ID: GAO-03-55 December 18, 2002The federal government is dramatically changing the way it purchases goods and services--by relying more on judgment and initiative versus rigid rules to make purchasing decisions. At the same time, agencies are dealing with reductions in the civilian acquisition workforce. GAO was asked to determine what efforts federal civilian agencies are making to address their future acquisition workforce needs.
GAO looked at the efforts six civilian agencies are undertaking to address their future acquisition workforce needs. Together, these agencies account for about 72 percent of civilian agency contracting dollars. All of these agencies are taking steps to address their future acquisition workforce needs. Three--the Departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs (VA) and the General Services Administration--are developing specific plans to strengthen their acquisition workforces, and three others--the Departments of Treasury and Health and Human Services and the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA)--are including their acquisition workforces in their overall plans to strengthen human capital. All are implementing new or strengthening existing career development and training programs. NASA and VA are also developing new information management systems. The agencies, however, are facing considerable challenges to making their human capital strategic plans and training programs a success. Principally: most acquisition professionals will need to acquire a new set of skills focusing on business management. Because of a more sophisticated acquisition environment, they can no longer be merely purchasers or process managers. Instead, they will also need to be adept at analyzing business problems and assisting with developing strategies in the early stages of the acquisition. Beyond this immediate transformation, it is difficult for agencies to forecast what will be needed in terms of numbers of workers, skills, and expertise in the years to come. Rules, regulations, and agency missions are always changing, and budgets are constantly shifting. Many agencies simply lack good data on their workforces, including information on workforce size and location, knowledge and skills, attrition rates, and retirement rates. This data is critical to mapping out the current condition of the workforce and deciding what needs to be done to ensure that the agency has the right mix of skills and talent for the future. In overcoming these challenges, agencies can learn from the Department of Defense (DOD), which has made progress in acquisition workforce strategic planning and has addressed some of the same issues. DOD officials learned that the strategic planning effort was going to take a long time and that effective leadership and guidance, along with technology and sound methodology, were required to accurately forecast workforce needs.
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-03-55, Acquisition Workforce: Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future Needs
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Report to Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs:
United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
December 2002:
ACQUISITION WORKFORCE:
Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future Needs:
Aquisition Workforce:
GAO-03-55:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-03-55, a report to Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs:
ACQUISITION WORKFORCE
Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future Needs
Why GAO Did This Study:
The federal government is dramatically changing the way it purchases
goods
and services”by relying more on judgment and initiative versus rigid
rules
to make purchasing decisions. At the same time, agencies are dealing
with
reductions in the civilian acquisition workforce. GAO was asked to
determine what efforts federal civilian agencies are making to address
their future acquisition workforce needs.
What GAO Found:
GAO looked at the efforts six civilian agencies are undertaking to
address
their future acquisition workforce needs. Together, these agencies
account
for about 72 percent of civilian agency contracting dollars. All of
these
agencies are taking steps to address their future acquisition
workforce needs.
Three”the Departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs (VA) and the
General
Services Administration”are developing specific plans to strengthen
their
acquisition workforces, and three others”the Departments of
Treasury and
Health and Human Services and the National Aeronautics Space
Administration
(NASA)”are including their acquisition workforces in their overall
plans to
strengthen human capital. All are implementing new or strengthening
existing
career development and training programs. NASA and VA are also
developing new
information management systems. The agencies, however, are facing
considerable
challenges to making their human capital strategic plans and
training programs
a success. Principally: (1) Most acquisition professionals will
need to acquire
a new set of skills focusing on business management. Because of
a more
sophisticated acquisition environment, they can no longer be merely
purchasers or
process managers. Instead, they will also need to be adept at
analyzing business
problems and assisting with developing strategies in the early stages
of the
acquisition; (2) Beyond this immediate transformation, it is difficult
for agencies
to forecast what will be needed in terms of numbers of workers, skills,
and
expertise in the years to come. Rules, regulations, and agency
missions are always
changing, and budgets are constantly shifting, and (3) Many agencies
simply lack good
data on their workforces, including information on workforce size
and location,
knowledge and skills, attrition rates, and retirement rates. This
data is critical
to mapping out the current condition of the workforce and deciding
what needs to
be done to ensure that the agency has the right mix of skills and
talent for the future.
In overcoming these challenges, agencies can learn from the Department
of Defense (DOD),
which has made progress in acquisition workforce strategic planning
and has addressed
some of the same issues. DOD officials learned that the strategic
planning effort was
going to take a long time and that effective leadership and guidance,
along with
technology and sound methodology, were required to accurately forecast
workforce needs.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO is recommending that the Office of Federal Procurement Policy
(OFPP) work with
procurement executives to ensure that the lessons learned from
agencies‘ efforts to
address future acquisition workforce needs are shared with all
federal agencies. All
the agencies that reviewed a draft of the report generally agreed
with GAO‘s
findings and recommendations.
To view the full report, including the scope
and methodology, click on the link above.
For more information, contact David Cooper at (202) 512-4125 or
cooperd@gao.gov
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Status of Civilian Agencies‘ Efforts to Develop Strategic Plans for
Their Acquisition Workforces:
DOD Experience in Workforce Planning Provides Useful Lessons Learned:
Conclusions:
Recommendation:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Scope and Methodology:
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense:
Appendix II: Comments from NASA:
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Health and
Human Services:
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Energy:
Tables:
Table 1: Various Organizations‘ Roles Concerning Acquisition Workforce
Issues:
Table 2: Summary of Agencies‘ Status:
Table 3: Highlights of Initiatives to Strengthen Overall and/or
Acquisition Workforces:
Table 4: Highlights of DOD‘s Lessons Learned:
Figure:
Figure 1: DOD‘s Framework for Developing a Mature Human Capital
Strategic Planning System:
Abbreviations:
CAMEO Center for Acquisition Materiel Management and
Education On-line:
DCAA Defense Contract Audit Agency:
DCMA Defense Contract Management Agency:
DLA Defense Logistics Agency:
DOD Department of Defense:
DOE Department of Energy:
FAI Federal Acquisition Institute:
FPDS Federal Data Procurement System:
GSA General Services Administration:
HHS Department of Health and Human Services:
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
OFPP Office of Federal Procurement Policy:
OPM Office of Personnel Management:
PEC Procurement Executives Council:
VA Department of Veterans Affairs:
United States General Accounting Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
December 18, 2002:
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman
Chairman
The Honorable Fred Thompson
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate:
The federal government is dramatically changing the manner in which it
purchases goods and services. It is also striving to maximize the value
of the $200 billion it spends annually by taking advantage of the
opportunities offered by the commercial marketplace. As a result, rigid
procurement rules have given way to rules that allow the use of more
judgment and initiative on the part of the individuals who make up the
acquisition workforce. At the same time, some agencies are contending
with the fact that the acquisition workforce has decreased by 22
percent in the last decade.
Industry and government experts alike recognize that a key to making a
successful transformation toward a more sophisticated acquisition
environment is having the right people with the right skills. Leading
public organizations here in the United States and abroad have found
that strategic human capital management must be the centerpiece of any
serious change management initiative and efforts to transform the
cultures of government agencies. Workforce planning provides managers
with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions and allows
organizations to address systematically the issues that are driving
workforce change.
You requested that we (1) determine the efforts civilian federal
agencies are making to address their future acquisition workforce needs
and identify the challenges, if any, they have encountered and (2)
identify any ’lessons learned“ from the Department of Defense‘s (DOD)
efforts to develop strategic plans for its acquisition workforce. We
included the following six civilian agencies in our review: the General
Services Administration (GSA), the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Treasury, and the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). We did not assess the
effectiveness of the agencies‘ efforts.
Results in Brief:
The civilian agencies we reviewed are taking steps to address their
future acquisition workforce needs. All the agencies have published or
drafted human capital strategic plans for their overall workforces, and
three agencies are developing plans specifically for their acquisition
workforces. The other three agencies do not intend to develop strategic
plans specifically for their acquisition workforces, either because
they are developing an overall workforce plan that includes the
acquisition workforce, or because the acquisition workforce comprises
only a small fraction of the overall workforce. The agencies that are
not developing acquisition workforce strategic plans are taking other
steps, such as revamping training, recruiting, and retention programs,
to address their future workforce needs. All agencies have encountered
challenges in their efforts. In particular, because of shifting
priorities, missions, and budgets, agencies have difficulty predicting
with any certainty the specific skills and competencies the acquisition
workforce will need. This uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that
the role of the acquisition staff is changing considerably--from merely
a purchaser or process manager to a business manager who must work
hand-in-hand with program managers to ensure that the goods and
services being acquired will maximize the agency‘s performance. Another
challenge that affects all agencies is difficulty in sharing
information about lessons learned or best practices that deal with
acquisition workforce issues.
Based on its experience so far, DOD has gained some insights from its
strategic planning efforts that could benefit civilian agencies. DOD
recognizes that implementing a strategic approach to reshaping the
workforce involves substantial challenges, and that laying the
foundation for successful strategic planning takes time. To put its own
effort on a better footing, DOD has initiated efforts to acquire the
systems and tools needed to develop accurate and accessible data about
the workforce and to make projections for the future. It is also
striving to make a cultural shift from viewing human capital as a
support function to viewing it as a mission function in order to
provide its strategic planning effort with the level of importance and
leadership attention it deserves. Addressing these challenges includes
providing guidance that clearly specifies DOD‘s goals for its
acquisition workforce, ensuring that planning is being carried out at
the appropriate organizational level, and ensuring that managers buy
into and have the authority they need to carry out planning efforts.
We are recommending that the Administrator of the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy work with procurement executives to leverage the
experiences of federal agencies‘ efforts to strengthen the acquisition
workforce.
Background:
The federal government is facing several significant challenges when it
comes to its acquisition workforce: the number of workers is declining,
while the workload and the demand for more sophisticated technical,
financial, and management skills are increasing. DOD‘s contracting
workload, for example, has increased by about 12 percent in recent
years, but the workforce available to perform that workload has been
reduced by about half over the same period. Meanwhile, the federal
government is implementing various ways of contracting, such as
performance-based contracting methods, commercial-based pricing
approaches, and the use of purchase cards.
High-performing public organizations have found that strategic planning
and management can address human capital shortfalls. Strategic human
capital planning begins with establishing a clear set of organizational
intents, including a clearly defined mission, core values, goals and
objectives, and strategies, and then integrating a human capital
approach to support these strategic and programmatic goals. It requires
systematic assessments of current and future human capital needs and
strategies--which encompass a broad array of initiatives to attract,
retain, develop, and motivate a top quality workforce--to fill the
gaps. To ensure lasting success, the top leaders of an organization
need a sustained commitment to embracing human capital management. They
need to see people as vital assets to organizational success and must
invest in this valuable asset.
While many organizations have developed models for workforce
planning,[Footnote 1] putting aside variations in terminology, the
models share the following common elements. They:
* identify organizational objectives;
* identify the workforce competencies needed to achieve the objectives;
* analyze the present workforce to determine its competencies;
* compare present workforce competencies to those needed in the future
(sometimes referred to as a ’gap analysis“);
* develop plans to transition from the present workforce to the future
workforce; and:
* periodically evaluate the workforce plans, review the mission and
objectives to assure they remain valid, and make adjustments as
required by changes in mission, objectives, and workforce competencies.
This process is simple in concept, but it can be difficult to carry
out. First, it requires a shift in the human resource function from a
support role to a role that is integral to accomplishing an agency‘s
mission. Second, it requires developing accurate information on the
numbers and locations of employees and their competencies and skills,
data on the profile of the workforce, and performance goals and
measures for human capital approaches. We have previously reported that
agencies may find that they lack some of the basic tools and
information to develop strategic plans, such as accurate and complete
information on workforce characteristics and strategic planning
expertise.[Footnote 2]
Four organizations--the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the
Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), the Procurement Executives
Council (PEC), and the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI)--have roles
to play in dealing with workforce and acquisition workforce issues.
Highlights of these different roles are presented in table 1.
Table 1: Various Organizations‘ Roles Concerning Acquisition Workforce
Issues:
Organization: OPM; Roles: Help agencies get the right people in the
right jobs with the right skills at the right time; ensure that
agencies are incorporating effective workforce planning and strategic
rewards into their strategies for accomplishing their goals and
objectives..
Organization: OFPP; Roles: Provide governmentwide guidance for agencies
other than DOD concerning acquisition workforce issues. The OFPP
Administrator currently serves as the chair of the PEC..
Organization: PEC; Roles: Provide a senior-level forum for monitoring
and improving the federal acquisition system, including the acquisition
workforce. The PEC is an interagency council consisting of procurement
executives in the executive branch..
Organization: FAI; Roles: Under the direction of the OFPP, promote the
development of the acquisition workforce and develop a governmentwide
management information system that will allow departments and agencies
to collect and maintain standardized acquisition workforce information
and conform to standards established by OPM for its Central Personnel
Data File..
Source: GAO analysis.
[End of table]
Status of Civilian Agencies‘ Efforts to Develop Strategic Plans for
Their Acquisition Workforces:
All six agencies that we reviewed have published or drafted human
capital strategic plans for their overall workforces and are taking
actions specifically targeted at strengthening their acquisition
workforces. Three agencies are developing specific acquisition
workforce plans. Agencies are in varying stages of these efforts. The
agencies are facing challenges in completing workforce plans--in
particular, they are finding it difficult to predict and respond to
future needs given the rapid pace of change occurring within
acquisition and the lack of reliable data on workforce characteristics.
Agencies are also hampered by difficulty in sharing information about
best practices and lessons learned in addressing acquisition workforce
issues.
Progress Made:
In developing strategic plans for their overall workforces, all six of
the agencies we reviewed have identified their organizational
objectives. Three of these, DOE, HHS, and Treasury, have gone as far as
conducting a gap analysis, which involves comparing present workforce
competencies to those that will be needed in the future. Some agencies
are developing these plans at an agencywide level, while others are
developing them at a bureau or operating division level.
Four agencies included in our review--VA, GSA, DOE, and NASA--believe
that the acquisition function is central to accomplishing their
missions. There are clear reasons for this. About 90 percent of NASA‘s
funds, for example, is spent on contracts for projects such as the
international space station and the space shuttle. DOE contracts out
about 94 percent of its budget. VA purchases goods and services, such
as medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and information technology. And
GSA‘s primary function is to assist federal agencies in procuring goods
and services.
Recognizing the importance of acquisition to their missions, VA, GSA,
and DOE are all developing or have developed strategic plans
specifically targeted at strengthening their acquisition workforce.
NASA is developing an overall workforce plan that will include the
acquisition workforce. VA and GSA have defined the objectives for their
future acquisition workforces. GSA has also established the
competencies that workforce will need and has begun its gap analysis.
DOE has studied its acquisition workforce, identified competencies and
gaps, and is now implementing actions it believes are needed to
strengthen the acquisition workforce. NASA is in the process of
identifying the competencies its workforce possesses. All four of these
agencies have also developed training and career development programs
that are aimed at ensuring their acquisition workforces have the skills
to accomplish the agencies‘ missions.
Treasury and HHS view acquisition as critical to mission success.
However, unlike GSA, for example, acquisition is not a primary function
of these agencies. Each agency spends less than 25 percent of its
budget on acquisitions. Nevertheless, Treasury and HHS have undertaken
initiatives such as training, career development, and intern programs
to ensure that their acquisition workforces have the necessary skills
and training to accomplish their missions.
Tables 2 and 3 highlight progress being made by the agencies we
studied. Detailed information on each agency‘s efforts is provided at
the end of this section.
Table 2: Summary of Agencies‘ Status:
Does the agency view acquisition as critical to mission?; Agency: DOE:
YES; Agency: GSA: YES; Agency: VA: YES; Agency: NASA: YES; Agency: HHS:
NO; Agency: Treasury: NO.
Percentage of acquisition workforce to total workforce[A]; Agency: DOE:
3%; Agency: GSA: 21%; Agency: VA: 3%; Agency: NASA: 4%; Agency: HHS:
1%; Agency: Treasury:
