Center for Government Contracting News

Against the backdrop of the increasing hostilities and competition globally, this panel discussed the importance of prototyping for the Department of Defense to quickly and effectively innovate and field emerging technologies. The discussion also included lessons learned from recent prototyping activities as well as best practices for meeting future requirements.

Tom Temin interviewed Jerry McGinn on ways to boost the surge capacity of the defense industrial base in the US.

In a government acquisition context, the term “second sourcing” describes the practice of using at least two different suppliers to provide goods and services that are comparable or identical in form and/or function. Second sourcing was more commonly employed as a procurement method in the 1980s to introduce greater competition into the defense industrial base and cut costs for component parts, but it has become a relatively rare practice in modern defense procurement. This webinar examines second sourcing as a possible strategy within the defense acquisition toolkit to help accomplish this and other goals. Is it feasible, or even preferable, to revitalize second sourcing in a resource-constrained procurement environment geared toward single suppliers? If so, how do we do it best?

The latest White Paper of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, “Back to the Future? Second Sourcing in Defense Acquisitions” argues: “Second sourcing in particular offers one strategy to counter the DoD’s unsightly dependence on single and sole sources of supply. Second Sourcing does not provide a panacea to all the supply chain issues faced by DoD, but an increase in the use of second sourcing methods could be used to pivot the U.S. defense industrial base away from the current status quo of peacetime efficiency and towards a new baseline of readiness to ensure overmatch against competitors like Russia and China.”

From the Federal News Network Commentary written by Emily Murphy, Senior Fellow of the Baroni Center: Congress should act quickly to fix Section 876 so that multiple award contracts focus on meaningful competition, getting the best solution for the government at the best price and reducing administrative burdens on small contractors and contracting officers.

Recap of people, research, news and events for May-June 2023

The goal of the webinar is to explore how a policy test laboratory can help effectively leverage modeling and simulation to enable acquisition policy changes to achieve desired outcomes.

Combat in Ukraine and the results of Asia-Pacific theater wargames have exposed the existential need for greater capacity in our defense-industrial base. Increasing U.S. production is a critical part of the solution, but it is not the only part. As illustrated by ongoing U.S. and allied efforts to scour the world for 155mm ammunition to support Ukrainian forces, engaging the industrial capacity of American partners and allies is an essential, mutually beneficial and cost-effective way to increase industrial capacity and resilience. That’s why we need to adopt a “Build Allied” approach for current and future contingencies.

Developing an effective “Build Allied” approach will help the Department of Defense create surge capacity, with both speed and scale, and industrial resilience in support of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) objectives.

In a Fireside Chat with Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Baroni Center, The Honorable Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shared his priorities in the FY24 budget submission that is under consideration on Capitol Hill, the performance of current Air Force acquisition programs, as well as the sustainment and replenishment of munitions.