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 Post Competition Accountability
At the conclusion of the public-private competition process, following contract award, the post competition accountability requirements of the Circular must be met. These requirements include tracking costs and execution of competitions, identifying best practices and lessons learned, and monitoring performance.
Recently, organizational accountability (or the lack thereof) has become headline news.
"The lack of accountability and efficiency not only robs money from critical programs, it also erodes taxpayer’s confidence that Washington can be responsible stewards of their money. When people lose faith in their government, it is hard to build the consensus needed to tackle our great problems: ensuring affordable, accessible health care for all, eliminating our addiction to foreign oil, securing our homeland, educating our children and rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure."
~ President Barack Obama
President Obama has vowed that his administration will work with agency leaders and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to improve results and outcomes for federal government programs while eliminating waste and inefficiency. In a recent speech, President Obama cited “reform elements, oversight, transparency, and accountability” as elements needed “for the American people to have confidence in what we’re doing.”
Within the federal government, accountability for performance is at an all-time low. In addition to the absence of standards or measures of accountability in many government agencies, numerous Inspector General (IG) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports have also documented significant problems in post award and contract oversight within federal contracts. Other public sector organizations at the city, county, and state levels have the same problems: shortage of qualified and trained personnel, inadequate oversight, little to no accountability for recurring and systemic problems, improper quality assurance procedures and documentation, and poorly written contracts or contracts which do not accurately reflect the complexity of projects or appropriately allocate risk between the contractor and the taxpayer. These factors must be considered and addressed in any plan to hold a service provider accountable for performance.
However, as indicated above, accountability doesn’t begin with the end of the process. Successful performance and post award accountability are facilitated by effective execution of pre-award events. Without recognition of the impact these events will have on contract implementation and performance, successful post award accountability is significantly jeopardized. Pre-award events, such as the ones listed below, directly influence post award performance accountability.
- Clearly defining requirements through the Performance Work Statement (PWS)
- Including measurable and meaningful acceptable performance Levels (APLs)
- Developing a Source Selection Plan (SSP) that focuses on the Service Provider’s (SP) Quality Control Plan (QCP) efforts as a significant part of the evaluation
- Developing a draft Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) aligned to PWS requirements
- Identifying and training quality assurance (QA), surveillance and oversight resources prior to implementing the performance decision
- Providing clear responses to the prospective SP questions to the solicitation
Throughout the acquisition life cycle, decisions are made that ultimately influence post award, contract administration, and recompetition events. The potential impact of these choices must be evaluated prior to their execution to ensure there are no adverse effects on the integrity and cohesiveness of contract objectives.
After contract/tender award, implementation of quality control, quality assurance, and quality oversight programs that are effective elements of a Quality Management System, is imperative. Understanding the elements of post competition or post award accountability, controlling their execution, and assessing their value are key to creating successful post award programs. These elements have one objective: customer satisfaction.
One of the most enduring tenets of an accountable organization is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. ThinkQ can help your organization capitalize on its strengths and develop and implement accountability measures to ensure that all the elements of your organization, whether insourced or outsourced, truly are contributing to a whole “that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
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