The 2012 Acquisition Excellence Lifetime Achievement Honoree Announced!

The Coalition for Government Procurement is pleased to announce the 2012 Acquisition Excellence Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Daniel I. Gordon, Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies at The George Washington University Law School. Dan’s procurement career symbolizes the very best in public service for the common good.

As you all know, before joining The George Washington University Law School Dan served as Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Dan brought a thoughtful, balanced and positive approach to the development of guidance for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal procurement system. His openness and willingness to engage all stakeholders is reflected in his authorship of the “Myth-Busters” guidance for the acquisition workforce. As the driving force behind the Myth-Busters campaign, Dan identified and emphasized the vital importance of quality government-industry communications during the requirements development phase in ensuring best values outcome during contract performance. The Coalition believes that the Myth-Busters campaign will have a long-lasting positive impact on government-industry communications—and ultimately the taxpayer will be the winner through a more effective procurement system.

By seeking out various viewpoints and asking the right questions, Dan changed the tone around procurement. Most importantly, Dan reached out to the acquisition workforce, reestablishing the “Frontline Forum” where contracting professionals on the frontline of procurement have the opportunity to meet with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy and discuss key operational challenges. As I have previously noted, the “Frontline Forum” is just another form of “Myth-Busting.” It provided the acquisition workforce with the opportunity to share its views with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) while giving the workforce an opportunity to gain insight into key policy initiatives.

Dan also focused on contract duplication, an issue of great concern across industry and within government. Dan established new procurement business case guidance that instructed contracting officers to consider pre-existing contract vehicles before creating new standalone contracts. This guidance was a vital first step in reducing costly, unnecessary contract duplication and laid a foundation for future measures to control the growth of overlapping contract vehicles. Reducing overlapping, duplicative contracts will reduce costs to government and industry thereby saving the taxpayer money.

Dan’s outstanding career in the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) Office of General Counsel laid the foundation for his success as Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy. Dan spent 17 years in the Office of General Counsel rising to ultimately serve as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel. As a GSA attorney I first met Dan during his tenure heading up GAO’s bid protest unit. Dan’s balanced, thoughtful leadership of that unit is reflected in a body of common sense bid protest case law that still provides sound procurement guideposts for contracting activities and contractors alike. From prior personal experience working as a GSA procurement attorney, lessons learned from GAO bid protest case law often contributed to sound, cost-effective procurement decision making. In Dan’s current position as Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies at George Washington University Law School he continues to influence procurement decision making as he shapes the thinking of future government contract attorneys.

Dan, thank you for your public service!

The 2012 Acquisition Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Dan during our Excellence in Partnership Recognition Luncheon on October 24th. We are also honored that Dan will be our featured speaker for the Luncheon. The Excellence in Partnership Luncheon is just part of our 2012 Fall Training Conference: Continuing the Dialogue—Understanding Acquisition Policy; Understanding the Federal Market; Honoring Excellence in Partnership. For information regarding the conference please click here. We look forward to seeing you there!

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