Newly issued FY 2010 guidelines and policies from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Defense Component Manpower Authority are taking a stance to minimize reliance on non-specialized contracting while growing their civilian workforce.
White house executive and administration officials have new strategies to shift workforce reliance with the intent of saving $40 billion in contract funds annually starting in 2010. The strategies are designed to minimize contract reliance on non-specialized, generic, or commonly available services, and replace much of the contract workforce in those areas with government civilian acquisition programs.
In deciding between a Government Civilian solution or a contract solution, two basic rules must be answered: Is the work an inherent Government responsibility? And can the work be done by accelerating the acquisition of Government Civilians or by being brought into the Governments umbrella of inherent responsibility?
If the answer is no to both of those key questions, a permanent, or on going contract solution is easily justifiable. If the answer is yes to both questions, a Government workforce will clearly be responsible for the work. If the answer is no to one question, but yes to another, a temporary contract solution, not intended to be more than 5 years, can be implemented. The intent of temporary contract solutions will be to satisfy the requirement while also allowing the Government time to analyze the work requirement for inclusion as a Government responsibility and bring the work into the Government Civilian workforce acquisition process.
This does not negate the need for a contract workforce. Accomplishing government missions and requirements remains paramount. However, this will focus Government requirements for contractors into specialized and short-term needs, surgical solutions and unique solutions not available elsewhere. Contract solution providers must become a true solution provider instead of a generic personnel provider. Large and small companies cannot rely solely on providing personnel; they most provide true solutions, niche abilities and enhancements to existing programs that the Government cannot obtain elsewhere to reach the intended balance in Government solutions and abilities.
About the author: Jason Wilson, the SGIS Division Manager of the Intelligence and Training Division, is a recently retired US Army Warrant Officer with 21 years of military experience. Wilson has strong relevant operational and institutional credentials and subject matter expertise as well as 19 years of experience in leadership and contract supervision positions.
Specific accolades for Jason Wilson include:
Certified Project Manager (CPM)
5 years supporting DoD and US Army level acquisition programs
6 years supporting and participating in Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations and Joint Capability Technology Demonstrations
6 years supervising a theater wide contract for Oracle and MS SharePoint development
If you are interested in reaching out to the author via discussion, visit SGIS on LinkedIn.
but some of these skills cannot be taught as easily. Candidates with military backgrounds make excellent civilian employees because they already possess several intangible skills that can be the most difficult to teach. This is why so many employers go to these individuals time and time again to fill positions. The fact is, finding these traits in the civilian world can end up being difficult as well as costly. It only makes sense that employers would turn to former military personnel to fill their hiring needs.
