[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 73 (Monday, April 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20181-20182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7651]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Publication of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP)
Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce
AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Federal Procurement
Policy.
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 37(b)(3) of the OFPP Act, as
amended (41 U.S.C. 433(b)(3)), the Administrator for Federal
Procurement Policy is authorized to issue policies to promote uniform
implementation of a program to develop the federal acquisition
workforce. OFPP is publishing Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and
Managing the Acquisition Workforce, which more broadly defines the
acquisition workforce and more closely aligns civilian and defense
acquisition workforce requirements. This Policy Letter applies to all
executive agencies, except those subject to the Defense Acquisition
Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) (10 U.S.C. 1741-46).
OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 supersedes and rescinds OFPP Policy Letter
92-3, Procurement Professionalism Program Policy--Training for
Contracting Personnel, and Policy Letter 97-01, Procurement System
Education, Training and Experience Requirements for Acquisition
Personnel.
DATES: The effective date of OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 is April 15,
2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lesley A. Field, Office of Federal
Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive
Office Building, Room 9013, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503
(202 395-7579 or 202 395-4761).
Availability: OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 and rescinded Policy Letters
92-3 and 97-01 may be obtained on: http://www.acqnet.gov/AcqNet/Library/OFPP/PolicyLetters. Paper copies of these documents may be
obtained by calling (202) 395-7579.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The development and professionalism of the
federal acquisition workforce is a priority for OFPP and supports the
Office of Management and Budget's focus on human capital and financial
management. The acquisition workforce is a federal asset upon which the
government depends for mission accomplishment, and OFPP is committed to
ensuring that the workforce is trained and developed to meet the
government's current and future mission needs.
The principal purposes of Policy Letter 05-01 are: (1) To define
the acquisition workforce to include additional acquisition-related
functions and create a multi-disciplined acquisition community, (2) to
align the civilian (non-Department of Defense) and defense acquisition
workforce training requirements, and (3) to emphasize the importance to
federal managers and the workforce of continuous learning, to include
training on critical subjects such as ethics, performance-based
contracting, and other timely and topical areas.
The acquisition function continues to become more integrated into
agency core business processes, and the developmental needs of the
workforce are changing. This progression is reflected in the Services
Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA) (Pub. L. 108-136), which defines
acquisition more broadly to include, among traditional contracting
functions, requirements definition, measurement of contract
performance, and technical and management direction. Additionally, SARA
requires agency Chief Acquisition Officers to develop and maintain an
acquisition career management program and ensure the development of an
adequate, professional workforce. Policy Letter 05-01 articulates
specific responsibilities to implement these SARA requirements.
OFPP Policy Letters 92-3 and 97-01, which are rescinded,
established an emphasis on the development of the acquisition workforce
but did not prescribe a core, government-wide curriculum. Policy Letter
92-3 established standards for skill-based training in contracting and
purchasing functions and articulated core tasks. Policy Letter 97-01,
which was developed in response to the requirements of the Clinger-
Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401(3)), required senior procurement
executives to develop agency career management programs and establish
policies and procedures, including training requirements, to ensure
that the workforce was trained adequately. While these letters
established a strong framework for managing the workforce, training
content and delivery were not necessarily consistent across civilian
agencies or consistent with the defense acquisition workforce
requirements prescribed by DAWIA.
Policy Letter 05-01 aligns core civilian agency acquisition
workforce training requirements with those for the defense workforce.
The Department of Defense (DOD) curriculum reflects the competencies
required to perform the tasks articulated in Policy Letter 92-3, and
later referenced in Policy Letter 97-01. This alignment will ensure
that our federal acquisition workforce has common, core training, and
will promote workforce mobility. Section 1.603-2 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 1) will be modified to reflect the
requirements of the new Letter.
The Letter also emphasizes the importance of continuous learning.
For example, employees in the GS-1102 series will now need eighty
continuous learning points every two years--twice the current
requirement. This emphasis on continuous learning in areas such as
ethics, performance-based contracting, and other critical areas,
ensures that federal managers and the acquisition workforce adhere to
ethical contracting practices, apply sound business judgment, and
otherwise engage in responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Many
of these continuous learning opportunities are available free of charge
on the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) Web site on http://www.fai.gov and through the Defense Acquisition University on http://www.dau.mil.
FAI and DAU are forming a partnership to advance the capabilities
of our federal acquisition workforce. To address the changing nature of
the acquisition environment, DAU is currently restructuring the
contracting curriculum. As new courses are completed, course content
will be made available to training providers to obtain equivalencies
for the new offerings. Civilian agencies depend on the private training
provider community for course delivery, and these providers need time
to develop core courses and request equivalencies. Additionally,
employees may already be scheduled to take
[[Page 20182]]
comparable courses or may have completed a significant part of the
previous DOD curriculum. Therefore, civilian agencies should use
October 1, 2005, as a general guideline in adopting the DOD curriculum,
but may reasonably extend the transition time to accommodate agency and
employee needs. FAI will provide guidance and information on transition
as the coursework is developed and classes become available.
David H. Safavian,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-7651 Filed 4-13-05; 3:14 pm]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-P