A Qualitative Case Study of the Federal Acquisition Workforce Improvement Initiatives

The United States (U.S.) government relies on contract workers to do jobs previously handled by federal employees. The federal acquisition workforce is an essential component of the federal acquisition and contracting strategy. Federal acquisitions employees administer U.S. government contracts, control cost, and ensure contracts are beneficial to U.S. taxpayers. Contractors provide service support for weapons systems, equipment, training, and logistical support services. While outsourcing assisted the military to bolster services, the process had disadvantages that are perceived to be the result of problems with U.S. government oversight policy. The need to improve and increase the federal acquisition workforce became prevalent as the number of contracts and contractors increased. The problem addressed in this study was the need for the U.S. government to improve the federal acquisition workforce's ability to oversee support service contracts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the initiatives the U.S. government has implemented to develop the acquisition workforce and review the results of those initiatives. This case study included the collection and analysis of archival records on the implemented initiatives to improve the acquisition workforce. The information sources were the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI), the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Rand Corporation, and the Professional Services Council (PSC). The data available from these organizations were made public between the years 2008 and 2012. Findings from the study revealed that the U.S. government did not fully implement all the initiatives. The results of the initiatives implemented to improvement the acquisition workforce showed progress; however, weakness associated with contracts oversight still existed. Recommendations for next steps to improve the federal acquisition workforce are for the U.S. government to reevaluate current initiatives to determine if they are effective and achievable. An additional recommendation is the completion of previous issues initiatives and implementation of new initiatives where necessary. Recommendations for future academic research include identifying and further studying the number and type of initiatives implemented across the U.S. government.