Promoting transformation with ideas from the acquisition workforce: DoD looking for initiatives from the people who best know the acquisition process - DoD Business Initiative Council

Program Manager, Sept-Oct, 2002 by Steven J. Manchester

Many in the acquisition community misunderstand the in tended meaning of transformation, a word repeated endlessly throughout the Department of Defense over recent months. Some believe it is merely the "flavor-of-the week" synonymous with acquisition and logistics excellence. Others have jumped solidly on the bandwagon, zealous new converts to the idea of transformation. However, their declarations are suspect because many are not aware of what has already changed within the DoD. Thus, the question arises; how is transformation being applied to the acquisition community? The answer is: by establishment of the Business Initiative Council (BIC).

The purpose of this article is to provide a quick snapshot of how the BIC works and to issue a call for new acquisition management initiatives.

Many Advocates

In July of last year Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., formalized the establishment of the BIC. The mission of the BIC is: "... to improve the efficiency of Department of Defense business operations by identifying and implementing business initiatives that create savings to be reallocated to higher priority efforts (i.e., people, readiness, modernization, and transformation)." When a DoD component implements an initiative, and thereby generates savings, it will retain both the savings and the ability to reallocate their use.

The major difference between the establishment of the BIC and previous acquisition improvement initiatives is that the BIC has advocates across the entire Department. The Service Secretaries, the DoD Comptroller, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all staffed and signed the BIC Charter.

Structure of the BIC

The BIC has five tiers with membership ranging from Process/Functional Boards to the Senior Executive Council headed by the Secretary of Defense. (Figure 1).

The benefit of this structure is that it allows ideas on how to improve the DoD to flow quickly both up and down the tiers. No longer do good ideas have to go through arduous levels of staffing, often being lost in bureaucracy or rejected due to a lack of advocacy The BIC now affords a platform for acceptance and advocacy of great ideas to go forward to transform the way business is conducted in the Department.

The Flow of Initiatives

Initiatives move into the BIC structure in two ways. They can start at the grass roots level, through submission to one of the seven Process/Functional boards (i.e., Acquisition Management). Alternatively, the top tiers can forward initiatives or ideas--often industry recommendations or practices--to the Process/Functional Boards for review and buy-in. All initiatives eventually start at the Process/Functional Board level because these entities are comprised of empowered representatives from each of the services, OSD, and the Joint Staff. A Service Chair heads each of the Process/Functional Boards. The chair responsibility rotates every six months to a different Service, thus enabling fairness and encouraging new perspectives on the initiatives under consideration.

The flow of initiatives is more than simply a good idea going forward. An idea must meet basic criteria before it is forwarded up the respective tiers for final approval. Initiatives come into the Acquisition Management Process/Functional Board (AM PEB) in the form of a proposal. The proposal format is a four-page brief with the following elements:

* Proposal

* Process/Champion (Service/agency)

* History/Current Situation

* Estimate of Investments, Savings, or Benefits

* Metrics

* Pros ( ) /Cons (-) /Risks (*)

* Required Policy/Congressional Actions

* Proposed Deployment/Action Approach

* Required BIC Actions

If the Acquisition Management Process/Functional Board accepts a proposal, it is then presented to the Executive Director (ED) for approval. The ED receives the proposal via briefing by the initiative champion and AM PFB chair. Once approved, the ED requests an initial implementation plan. This plan then moves forward to the Executive Steering Committee, and finally to the BIC. After BIC approval, the initiative is promulgated throughout the Department with direction that the champions develop the necessary implementation plans.

Since its inception, the BIC has been moving forward at a high rate of speed. As of Sept. 13, 2002, it has approved 48 initiatives (Figure 2).

Call for Initiatives

The BIC is now in its fourth phase. The Department of the Navy Team officially takes over the helm as the lead Service effective Oct. 1,2002. The U.S. Marine Corps will chair the Acquisition Management Process/Functional Board. The focus for the next six months will be to continue to promulgate new initiatives and continue implementation of acquisition and logistics excellence. At this time, the AM PEB is soliciting new initiatives. As indicated earlier, it is simple to submit initiatives, and each of the Service representatives is responsible for forwarding proposals. Points of contact follow.