As the Department of Defense (DoD) tries to bring more innovation and flexibility into its stable of contractors, what really needs to change to make this possible? Keoki Jackson, senior vice president of MITRE National Security, addressed what steps need to be taken in a segment on Federal News Network's Federal Drive with Terry Gerton. His remarks are supported by a recent MITRE survey, which found that that inflexibility and complexity are the top barriers non-traditional defense contractors face in the acquisition process.
"What’s your assessment now of the reform path that DoD is on? Are they taking the right steps?” asked Gerton.
"It’s a generational opportunity between the alignment of the Capitol Hill and the administration to streamline...There’s a lot in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the DFARs to lower barriers and increase opportunities for new entrants and non-traditional players,” said Jackson. “So, we need to take a look at that and make sure that we are retaining the elements that open up the acquisition system, that encourage things like open architectures, that allow rapid evolution of defense systems and make sure that we retain the things that really promote commercial opportunities and commercial systems.”
Jackson continued, “We’re a generational turnover of our acquisition workforce. A lot of experienced acquisition professionals are retiring. Our observation is that inexperienced folks tend to be more conservative, more risk-adverse, and so there’s going to be a significant training and education need at this point in time through things like the Defense Acquisition University, to make sure that our acquisition workforce really understands the flexibility that will be inherent in the system, knows how to take advantage of streamlined contracting approaches, and knows where to push the boundaries.
“What we need to do is change from a compliance mindset to a balanced risk approach and a risk-management approach. We can’t just change the regulations or get rid of the regulations, but we need bring the workforce along,” Jackson concluded.