Center for Government Contracting News

George Mason’s government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century

Jennifer Anzaldi — Thu, 30 May 2024 16:17:30 +0000

George Mason’s government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century Jennifer Anzaldi Thu, 05/30/2024 - 12:17

When the Pentagon attempts to field innovative technology, its contracting decisions are largely dictated by a process that predates personal computing. Known as the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) resourcing system, it betrays its mid-20th-century origins in its extreme emphasis on long-range management and sequential planning over more agile and rapid program execution.

Jerry McGinn

Calls for PPBE reform are nothing new in the halls of the Pentagon, but recent geopolitical threats have contributed to a general recognition within the federal government that change is badly needed to speed the development and acquisition of new military capabilities.

Hence Congress’s formation in 2022 of an independent commission tasked with closely assessing the current process and making specific recommendations for reform.

The Commission on PPBE Reform promptly engaged the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at ��AV as a key research partner. The center was awarded a $645,000 Department of Defense (DoD) research contract consisting of two projects.

First, the research team, headed by the center’s executive director Jerry McGinn, prepared six case studies documenting PPBE’s effect on DoD’s work with both research and development centers and industry to develop and adopt new technologies.

“We set up hypotheses and did background research on the programs,” McGinn says. “Our conclusions were based on a number of interviews with government and industry officials.”

For example, one of the case studies dealt with the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, for the development of AI-piloted combat drones. Five Air Force officials involved in CCA told the Baroni research team that PPBE complicated necessary collaborations with the Navy and other agencies, due to siloed budgeting protocols making it difficult to align priorities and make resource decisions in a timely manner.

Next, the Baroni research team turned their attention to three inter-related subtasks delving into specific rules governing PPBE’s application.

“For this project, we used a mixture of non-public DoD unclassified databases as well as information available to the general public,” says McGinn.

The researchers investigated whether PPBE should vary based on DoD’s acquisition categories or remain the same for all categories, concluding that the categories were similar enough to warrant a unified process. They were also asked to evaluate how military departments and agencies use PPBE’s various acquisition pathways, resulting in a determination that “budget justification documents, particularly for RDT&E (research, development, testing and evaluation), are overly complex, unnecessarily intricate, and lack standardization”. Finally, the researchers performed an extensive analysis of PPBE’s legal underpinnings and the wider governmental implications of reforming the process.

The team’s final report, submitted to the commission early in 2024, contained a consolidated list of dozens of findings and recommendations. In its own report issued in March 2024, the PPBE Reform Commission cited the Baroni team’s research numerous times.

“Our work played a large role in informing the Commission’s findings and reinforcing their policy recommendations,” McGinn noted. “These inputs are today being considered as Congress debates 2025 appropriations and DoD concurrently develops and vets the budget for 2026 and 2027.

Shortly after the release of the Commission’s report, the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting hosted a rollout event at Mason Square featuring the Commission’s chair, vice-chair and executive director. A series of additional events around PPBE reform are being planned for the summer.

“Our report reflects the strategic vision with which George Mason established this research center. Our research and analysis inform the federal government as well as the large government contracting industry here in the national capital region. Our relationships and location make the center uniquely situated to benefit policy-makers and entrepreneurs, alike,” McGinn says.

In This Story

John G. (Jerry) McGinn

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Northern Virginia Technology Council Chair Greg Baroni and Wife, Camille, Make Critical Investment in ��AV’s Center for Government Contracting

Melanie Balog — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 13:55:11 +0000

Northern Virginia Technology Council Chair Greg Baroni and Wife, Camille, Make Critical Investment in ��AV’s Center for Government Contracting Melanie Balog Wed, 11/30/2022 - 08:55

Fairfax, Va., Nov. 30, 2022 — ��AV announced the largest gift to a center within the School of Business from Attain Partners founder and CEO Greg Baroni and his wife, Camille. The first-of-its-kind university center to address business, technology, policy, and regulatory issues in government contracting, the Center for Government Contracting will change its name to the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in honor of the new donors. The non-partisan entrepreneurial center will be the first donor-named center within Mason’s School of Business.

“We are grateful to the Baronis for their gift which will help transform the center and build tomorrow’s workforce for both government and industry,” said Mason President Gregory Washington. “Recognizing that the nation’s future success depends on a thriving and diverse education workforce, and through partnerships across industry and government, Mason sets itself apart and is focused on solutions to our biggest challenges as a nation and within the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The investment by the Baronis in Mason is spurred by their desire to promote a new level of innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration between government and industry to work together toward mutually beneficial outcomes. The Baroni gift will allow the expansion of center research activities and student fellowships and contribute to a new space for convening as part of Mason’s School of Business building.

“We are excited to partner with Mason to support and advance the government contracting industry,” said Greg Baroni. “Higher education is key to growing the industry and building diverse talent for tomorrow’s workforce. ��AV is well positioned to drive innovation and collaboration and we’re proud to be a part of this next chapter.”

Baroni, a “GovCon” industry leader recognized for providing business and technology solutions for the public sector markets, is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Attain Partners, a professional services company focused on delivering asset-powered, tech-enabled solutions for education, government, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations. He also is founder and managing partner of Attain Capital Partners and Attain Sports & Entertainment. In addition, Baroni serves as Chair of the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Professional Services Council (PSC).

Today, Baroni will receive Washington Exec’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pinnacle Awards, an annual program highlighting successful executives and businesses fostering innovation for their federal government clients across the region.

Leveraging its proximity to the federal government and at the center of the Northern Virginia business corridor, Mason’s Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, established in 2019, conducts impactful research on the broad array of critical issues facing the $500-plus billion government contracting community.

The center also serves as a convener of industry discussions and conferences on topics such as Department of Defense budget reform, small business innovation, intellectual property policy, and defense acquisition best practices.

“The name Baroni symbolizes innovation, commitment, and leadership across a host of industries and sectors,” said Ajay Vinzé, dean of the School of Business. “George Mason’s School of Business embraces these same qualities, which is evident in our research and our students. It is an honor to have our center named after a benefactor and industry leader who shares our goals.”

Jerry McGinn, the center’s executive director, said, “This gift will propel the center onto the national scene as the preeminent leader for research, innovation, and impact in government contracting.”

��AV’s School of Business will celebrate the partnership and investment in the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at an upcoming event to be announced soon.

Greg and Camille Baroni. Photo provided

The Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting

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Execution Flexibility and Bridging the Valley of Death: An Acquisition Next Report

Charles Dolgas — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 01:38:29 +0000

Execution Flexibility and Bridging the Valley of Death: An Acquisition Next Report Charles Dolgas Tue, 10/25/2022 - 21:38

While the platform-based defense budgeting system works well for large capital investments, many other capital investments such as the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept require modular, cross-cutting technologies that do not fit well into program stovepipes. Even when all stakeholders are aligned, there are precious few opportunities to get funding within the traditional resource allocation process. This creates a proverbial “valley of death” that frustrates everyone involved. What types of strategies can inject the execution flexibility necessary to bridge this valley of death and get capabilities in the hands of warfighters?

To bridge the "valley of death," the Center's latest report finds that DoD does not need new laws and special authorities. This report reviews sources of execution flexibility including innovation funds, program element consolidation, reprogramming, and expired funds. It makes recommendations based on insights from discussions with stakeholders in DoD, industry, and the Hill.

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No. 12. NASA in the Modern Space Age: A Leader or a Follower?

Charles Dolgas — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 18:25:42 +0000

No. 12. NASA in the Modern Space Age: A Leader or a Follower? Charles Dolgas Fri, 10/07/2022 - 14:25

September 27, 2022 — Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the commercial space launch sector has been thriving after a period of stagnation. The U.S. government has a long history of promoting the industry, most notably with the passing of the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. But the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its programmatic priorities have typically shaped both the legislation and the launch industry. But the new market entrants are pursuing goals of affordable and repeatable access to space independent of the space agency. With this context, the paper asks if NASA has been a leader or a follower of the emergence of the modern space age.

The author argues that while the Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) legislation keeps pace with the fast-evolving commercial launch sector, NASA is falling behind, both technically and organizationally. Its tendency to preserve a government-owned resource-heavy program posture focuses on how to build it instead of what to build and why. The paper concludes with a recommendation that NASA can make a structural change and right-size itself to be a cutting-edge mission-focused space agency. Bold action is the only way that NASA can restore its place as a leader in the modern space age and leave followership behind.

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Center for Government Contracting July 2022 Update

Charles Dolgas — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:01:03 +0000

Center for Government Contracting July 2022 Update Charles Dolgas Wed, 08/03/2022 - 15:01

In This Story

John G. (Jerry) McGinn

Stephanie Halcrow

Recap of people, research, news and events in July 2022

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Trusted Workforce 2.0 and Tomorrow's Digital Workforce

Charles Dolgas — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:06:21 +0000

Trusted Workforce 2.0 and Tomorrow's Digital Workforce Charles Dolgas Tue, 08/02/2022 - 12:06

This report outlines the results of a workshop discussion on Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0) implementation and academic initiatives to educate and train today and tomorrow’s cleared government contracting workforce. ��AV's Center for Government Contracting and Institute for Digital InnovAtion partnered to facilitate a roundtable discussion on March 31, 2022 with senior federal officials responsible for TW 2.0—the new federal security clearance process. In addition to government officials, discussion participants included senior representatives of small, mid-tier, and large companies with cleared workforces as well as George Mason faculty engaged in preparing the future digital government contracting workforce.

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This report outlines the workshop discussion; identifies key takeaways from the workshop; and makes recommendations for potential follow-on activities. Readers will understand and appreciate

The interagency collaboration that is driving TW 2.0 implementation for government and business;
How TW 2.0 efforts to use data analysis to increase visibility and transparency have dramatically reduced backlogs for security clearance applications;
What academia can do to develop tomorrow’s digital workforce; and
What work remains to be done, particularly in the area of acquisition and cleared personnel.

As will become evident in the report, Trusted Workforce 2.0 is a game changer for the cleared government contracting community. We look forward to your feedback and to setting up future workshop discussions on critical government contracting issues in the coming months.

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The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial Base, and Accelerate Acquisition

Charles Dolgas — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 19:54:04 +0000

The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial Base, and Accelerate Acquisition Charles Dolgas Wed, 07/20/2022 - 15:54

In This Story

Stephanie Halcrow

July 20, 2022 — The Center for Government Contracting releases a new report, “The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial Base, and Accelerate Acquisition.”

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Key findings: The Consortia Model promotes innovation,
expands the industrial base, and accelerates acquisition

Key findings from the report include: the consortia model enhances communication between government and industry via dedicated collaboration events; the consortia model expands the defense industrial base as nontraditional defense contractors make up 77% of the membership for the 12 consortia surveyed and serve as the lead contractor on nearly 70% of awards through those consortia; and in certain circumstances, the consortia model can significantly speed up acquisition timeliness and free up the DoD acquisition workforce to perform other critical tasks.

The report is co-authored by ��AV Center for Government Contracting Senior Fellow Stephanie Halcrow and Moshe Schwartz, President of Etherton & Associates.

“The data paints a clear picture that the consortia model plays a vital and growing role in the defense innovation ecosystem,” said report co-author Stephanie Halcrow. “Most significantly, consortia create a space for government–industry collaboration and bring the value of nontraditional contractors and small businesses to the table. Going forward, we see the role of consortia only increasing as the need for innovation and expanding the industrial base continues to be critical for the security of the nation and our warfighters.”

Building on previous research into Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), the report includes the participation of twelve distinct DoD consortia which provided data and case studies to researchers. Based on the research, interviews, and data analysis, the authors found the consortia model supports government acquisition efforts by:

Promoting government-industry-academia communication,
Facilitating industry partnerships and collaboration,
Providing critical surge capacity to government acquisition,
Offering a ready, pre-established network of potential suppliers who have expertise in specific areas,
Helping government program offices that do not have the requisite skill and experience in executing OTs, and
Supporting the expansion of the defense innovation base by bringing nontraditional defense contractors and small businesses into that base.

Additionally, the report emphasizes support for transparency and oversight in order to safeguard the interests of taxpayers and government but cautions against onerous legislation and regulations that have the potential to undermine the consortia model and OTs.

To strike the right balance, the authors provide seven specific recommendations to improve the consortia model going forward: improve visibility and transparency; enhance training and develop best practices; focus on transitioning technology to production; avoid additional regulatory burdens; preserve the definition of Nontraditional Defense Contractor; promote collaboration and innovation through flexibility; and expand the use of Other Transaction Authorities.

“This important research shines a bright light on a critical source of innovation in the government contracting community and we look forward to the continued growth of ‘the power of many’ in the future,” noted Center Executive Director Jerry McGinn.

“The consortia model is an important tool in the acquisition toolbox that provides meaningful benefits to both government and industry,” said report co-author Moshe Schwartz, “It is important that the government acquisition workforce understand when and how to use and manage consortia effectively. This report indicates that when done right, consortia expand the industrial base, promote collaboration, and more efficiently deliver the innovative technologies our armed forces require to maintain their edge.”

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Center for Government Contracting June 2022 Update

Charles Dolgas — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 19:04:27 +0000

Center for Government Contracting June 2022 Update Charles Dolgas Wed, 07/13/2022 - 15:04

Recap of activities and events in June 2022

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No. 11 “Don’t Get Ahead of the Data:” Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Maintenance in DoD

Charles Dolgas — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 20:08:08 +0000

No. 11 “Don’t Get Ahead of the Data:” Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Maintenance in DoD Charles Dolgas Wed, 06/29/2022 - 16:08

June 29, 2022 — The Center for Government Contracting releases its latest White Paper: "Don't Get Ahead of the Data:" Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Maintenance in DoD.

Center Executive Director Jerry McGinn and Senior Fellows Richard Beutel and Benjamin McMartin examine the current state of and future opportunities for predictive maintenance as a case study for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as a military capability. Collaborating with the military departments, the Defense Innovation Unit and the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center launched a series of projects starting in 2017 exploring AI/ML predictive maintenance solutions on platforms ranging from the E-3 Sentry and F-16 aircraft to UH-60 and AH-64 rotary wing aircraft to ground vehicles.

The results of these initial projects were generally promising, but the complexity and heterogeneity of maintenance data and numerous other factors made it clear that the utilization of AI/ML techniques in this area would require continued iteration and user feedback. Promisingly, the services have continued their investments to develop better data sets, better algorithms, and better tools towards the predictive maintenance objective.

Based on the pilot efforts examined in this white paper, predictive maintenance is developing into a promising use case for AI technology in DoD. The authors conclude with a number of recommendations on data, metrics, prioritization, building trust across the maintenance enterprise, and other areas to help DoD remain on this promising trajectory.

Download the White Paper.

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Center for Government Contracting May 2022 Update

Charles Dolgas — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 18:46:53 +0000

Center for Government Contracting May 2022 Update Charles Dolgas Fri, 06/10/2022 - 14:46

Center for Government Contracting News

George Mason’s government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century

In This Story

Learn more about the Costello College of Business

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Potential Sources of Executive Flexibility

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In This Story

Key findings: The Consortia Model promotes innovation, expands the industrial base, and accelerates acquisition

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No. 11 “Don’t Get Ahead of the Data:” Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Maintenance in DoD

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Center for Government Contracting May 2022 Update

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Northern Virginia Technology Council Chair Greg Baroni and Wife, Camille, Make Critical Investment in ��AV’s Center for Government Contracting

Key findings: The Consortia Model promotes innovation,
expands the industrial base, and accelerates acquisition