American Graduate University: Master's Report

OMB ISSUES NEW GUIDANCE ON STRENGTHENING THE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE AND INCREASING COMPETITION
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued additional guidance on the acquisition workforce and competition. The guidance contained in two memoranda released by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy includes: (1) a strategic plan to improve the capacity and capability of the civilian acquisition workforce; and (2) detailed instructions of increasing competition.

The new Acquisition Workforce Development Strategic Plan for Fiscal 2010 to 2014, which OFPP introduced in today’s memo, provides a structured approach to improve both the number and skills of the civilian acquisition workforce. The plan establishes the need for building the workforce and finding ways to set up annual comprehensive plans focused on developing the workforce. OFPP will manage the strategies along with the Office of Personnel Management through fiscal 2014.

Civilian agencies will have to develop a blueprint for increasing the use of intern programs and other training and development options. OFPP is also requiring a five-year plan that lays out how the agency can improve its workforce and then build a team to manage the workforce, according to the memo.

In the past, agencies have created their acquisition workforce plans as general exercises with the short-term employee needs in mind, according to a memo from Lesley Field, deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in OMB. “Many agencies concentrate on filling vacancies in the contracting community rather than developing longer-term growth and succession plans for the broader acquisition workforce, including program managers and contracting officer technical representatives,” the memo states.

“For human capital planning to be successful, it must be an integral part of each agency’s strategic planning process and reflect the unique and dynamic nature of that organization,” the memo states.

Agencies need to submit their plans to OFPP by March 31, 2010, and each year afterward. The plans must reflect specific hiring and training needs for fiscal 2011 and be a part of the agency’s budget preparation starting with the fiscal 2012 budget cycle, the memo states.

In the second memo, OFPP pushed agencies to generate more competition for their government contracts; another central theme of President Obama’s contracting reform policy. OFPP’s memo gives guidelines to agencies as they shift to more competitive contracts.

To help chief acquisition officers (CAOs) and senior procurement executives (SPEs) evaluate the effectiveness of their agencies’ competition practices and processes for selecting contract types, the competition guidelines focus on three key questions:

As CAOs and SPEs address each of these questions, OMB urges them to take into account considerations such as requirements development, outreach to vendors, performance-based acquisition, commercial solutions, strategic sourcing, maximizing competition at the task and delivery order level, and incentives to lower cost and improve contractor performance. A July memo from OBM directed agencies in fiscal year (FY) 2010 to reduce high-risk contract types by 10 percent. The new October memo indicates that OFPP plans this year to semiannually review agencies’ progress toward meeting that goal, and will set new targets in FY 2011.

ISM 95TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE AND EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT
The Institute for Supply Management will hold its 95th Annual International Supply Management Conference at the San Diego Convention Center on April 25-28, 2010. Workshop sessions are currently in development. Register now at www.ism.ws and select your workshops after December 1, 2009. Early registrants have priority when choosing from our popular mega-sessions which cover Project Management, Business Continuity, Finance and Services Procurement. You also save on registrations submitted before February 9, 2010. Learning tracks include: Risk Management — Best Practices in Supply Management — Logistics — Leadership, Management and Talent — Services Procurement.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
The Project Management Institute’s Education Foundation’s Scholarships and Awards Program supports development of the best and brightest future project management professionals worldwide through learning opportunities. Over US$400,000 in scholarships are available.

Scholarships
For Students: Academic scholarships for students attending an accredited college or university and studying project management or a related field. Scholarships are available for bachelors, masters, and doctoral students.

For Teachers: Project management training scholarships for primary and secondary school teachers. The trainings are designed to help teachers enhance the learning experience in their classrooms. Scholarships for on-site seminars in select U.S. cities and online courses are available.

For Non-Profit and NGOs: Project management training scholarships for employees of non-profit and non-governmental organizations. The trainings are designed to help organizations improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations and ultimately increase their impact on the communities they serve.

Awards
The James R. Snyder International Student Paper of the Year (ISPY) Award is available to undergraduate and graduate students annually. Papers are selected based upon the research and creative effort that are best directed toward advancing the concepts, tools and techniques of managing project-oriented tasks. ISPY award recipients receive a US$500 honorarium plus complimentary registration, travel and lodging to attend the PMI Global Congress in their region. Winning papers are published in PMI publications.

The Donald S. Barrie Award which recognizes the paper that best advances the project management body of knowledge in the field of design, procurement and/or construction by providing a useful contribution to the engineering and construction industry. In the event of a tie, the award is equally divided among the finalists. The award of US$500 is announced at PMI Global Congress-North America.

COMMENTARY RECOMMENDS SIX CORE COMPETENCIES FOR ACQUISITION WORKFORCE
In a commentary published in Federal Computer Week (9/30/2009), Peter Tuttle, a senior procurement policy analyst for Distributed Solutions Inc., discusses recent efforts to improve government performance, and suggests that workforce skills may be more important than numbers. “Capacity is indeed an issue, but capability is even more important to the effective operation of government,” Tuttle contends. “Hiring new personnel will not solve workforce challenges immediately because skill and experience can only be gained over time.” Identifying acquisition as a core government function, he offers six core capabilities acquisition professionals should possess to be effective and efficient:

“Individual agency leaders must create an environment in which acquisition professionals can operate as truly valuable business partners, not simply requisition processing clerks,” Tuttle concludes. “Congress can’t legislate acceptable behavior or those core capabilities, so we in the federal acquisition community must empower ourselves.”

PROFESSIONAL TOOLS

DOD DISTRIBUTES WARRANTY GUIDE
Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DRAP) director Shay Assad has issued a memorandum to Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition executives and the directors of defense agencies and field activities distributing a DOD warranty guide. “Tracking warranties, from the identification of the requirements to the expiration date of the warranted item, will significantly enhance the enforceability of the warranties and will improve the warranty data visibility,” Assad wrote. The “Department of Defense Warranty Guide, Version 1.0” was developed by the warranty working group of the Program Development and Implementation Directorate (PDI), which has been tasked with developing requirements to track warranties. Assad notes that the guide, distributed with the memo, will be used by program managers, project officers, logistics managers, contracting officers, and others within DOD responsible for warranty development and implementation. (www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/uid/guides.html)

CSPM DIAGNOSTIC KIT AVAILABLE
The Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) has released the CPSM^® Diagnostic Kit, Web version. It is designed to help candidates focus their study efforts by identifying areas of supply management that need strengthening — right from their computers. The Diagnostic Kit provides a sample test for the CPSM^® Exam(s) with automatic scoring and correct answers, including justifications and references for further study. The Web-based CPSM^® Diagnostic Kit more closely simulates the test-taking environment than its print equivalent and is used along with the CPSM^® Study Guide.

The Certified Professional in Supply Management^® (CPSM^®) gives supply professionals a career edge as well as an enhanced ability to see the big picture to impact their organization’s supply operation. The CPSM^® surpasses the demands of the international marketplace with multifaceted skills in areas such as supplier relationship management, commodity management, risk compliance issues and social responsibility.

For questions on the CPSM^®, visit www.ism.ws/certification or contact ISM Professional Credentials at certification@ism.ws.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LINKS
Here is a list of internet sites that contain detailed information on project and program management practices:

GANTHEAD — IT Project Management — www.ganthead.com
PM Forum — www.pmforum.com
Projects@Work — www.projectsatwork.com
Project Times — www.projecttimes.com
PM Boulevard — www.pmboulevard.com
Defense Acquisition University’s Acquisition Community Connection — https://acc.dau.mil/communitybrowser.aspx
NASA’s Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership — www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/home/index.html

AGU NAMED MILITARY FRIENDLY SCHOOL
American Graduate University was named to G.I. Jobs magazine’s list of 2010 Military Friendly Schools. The list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools which are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students.

Schools on the list range from state universities and private colleges to community colleges and trade schools. The common bond is their shared priority of recruiting students with military experience.

“This list is especially important now because the recently enacted Post-9/11 GI Bill has given veterans virtually unlimited financial means to go to school,” said Rich McCormack, G.I. Jobs publisher. “Veterans can now enroll in any school, provided they’re academically qualified. So schools are clamoring for them like never before. Veterans need a trusted friend to help them decide where to get educated. The Military Friendly Schools list is that trusted friend.”

The list was compiled through exhaustive research starting last May during which G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) consisting of educators and administrators from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Toledo, Duquesne University, Coastline Community College, and Lincoln Technical Institute.

Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students and academic accreditations.

Be sure to register for your next course by Dec. 31, 2009 to get the current tuition rate for those courses of just $750 per course before it increases slightly on Jan. 1, 2010 to $825 per course ($275 per unit). All textbooks and course materials will continue to be included and AGU will still be offering one of the nation’s greatest values in distance learning education. Select your next course from the 2009 Degree & Certificate Catalog. To register for your next course (or courses), go to the online AGU Student Center. If you have questions about what course you should take next based on your particular program course of study, please email to studentservices@patten.edu or call an AGU Academic Advisor at 1-877-351-9060, ext. 1003.

AGU COURSE 603 EQUIVALENT TO DAU'S CON 216
AGU's Course 603 "Government Contract Law" has received equivalency to
the Defense Acquisition University course CON 216 "Legal Considerations
in Contracting". AGU students completing Course 603 can now receive
credit from DAU for their course CON 216.

AGU COURSE 601 EQUIVALENT TO THREE DAU COURSES
American Graduate University has achieved equivalency for its Course 601, “Federal Government Contracting,” for several Defense Acquisition University courses. The DAU courses are CON 110, “Mission Support Planning,” CON 111, “Mission Planning Execution,” and CON 112, “Mission Performance Assessment.” AGU students completing the 30 module distance education course will receive credit for the three DAU courses. AGU Course 601 includes coverage on:

In addition, AGU faculty and staff will be working on developing several new distance courses to apply for equivalency to other DAU courses.