The Federal Acquisition System: A Promising Future

2. The Federal Acquisition System: A Promising Future Melissa Starinsky, Chancellor VA Acquisition Academy March 2013

3. Today’s Topics • Trust and Leadership • People Power • Hire the best and be the best you can be • Set high expectations for excellence and hold each other and ourselves accountable • Create an organizational environment that optimizes performance, encourages wise risk-taking and innovation, and allows people to thrive – provide “top cover” for your staff • Strategic Acquisition Planning and Execution – a mission imperative! • Training and Development

4. Trust • Trust in the system and in each other • Assume positive intent • Trust increases operational efficiencies and minimizes programmatic risks • Ensure separation of duties internally and maintain arms length relationship with contractors but be accessible and talk with each other • Less email and more conversation • Eliminate the “us versus them” mindset • Stop the blame game – we own it together

5. Leadership • We ALL have more influence than we think • Federal Executive Institute (FEI) - “If we’re not going to be the ones that change or fix things, then who is?” Jason Stack, DoN and fellow FEI colleague • Leadership is required and occurs at all levels/positions • Christina Eberhart (my hero!) – instrumental in getting an acquisition regulation changed • The only constant we have is change • Do we want to be “victims or pioneers” – Facing the Challenge of Change, Dr. Ben Bissell • Appropriately challenge the status quo – create an environment that encourages this and continuous learning and improvement

6. Leadership Traits • Integrity - having the courage to take tough stances for what is right and doing what you say you are going to do. • Vision - being able to see the possibilities of a better future and lead the creation of a roadmap to help the organization know where it is going and how it will get there. • Optimism - giving hope, instilling confidence in, and inspiring others, when undertaking tough challenges, to stay the course for that better future (that some may not trust in or yet be able to see). • Collaborative - knowing who stakeholders are and involving them in jointly developing and executing solutions that work and delivering results that matter. • Decisive - confidence and competence in making good and timely decisions based on input from others and understanding and effectively managing associated risks.

7. Where We Are Today Great tools to speed up contract awards with significant spike in contract administration ↓ Workforce + ↑ Contract Spend = “Doing more with less” Workforce Improvement Initiatives: DAWIA (1990) and FAC (2005) Decline in Critical thinking and written communication skills combined with increased expectation for speed!

8. Where We Need to Go *Adapted from GAO Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function

9. “Particularly during times of change, skepticism is OK; cynicism is not” Melissa Starinsky, Chancellor, VA Acquisition Academy

10. Optimize Your People Investment • Enhance acquisition strategic resource planning • Acquire, develop, and retain talent • Create a solutions-oriented organizational culture • Value and invest in acquisition workforce • We need to think differently about how we are developing people • Technical skills are not enough

11. Training & Experience – Invest in Your Future! • In only about three minutes’ time, the “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Sully Sullenberger made a series of momentous decisions that saved 155 lives • Captain Sullenberger attributes his ability to land the plane to his decades of experience combined with critical simulation-based training “For the last 42 years, I’ve been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience: education and training. And on January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal.” – Sullenberger’ on 60 Minutes

12. Training vs. Development • Value and invest in acquisition workforce training andindividual/organizational development • Free up COs and managers from operational workload – their focus should be on reviewing work and developing others • Get back to teaching the basics and a solid technical skills foundation • We must focus on defining and developing competencies needed to run efficient and effective acquisition organizations

13. The VA Acquisition Academy • Delivers both training and development – a holistic model • All programs include critical thinking, writing, interpersonal skills, risk management and other areas of development • Serves the VA and other civilian agency acquisition workforce – about 1,000 course offerings & more than 10,000 students annually • Innovative learning environment with 16 classrooms and use of distance learning technology

14. The VA Challenge • VA is the second largest cabinet level agency with over 300,000 people operating the largest integrated healthcare system—152 medical centers, over 800 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics, nearly 300 Vet Centers • Acquisition workforce is approximately 40,000 people responsible for approximately $17B in annual discretionary contract spend • VA is second only to the Department of Education in providing educational benefits of $10 billion annually • VA guarantees nearly 1.6 million home loans with an unpaid balance of $248 billion. • VA also operates the country's largest national cemetery system—131 cemeteries.

15. The Big “A” of Acquisition VA Acquisition Academy Schools AcquisitionInternship Program Management Supply Chain Management Facilities Management Contracting Professional Department of Veterans Affairs

16. Our Results – Accelerated Time to Competency Enhanced Competency Basic Competency Scenario-Driven Learning Programs Traditional Training Model

17. The VA’s Holistic Methodology Emphasis on translating theory, fundamentals and concepts to practical application

18. Lessons from our Wounded Warriors • VA’s Warriors to Workforce (W2W) Program – developing and infusing wounded veterans into acquisition workforce • Two cohorts of approximately 50 veterans total • They have persevered through tough times! “I accomplished things I never thought I’d do.  I never pictured myself a “suit” kind of guy.  I came from a blue collar background and thought I’d stay blue collar.  I’m proud to be a veteran and to indirectly support them with services I can provide.  I want to thank leadership-you’ve helped out a lot in my life.  I want to say thank you.” - Inaugural W2W Intern

21. Closing Thoughts • “The difference and impact I make today for those I serve, inspires me to strive for greater excellence tomorrow.” ~ Melissa Starinsky • What is your personal stand and what role are you going to play in mapping out the future for your yourself, your organization, and our profession? • Our profession needs your help - we can and will weather this storm and we will make a difference!