Highlights from the Eighth Annual PSC Federal Acquisition Conference

by Sebastian B. Herrick, Director of Procurement Policy

On June 20, 2024, the Professional Services Council (PSC) held its eighth annual Federal Acquisition Conference at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, Virginia. This year’s conference was modeled around the theme, Survive & Thrive: Strategies for Resilience & Growth in a Changing Environment. The conference highlighted practical, actionable government contracting strategies for not only surviving but thriving in the government contractor space to address challenges—both expected and novel—of the foreseeable federal marketplace. Panel discussions explored business and program resilience under perennial budget uncertainties, adaptability at pace with technological innovation, and proactive approaches defining the next era of business success.

PSC president and CEO, David J. Berteau, kicked off the conference by welcoming panelists and guests, as well as sharing PSC’s priorities. Berteau thanked the conference sponsors and introduced Jeff Shen, President of Red Team Consulting and chair of the Federal Acquisition Conference Planning Committee, who laid out the agenda for the conference before introducing me to announce the release of PSC’s 2024 Federal Business Forecast Scorecard.

PSC’s Federal Business Forecast Scorecard assesses 70 Federal agencies and components’ forecast of current and upcoming opportunities using PSC’s “15 Key Components of a Successful Business Forecast,” a criterion developed in collaboration with both contractors and federal officials. PSC’s Federal Business Forecast Scorecard found that the quality of agencies’ procurement forecasts is about on par with those forecasts assessed in 2023. PSC’s assessment, as well as its models for business forecast success, were released at the conference, although additional information and a view of the Scorecard may be found in this edition of Service Contractor Magazine.

After announcing the release of the Federal Business Forecast Scorecard, I introduced Nicole Evans, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition of the Department of the Treasury for her opening keynote address. The address included information on how the Department of Treasury procurement office coordinates different offices to provide a cohesive program that is adaptive and equitable under the framework of its 2024 objectives. Objectives include advancing equity in procurement, prioritizing competition while advancing administration priorities through procurement, and modernizing Treasury operations and leadership through acquisition. Evans discussed the Department of Treasury’s operating plans under these priorities to provide insight to attendees on methods to better communicate with the government in reducing barriers to entry and developing better approaches for adaptive business success.

David J. Berteau addressed the audience after the opening keynote to provide a discussion on trends in federal acquisition, which included an overview of the federal budget process and timelines, a review of federal dollars obligated and appropriated, and information about this year’s National Defense Authorization Act—the legislative vehicle which in its yearly passage sets much of the upcoming policy for the services industry. Berteau reviewed a flurry of rulemaking activity, recent movements on other imperative legislative vehicles, considerations in pivotal court cases affecting the contracting industry, and national elections that could alter the federal landscape, presenting key data and insights to help companies navigate this potentially changeable federal marketplace.

After a networking break, panelists Geoff Sage, Director, Office of Procurement, Enterprise Service and Analysis Division at NASA; Udaya Patnaik, Chief Innovation Strategist, Office of Information Technology Category at the General Services Administration; and moderator Dorice Kenely, Policy Manager, Amazon Web Services, took the stage for a panel titled Purchasing Technology: Keeping Pace with Innovation. This panel covered agency approaches to the adoption of game-changing technologies—like artificial intelligence—while balancing fairness and security in this rapidly evolving federal marketplace. The discussion included encouragement for the government to “bake values in” to the technology purchasing process, thereby protecting the rights and personal privacy of citizens and ensuring experimentation with effective parameters. The panelists described frameworks and tools that exist for agencies to create protected large spaces for innovation that enable the capable fielding of government missions and technology needs at the speed of relevance.

Then, Trevor Wagner, Director of The Lab, Department of Commerce; Katrina Brisbon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions at the Department of Health and Human Services; Jaclyn Rubino, Executive Director, Strategic Programs Division at the Department of Homeland Security; and moderator Ashley J. Lewis, Specialist Executive, Deloitte, conducted a panel titled Mythbusters: Where Are We Now, and Where Should We go? This panel exhibited collaborative, productive communication strategies that government procurement officials and industry partners are using to enhance acquisition outcomes across the full acquisition lifecycle. This panel ‘busted’ myths regarding common misconceptions that can unnecessarily hinder procurement flexibilities by providing facts and examples to help overcome such misconceptions, and strategies for improving cooperation and engagement. The panel also discussed perspectives on the importance of government business forecasting and encouraging additional processes for agency and enterprise-wide partnership with the contractor community to enable better acquisition outcomes in support of government missions.

This year’s closing keynote was provided by Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, who discussed three great efforts within the Air Force: 1) modernizing the U.S. military to ensure competitiveness with its adversaries, project power, and address its operational imperatives; 2) reoptimizing for great power competition through readiness and capabilities; and providing what resources are available and needed to support U.S. future missions. Within these great efforts, Kendall said that time taken to execute funds on-contract is a critical competitive element in comparison with U.S. adversaries. He discussed initiatives being taken to discipline contract requirements, provide greater latitude to start programs, reduce lead time, and reduce procurement risk, to best ensure mission readiness for resilience and growth in rapidly evolving strategic environments for both the U.S. government and their contracting partners.

PSC expresses thanks to all of those who supported the development of this conference within its planning committees, those who served as keynote speakers, panelists and moderators, and all its members who attended. If you are interested in planning for the next year’s conference, please contact me at herrick@pscouncil.org. We welcome your support.