In December 2022, the White House released a plan, committing to use procurement as a way to take on the most pressing challenges for the U.S. The Partnership for Public Service has looked for ways to improve government procurement, based on past research and analysis in its recent report.
“The federal acquisition community supports some of government’s most critical priorities—from advancing racial equity and modernizing our infrastructure to addressing climate change,” wrote Polly Hall, senior advisor to the chief of procurement at the Department of Homeland Security, and a member of the Partnership’s Federal Innovation Council. “To deliver on these priorities, federal leaders and agencies need to develop new ways for government to procure—or buy and acquire—the goods and services it needs,” Hall said.
With support from Maximus Federal, the Partnership interviewed federal innovators, in order to identify modernization efforts that are already successfully happening. Not surprisingly, the Partnership is pushing for the government to “adopt new approaches and strategies that harness creative thinking to deliver more effective services and better outcomes to the public.”
Their recent report takes a deep dive into agencies that are being innovative. Some U.S. federal agencies have taken innovative steps worth emulating by other government offices and agencies. The Partnership identifies the following four standout agencies that show modern digital government.:
- The U.S. Digital Service’s team-based model of procurement brings together experts across the agency, which can result in faster, cheaper and more sustainable procurements.
- The Department of Homeland Security’s Procurement Innovation Lab is collaborating with agencies across the federal government to pilot and expand procurement experimentation.
- The Department of Justice and 18F demonstrate how procurements that structure public collaboration can produce more accessible digital services.
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is collaborating with industry to transform digital procurement, through its just-launched NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad.
There is broad agreement that continued innovation is critical for equitable, effective digital service delivery. Modern digital procurement practices—modeled by the agencies here—can result in products built for purpose, built for people and built for service. And the Partnership leaders recommend that the following guidelines be applied:
- Collaborate Internally – be a team and get more done.
- Collaborate Across Government – share information and learn from each other.
- Collaborate with the Public – let them be a part of the process and the solution
- Collaborate with Industry – find ways to solve seemingly impossible problems
The full report takes a deep dive into each of the recommendations. Every step we take towards improving the government procurement process can save agencies time and money. The efficient and effective ability to buy and sell is critical for agencies – and the government as a whole – to best serve the public.
