AFCEA Bethesda May Breakfast: Making Acquisition More Agile to Meet Customer Needs

Agile development is high on the CIO Council's list of priorities, driving improved technology outcomes through swift technology development cycles—but it's not just about development. Acquisition plays a key role in the process, as underlined in both the 25-Point Plan and the accelerated timelines of the Cloud First and Shared First initiatives. The acquisition process has always been critical to meeting the needs of the technology workforce, but today, as IT becomes more ingrained in agency missions, it will need to be even more responsive. If recent trends are any indication, 2012 is shaping up to be a watershed year for reform. For example, the GSA's Office of Government Wide Acquisition Policy is fielding new procurement models like Infrastructure-as-a-Service in order to adapt to the technology cycle. At the same time, the Obama Administration has recently finalized revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, strengthening competition rules.

 

Join AFCEA Bethesda on May 24, 2012 at the Bethesda-North Marriott and Conference Center as chief acquisition officers and senior procurement executives discuss how agencies and industry can work together to improve technology acquisition. Panelists will discuss:

• How acquisition reform can drive savings from contracting through service delivery
• How agencies balance the responsiveness of many small acquisitions with the efficiency of larger programs
• How the acquisition process can adapt to the new technology funding models confronting agencies that embrace cloud computing and mobility
• The role of improved training and workforce development
• How industry can participate in advancing acquisition reform