Procurement Round Table​

SERVING FEDERAL ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE SINCE 1984

Who We Are

We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization that cares deeply about the federal acquisition system. We are private citizens who serve pro bono to advise and assist the government in improving federal acquisition.

As Round Table Directors, we apply our recognized experiences in federal acquisition. We include former senior federal government officials from the executive and legislative branches who currently serve as private sector CEOs or senior acquisition officials, university professors, consultants, heads of non-profits and associations, authors, commentators, and senior partners, attorneys and officers in major law firms and think tanks.

We come from a wide spectrum of legislative and executive agencies, including congressional staffs, the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, NASA, and Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. Check us out.

What We Do

  • We prepare and disseminate non-partisan studies and other publications regarding the general subject of procurement and acquisition activities or reform. We study the effects of policy on federal governance and private sector contractors.
  • We promote and sponsor discussions, invitation-only forums, lectures and debates addressing timely topics such as supply chain security and innovative procurement methods.
  • We promote and sponsor educational activities and awards in the public interest, concerning all aspects of procurement and acquisition.
CONTACT US

Officers

Directors

Directors Emeritus

A limited number of long-serving Directors, in recognition of their exemplary service to the PRT, may be elected by the Board as Directors Emeritus.

Alumni Directors

  • Alston, Carolyn
  • Anderson, Frank
  • Babione, Dale
  • Bartlett, Charles
  • Bednar, Dick
  • Beggs, James
  • Besozzi, Paul
  • Chu, David
  • Cowley, Robert
  • Crowell, Eldon
  • Daniero, Roger
  • DeMayo, Peter
  • Dembling, Paul (Director Emeritus)
  • Denett, Paul
  • Edwards, Vern
  • Evans, Stewart
  • Flavin, Sallie
  • Fox, J. Ronald
  • Gansler, Jacques
  • Gnazzo, Patrick
  • Ginman, Richard
  • Grinstead, Eugene
  • Guenther, Otto
  • Harrington, Ed
  • Harshbarger, Eugene
  • Hauenstein, Bill
  • Haugh, LeRoy
  • Hiestand, O.S. (Director Emeritus)
  • Holland, Francis
  • Hopf, Richard
  • Hill, Eleanor
  • Horton, Frank
  • Hunter, Andrew
  • Hunter, William
  • Kaminski, Paul
  • Keevan, William
  • Kline, Raymond (Director Emeritus)
  • Korb, Lawrence
  • Kusserow, Richard
  • Lee, Deidre
  • Leisenring, Steve
  • Litman, David
  • Livingstone, Susan
  • Madden, Thomas
  • Madson, Marcia
  • Magnotti, John
  • Malloy, John M.
  • Marsh, Robert
  • McFarland, Greg
  • McNally, William
  • McNaugher, Thomas
  • Mitchell, Roy
  • Moot, Robert
  • Morris, Bill
  • Morris, Robert
  • Nelson, Shirl
  • Neuman, Frederick
  • Odeen, Philip
  • Oyer, Darrell
  • Preston, Colleen
  • Phillips, Samuel
  • Puritano, Vincent
  • Pursley, Robert
  • Reed, Anne
  • Rhodes, Edward
  • Robinson, Wallace
  • Rosen, Louis
  • Rothwell, Gregory
  • Sanders, Frank
  • Scott, Robert
  • Shillito, Barry (Director Emeritus)
  • Shapiro, Nelson
  • Simpson, Ed
  • Sisti, Thomas R.
  • Sowle, Donald (Director Emeritus)
  • Staats, Elmer (Chairman Emeritus)
  • Stewart, Charles
  • Styles, Angela
  • Sullivan, Mike
  • Szervo, Patricia
  • Trosch, Dennis
  • Tuttle, Bill (Director Emeritus)
  • Welsh, Robert
  • Wharton, Donald
  • Witt, Hugh
  • Westermann, John
  • Wojciak, Melissa
  • Woolsey, James
  • Zobel, Wil

Speakers

2023

Mr. Bill Weinberg, Assistant Administrator for Contracting and Procurement and Head of Contracting Activity (HCA), Transportation Security Administration

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Panel discussion: “Impacts on Industry and Government Acquisition Organizations of Government Shutdowns and/or Operating under a Continuing Resolution”
Dr. Terry Raney, PRT Vice Chair and Panel Moderator
Hon. David Berteau, PRT Director and President/CEO Professional Services Council (PSC)
Dr. Gordon Bitko, Executive Vice-President of Policy, The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
Mr. Jordan Howard, Esq., Counsel, Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

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On September 7, 2023, PRT Hosted Forum: "How to incentivize the Engine of Democracy... What tools do acquisition personnel need?"

Opening Remarks:
VADM Joseph W. Dyer, USN (Ret.), PRT Director
Mr. Peter Singer, Strategist and Senior Fellow at New America; Managing Partner, Useful Fiction LLC

Keynote Address: Inside the Building
Honorable Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

Panel One: Why it is important that we get the engine of democracy running again
Honorable Katharina McFarland (Moderator), PRT Director
Dr. Cynthia Cook, Director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group, CSIS
Mr. Terry Mitchell, Senior Advisor, US Army G2
MG Patricia Frost, USA (Ret.), Senior Vice President and Chief People and Places Officer, Seagate Technologies

Panel Two: What we need to do to address the concerns from a tools and policy perspective
Mr. Stan Soloway (Moderator), President and CEO, Celero Strategies, LLC
Mr. Mark A. Franz, Co-founder, Blue Delta Capital Partners
Dr. Chris Michienzi, Supply Chain & Technology Specialist, Board and Strategic Advisor
Mr. Patrick Collins, Chief Growth Officer, Aeyon

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Mr. Shay Assad, Former Director, Defense Pricing and Acquisition Policy (DPAP), DoD; President of The Shay Consulting and Arcade Group, Inc.

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Maj Gen Ali Treviño, USAF, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting), Department of the Air Force

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Mr. Tom McMurry, Jr., Deputy General Counsel, NASA
Ms. Karen Reilley, Associate General Counsel for Commercial and Intellectual Property, NASA

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Dr. Dinesh Verma, Professor of Systems Engineering and Executive Director, Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), Stevens Institute of Technology
Dr. Philip S. Anton, Chief Scientist of the Acquisition Innovation and Research Center (AIRC), Stevens Institute of Technology

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Mr. Paul Courtney, Chief Procurement Officer, DHS
Ms. Shanna Webbers, Deputy Director, Acquisition Services Branch, FDIC
Ms. Penny White, Vice President Supply Chain for Defense, Space & Security, The Boeing Company

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Mr. Eric Lofgren, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Government Contracting, School of Business, George Mason University

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Mr. Jeffrey B. Birch, Director, Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI)
Mr. Kevin Linden, Center Director – Contracting & Small Business, Defense Acquisition University (DAU)

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2022

Mr. Chris Durbin, Assistant Director U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Contracting and National Security Acquisitions Team

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FAR Council Signatories:

Ms. Karla Jackson-Smith, Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Assistant Administrator for Procurement, NASA
Mr. Jeffrey A. Koses, Senior Procurement Executive, GSA; interim Chairman of the AbilityOne Commission
Mr. John Tenaglia, Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting, DoD

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On September 8, 2022, PRT Hosted Forum: "Competition: Real or Memorex®"

Panel: Impact of Competing Priorities on Competition
Dave Drabkin (Moderator): Chair, Procurement Roundtable
Gordon Bitko: Senior VP Policy, Information Technology Industry Council
Bill Greenwalt: Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Roger Waldron: President, Coalition for Government Procurement

Panel: Impact of Narrowing Competitive Markets on Innovation
Claire Grady (Moderator): ManTech, Vice President, Defense Strategy
Halimah Najieb-Locke: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Industrial Base Resilience)
Peter Babb: Anduril Industries, Business Development
Stephen Pimpo: Partner, Greenhouse Consulting
John Luddy: AIA, Vice President, National Security Policy

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Ms. Lesley Field, Deputy Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President

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Mr. Scott Bumgarner, Senior Procurement Executive, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

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Mr. Eric Lofgren, Senior Fellow, Center for Government Contracting, George Mason University School of Business

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Ms. Megan Dake, Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Procurement, U.S. Army

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Ms. Karla Smith Jackson, Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Assistant Administrator for Procurement, NASA
Mr. Jason Detko, NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Agency Procurement Ombudsman and Competition Advocate

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2021

Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, Acquisition Innovation Research Center, Stevens Institute of Technology

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Mr. Jason Potter, Professional Staff Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

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Mr. Craig Dyson, Program Executive Officer for Collection, National Security Agency (NSA)

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On September 9, 2021, PRT Hosted Forum on "E.O. 14005…“Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers"

  • Honorable Allie Coetzee Leslie, Moderator; CEO, AC Leslie Consulting; and PRT Director
  • Matthew Beebe, Director, Acquisition, Defense Logistics Agency
  • Celeste Drake, Director for Buy American Policy, OMB
  • Chris Garcia, President and CEO, Health Supply US LLC
  • Chris Toffales, President and Managing Director, CTC Aero

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Mr. John Tenaglia, Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting, Department of Defense

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Ms. Soraya Correa, Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security
Ms. Polly Hall, Strategy and Planning Lead, Procurement Innovation Lab (PIL) Manager

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Jeff Bozman, Counsel, House Armed Services Committee (HASC)
Kyle Noyes, Professional Staff Member, House Armed Services Committee (HASC)
Karen Thornton, Counsel, House Armed Services Committee (HASC)

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LTG David G. Bassett, USA, Director, Defense Contract Management Agency

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Brig. Gen. Steven P. Whitney, USAF, Director, Space Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition

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Ms. Anita F. Bales, Director, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)

2020

Ms. Margaret Augustine, Senior Procurement Executive, Central Intelligence Agency
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Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Panel

  • MODERATOR Jim Williams, PRT Director
  • PANELIST Mathew Blum, Associate Administrator at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget
  • PANELIST Melissa Starinsky, Director and Head of the Contracting Activity for the Office of Acquisition & Grants Management within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services

Ms. Shanna Webbers, Chief Procurement Officer, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury
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Ms. Diane Janousek, National Security Agency Deputy Commandant for the National Cryptologic School
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Honorable Alan Shaffer, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Sustainment
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Mr. William Roets, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Procurement at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
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On September 10, 2020, PRT Hosted Forum on "COVID 19 Pandemic: What We’ve Learned: Looking back to look forward…!"

  • Panel 1: The Strategic Challenge
    • Stan Soloway, Moderator; President & CEO, Celero Strategies; and PRT Director
    • Joe Dyer, Chief Strategy Officer, National Spectrum Consortium
    • Alan Estevez, National Security and Logistics at Deloitte Consulting
    • David Grant, Former Associate Administrator, FEMA; Partner, Potomac Ridge Consulting
    • Stacy Cummings, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
  • Panel 2: Tactical Execution
    • Andrew Hunter, Moderator; CSIS Defense Industrial Base, Defense Trade, and Innovation; and PRT Director
    • Kim Herrington, Director of Defense Pricing and Contracts
    • Alan Chvotkin, Executive VP & Counsel at Professional Services Council; and PRT Director
    • Howard Porter, Senior VP & Director of Contracts, CACI

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Mr. Philip Christy, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction, U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
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Mr. Arun Seraphin, Professional Staff Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)
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Mr. Tim DiNapoli, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Ms. Anna McDonough, Assistant Director, GAO

2019

Ms. Stacy Bostjanick
Director of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment
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On September 5, 2019, PRT Hosted Forum on "Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Integrity - Delivering Uncompromised While Maximizing Access to the Global Marketplace"

PRESENTERS:
Vice Admiral David Lewis
Commander, Defense Contract Management Agency
Jeffrey Koses
Senior Procurement Executive, the General Services Administration
Jack Greene
Director of Contracts, Lockheed Martin
Bob Metzger
Partner, Rogers Joseph O'Donnell
Andy Hoskins
Vice President, Managed IT Services, NeoSystems LLC

MODERATOR:
David A. Drabkin
Vice Chair (Planning), PRT
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Jon Etherton
President, Etherton and Associates, Inc.; and PRT Director
Rich Beutel
Principal, Cyrrus Analytics LLC; and PRT Director
Kim Herrington
Acting Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A & S))
James J. Kren
Deputy Director, Defense Security Service (DSS)
Major General Cameron G. Holt
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting) USAF

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Awards

Procurement Round Table
Elmer B. Staats Contracting Professional Excellence Award
Sponsor: Procurement Round Table
Award Amount: $5,000
How to Apply: Call for Nomination and Application Form

2022 Winner
Ms. Tammy Smith, DISA, ingeniously awarded the $45M Global Force Management contract to modernize the mission-critical Joint Operation Planning and Execution System. When the pandemic threatened the award schedule, Tammy quickly regrouped and hosted a virtual software code review. Using new file-sharing technology and precisely coordinating security to limit access to the software code to 200+ vendor users, she allotted each the same time, tracked user access, and eliminated nonconforming vendors. Her team's efficiency, creativity, and stringent fairness were critical in shaving 51 days off the 297-day procurement, defending against a pre-award protest to the GAO, and achieving $1.47M in savings.

2021 Winner
As Contracting Officer, Ms. Michelle Rand led several Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization successes over the past two years: the $199M Global Service Center contract, providing 24/7 service desk support to 2.1 million DoD users; the $36.6M Defense Collaboration Services and $34M Global Video Services contracts that provided conference, file-sharing, and collaboration capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic; and a $125M pathfinder contract for the $11.2B Defense Enclave Services acquisition.

 

2020 Winner
Ms. Shannon K. Sanders, working with the Defense Information Technical Contracting Organization of the Defense Information Systems Agency, awarded the Agency’s most critical and complex program: Global Solutions Management - Operations (GSM-O) II, a $6.52B single award, 10-year, IDIQ contract to operate and sustain DISA’s networks. She also championed a concept to significantly reduce evaluation time and managed a $160M Cybersecurity Network Operations (CyberNetOps) Design-Deploy-Sustain contracting effort.

2019 Winner
Ms. Lori-Ann Rissler, working with the Kessel Run detachment of the USAF Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, leads an integrated product team that executes the USAF's first Enterprise-wide Other Transaction agreement and other streamlined purchasing platforms.

2018 Winner
Master Sergeant Chad J. Stemick serves as the Deputy Chief for the wing and First Sergeant of the 18th Contracting Squadron, 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan. He manages joint military and multi-national personnel in acquisition of all services and commodities to sustain 55,000 personnel and enable 104 aircraft.

2017 Winner
Mr. Adam Goldstein, Deputy Director of the Army 408th Contracting Support Brigade, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. With his technical guidance and oversight, the 408th CSB team executes over 4,800 actions annually valued over $20 billion in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Freedoms Sentinel, and Operation Spartan Shield.

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HISTORY

  • Chartered in 1984 by a handful of former federal acquisition officials concerned about the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal acquisition system, the Procurement Round Table has been contributing to progressive reform in procurement and acquisition management ever since.
  • Elmer B. Staats, the fifth Comptroller General of the U.S., was instrumental in the early development of the PRT, after completing his 42 years of distinguished federal service. In collaboration with the National Contract Management Association, the PRT annually selects an early-career federal acquisition professional to be granted the Elmer B. Staats Contracting Professional Excellence Award.
  • Over the years, PRT directors have testified before Congress, written policy papers for government agencies and trade associations, taught the acquisition workforce, authored books on acquisition reform, and provided the leadership for congressionally-mandated acquisition reform panels.
Elmer Staats

Publications

2023

How Not to Alienate Business Partners: A Framework for Addressing Factors Impacting Retention of Defense Contractors November 2023 By Moshe Schwartz and Michelle V. J. Johnson

Keep the focus in procurement on best value products and services for the government August 2023 By Steve Kelman

David Drabkin and Christopher Yukins present at Swedish Public Procurement Conference Video Charts May 2023 By David Drabkin and Christopher Yukins

PRT views regarding Organizational Conflict of Interest policy March 2023 By Procurement Round Table

2022

DoD Bid Protests October 2022 By David Drabkin and Christopher Yukins

Congressionally Mandated Study on Contractor Debarments for Violations of U.S. Labor Laws September 2022 By David Drabkin and Christopher Yukins

Contracting U. 
July 2022 By PRT Director Michael Wooten

Acquisition Policy in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act: New Direction or Just More of the Same? 
March 2022 By PRT Director Jon Etherton

Competing in Time: Ensuring Capability Advantage and Mission Success through Adaptable Resource Allocation
February 2022 By PRT Director William Greenwalt et al

PRT views on USDA’s February 17, 2022, proposed amendments to the department’s acquisition regulations that include proposed new certifications regarding compliance with federal labor laws April 2022 By Procurement Round Table [Note, the following Directors recused themselves from participating in this letter: David Drabkin and Chris Yukins.]

Previously banned labor law rule for federal contractors comes back into play
June 2022 Interview with PRT Director David Berteau

2021

Response to Request for Information - Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government
July 2021 By Procurement Round Table

The argument for preserving the AbilityOne Program
March 2021 By Robert Burton and Craig Barrett

 

2020

A post-election message from government contractors to America
November 2020, By Steve Kelman

Creating an infrastructure for procurement innovation at DHS
November 2020, By Steve Kelman

Here we go again: 'diversity training' and government contractors
October 2020, By Steve Kelman

Brand Name or Equal: Without 'Equal,' It's Not Competitive
October 2020 By Steven L. Schooner

Re-imagining the small-business mentor-protege model
September 2020, By Steve Kelman

“Warming Up” to Sustainable Procurement
September 2020 By Steven L. Schooner and Markus Speidel

Section 876 – GSA takes welcome steps towards innovation
September 2020, By Roger Waldron

Section 889 implementation: Language changes that may have big consequences
August 2020, By Roger Waldron

Unpriced schedules: Instantly promoting small business opportunities
July 2020, By Roger Waldron

Postscript II: Enhanced Debriefings
May 2020 By Steven L. Schooner

Emerging Policy and Practice Issues (2019)
March 2020 By Steven L. Schooner

Enhanced Debriefings: A Toothless Mandate?
February 2020 By Steven L. Schooner

2019

U.S. Government to Award Billions of Dollars in Contracts to Open Electronic Marketplaces to Government Customers—Though Serious Questions Remain
November 2019 By Christopher R. Yukins

Administrative Conference of the United States Launches Study of Agency-Level Bid Protests
August 2019 By Christopher R. Yukins

Mitigating counterfeit, cyber and supply chain risks in the e-commerce pilot
May 2019, By Roger Waldron

e-GSA: Creating opportunities through e-commerce
February 2019, By Roger Waldron

DOD's Section 809 panel proposes a revolution in contracting
January 2019, By Steve Kelman

Barriers to entry in the federal marketplace -- they're not what you think
January 2019, By Steve Kelman

Addressing cyber risks of e-commerce
January 2019, By Roger Waldron

View More Publications

Acquisition Reform Library

1955 Hoover Commission Report

1970 Blue Ribbon Panel (Fitzhugh Commission) Report

1981 DoD Report on Improving the Acquisition Process

1984 Grace Commission Report

1984 Defense Financial and Investment Review

1986 Packard Commission

1989 Defense Management Review

1993 Defense Science Board Report on Defense Acquisition Reform

1993 Streamlining Defense Acquisition Laws (Section 800 Panel)

1994 Perry Memorandum

1997 Defense Reform Initiative

2006 Acquisition Advisory Panel (SARA Panel)

2006 Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Report

2007 Gansler Commission Report

2018 Section 809 Panel

Commentary

Related Sites

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

Professional Services Council
The Coalition for Government Procurement

Federal Acquisition Jumpstation
Defense Acquisition University

GWU Government Procurement Law Program
Acquisition Central

Federal Acquisition Institute

National Contract Management Association

Chief Acquisition Officers Council

Public Contracting Institute

National Defense Industrial Association

Acquisition Innovation Research Center