Action March 12 2019 Grand Hyatt DC ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE Acquisition Innovation in Action ChallengeBased Acquisition and Incentive Prize Competitions March 12 2019 Grand Hyatt DC Igniting Innovation Through Challenges ID: 814890
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Slide1
ACQUISITION EXCELLENCEAcquisition Innovation in Action
March 12, 2019Grand Hyatt DC
ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
Acquisition Innovation in
Action
Challenge-Based Acquisition and Incentive Prize CompetitionsMarch 12, 2019Grand Hyatt DC
Slide2Igniting Innovation Through Challenges
and Prizes!
Ryan M. Novak, Senior Acquisition Principal, The Center for Acquisition Management Sciences (CAMS), The MITRE CorporationTammy White, Sr. Challenge.gov Analyst, General Services Administration (Contractor), Principal, Potomac Haven Inc.
Slide3Challenge-Based Acquisition (ChBA)Using challenges to communicate needed capability, encourage innovation in a minimally prescriptive environment, assess candidate offerings, and purchase solutions.
Ryan Novak,
rnovak@mitre.org
, 703.983.1819
The Center for Acquisition Management Sciences
The MITRE CorporationApproved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. Case Number 18-4455©2018 The MITRE Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. https://www.mitre.org/publications/technical-papers/challenge-based-acquisition-4th-edition
Slide4ChBA requires the right team and mindset …The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) encourage approaches such as ChBA: “…absence of direction should be interpreted as permitting the Team to innovate and use sound business judgment that is otherwise consistent with law and within the limits of their authority. Contracting officers should take the lead in encouraging business process innovations and ensuring that business decisions are sound…”
FAR 1.102-4 Role of the Acquisition Team
Slide5Crossing the Innovation and Acquisition Chasm
Innovative IdeasMarket Research
Directs R&DEncourages Collaboration
Prototyping
Challenge-Based Acquisition
Field SolutionUpgrade SolutionMaintain the SolutionProcuring QuantityThe Innovation andAcquisition Chasm… where good ideas fail to reach their full potential! Challenge-Based Acquisition Is the Bridge
Slide6“
Get me a faster horse…”
Implies a solution type
Limited to offering only horses
Ask the sponsor what they want
Requests a capability
Free to innovate
Distillation of sponsor needs
“Ge
t me there faster…”
Asking the Question Differently …
“I’ll buy the fastest horse that competes in the race?”
“I’ll buy the capability that gets me there fastest?”
Traditional
Challenge-Based
Traditional vs. Challenge-Based Acquisition
Defined Solutions and Paper Promises or Proven Innovation
Slide7COMPETES Act
Draws attention to excellence
Encourages vendor networking
Winner earns a “prize”
Innovative solutions identified
Verified in relevant environment
Winner earns contract/agreement
FAR and OTA
Gets Different Results …
Market Research
Products Acquired
Prize Competitions
Challenge-Based
Prizes vs. Challenge-Based Acquisition
Market Research or Acquisition of Solution
Slide8So, what exactly is ChBA?ChBA is based on the concept that Government agencies can best perform acquisitions if they present the solution to be acquired as a need (the challenge), which empowers potential providers to propose innovative solutions that fill the need.
Challenges are issued in terms of operational needs and are accompanied by mechanisms for evaluating proposed solutions and contractual terms for provider participation.Typically, solutions take the form of simplified implementations, and evaluations assess how well a solution satisfies the need.
A well-crafted challenge, accompanied by clear, transparent, and effective assessment methodologies and appropriate contracting vehicles, leads to successful acquisitions
.
ChBA
is
a
FAR- or OTA-based
acquisition approach that communicates the needed capability,
encourages innovation
in a minimally prescriptive environment,
assesses
candidate offerings, and
purchases solutions
.
Slide9Potential Benefits of ChBAFOCUSEncourages understanding of sought capability gapsINNOVATIONCommunicates needs without constraining solution spaceRISK MANAGEMENT Understand range of solutions without major commitment of resourcesVERIFICATION
If you don’t see it you don’t buy it … not just paper “proposal” promisesSYNERGY Incentivizes industry participation and engages user communityFAIRNESS Levels the playing field for small, innovative companiesBUY PRODUCT At the end, you can buy the sought capability!
Slide10Ability to down-select and off-ramp vendors that are not viable
Ability to sustain competition throughout the life of the contract
Ability to pay vendors to compete in the challenge event(s)
Ability to acquire testing, refinement, and operational products
Ability to execute challenges that are singular, iterative, or graduated
Challenge-Based Acquisition Application
Slide11Culvert Challenge:
JIDA in collaboration with ARL seeks innovative solutions for inspection of culverts and detection and identification of objects in or around roadway culverts.
Results:
Multiple Award IDIQ, 20 vendors participated, 10 in each event, Refinement of Solutions, Running the Challenge Event again…no protests.
SOCOM’s All-Source Analytical Environment (ASAE) Challenge:
SOCOM’s Distributed Common Ground Control System (DCGS) leveraged the challenge approach to acquire a COTS ASAE software tool using an integration challenge that took place on a Government-provided, commercially-hosted, virtual cloud environment “sandbox”. Results:
Contract awarded to viable offeror with proven ability to integrate seamlessly, user approved solution…no protests.
Army Cyber Innovation Challenge:
ASA(ALT), Army Cyber Command, Second Army, and TRADOC initiated a Cyber Innovation Challenge to investigate software-based prototype solutions. The Innovation Challenge requirements are released through an existing consortium community, utilizing OTA as the framework, allowing industry to engage with Government.
Result:
Limited quantity prototypes rapidly being evaluated and delivered.
Challenge-Based Acquisition Application
Source: Challenge-Based Acquisition Handbook v4
Source: Challenge-Based Acquisition Handbook v4
Source: Federal Business Opportunities (fbo.gov)
Slide12So, what’s a prize competition?
Prize competitions, challenges, hackathons, data jams, map-a-thons – all crowdsourcing methods with potential incentives.
The most successful competitions:
Offer a discrete timeline
Provide a clear problem statement and parameters
Allow creative freedomAre structured for faster response, multiple resultsHave the potential to save time and money
Slide13Potential Benefits of Prize Competitions
Pay only for success and establish an ambitious goal without having to predict which team or approach is most likely to succeed
Reach beyond the “usual suspects” to increase the number of minds tackling a problem
Bring out-of-discipline perspectives to bear
Increase cost effectiveness to maximize the return on taxpayer dollars
Inspire risk-taking by offering a level playing field through credible rules and robust judging mechanisms
Slide14ITEM
CONTRACTS & GRANTS
CHALLENGES & PRIZES
Target Technologies
Available in commercial market or
via contract/grant.
Not available in market or by contract/grant.
Selection Process
“Crystal Ball” - Prejudges which competitor
has best chance of success.
“Darwinism” –
All competitors compete until end of contest.
Results
One possible.
Many possible.
Delivery
Depends on ability to select best competitor.
Depends on ability to formulate
achievable rules.
Open to…
Companies able to comply with
contracting regulations.
All U.S. citizens,
non-Federal employees.
Comparative Cost
Rarely less, and often more than 100% of costs.
A fraction of the total cost.
Payment of Funds
Most funding paid out before delivery of complete solution.
Payment ONLY after successful
demonstration of solution.
Prize Competitions
Slide15Prize CompetitionsYes, They’re Legal
The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act grants broad prize authority to federal agencies to run prize competitions.
A small subset of agencies maintain their own authorities:
Space Act (NASA)
Direct Prize Authority (Defense, Energy, USAID)
Others use existing mechanisms to partner with industry, allow for rapid prototyping and advancement:Necessary Expense DoctrineOther Transaction AuthorityProcurement AuthorityPublic-Private PartnershipAgencies have been running prize competitions since the mid-2000s with hundreds documented in annual reports to Congress, available on www.challenge.gov
.
Slide16Where Does Challenge.gov Come In?We’re Here to Help
The Challenge.gov program, maintained by the GSA, serves as the belly button for federally sponsored prize competitions. We coordinate with agencies across government to build capacity for incentive prizes by providing the following at no cost to our agency customers:
An official listing, ideation platform and data archive
Prize structure and design consultation
Training and resources
Communications and outreachReporting on impact, working closely with White House Office of Science and Technology Policy staff
Slide17Questions?Ryan Novak, Senior Acquisition Principalrnovak@mitre.org
, 703.983.1819The Center for Acquisition Management Sciences (CAMS)The MITRE CorporationTammy White,
Sr. Challenge.Gov Analysttammyj.white@gsa.gov
, 703.915.3407
GSA (Contractor)Principal, Potomac Haven Inc.