Trump’s Top Acquisition Official Outlines Priorities

Trump’s Top Acquisition Official Outlines Priorities

Confirmed by the Senate in August, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Michael Wooten laid out a set of tech-heavy priorities Monday as he prepares to shape the way agencies buy goods and services.


In remarks made at a conference hosted by the Professional Services Council, Wooten said modernizing the policies that govern approximately $550 billion in annual spending represents a “huge opportunity,” but one government cannot undertake on its own.


Rather, it will require an educated, empowered acquisition workforce partnering with industry to provide an abundance of commercial technologies to a rapidly-changing federal government, Wooten said. 


“The technological promise of the future is unparalleled and the acquisition world needs to be ready,” Wooten said. “I see modernizing the system as a huge opportunity, and one I need [industry’s] help in doing.”


To get there—or get close to getting there—Wooten said his office within the Office of Management and Budget will prioritize four actions. The first, he said, will be to “build on the work we’ve already been doing to prepare our team to leverage our buying power through category management.” In March, the Trump administration issued new guidance to agencies regarding category management, whereby they coordinate bulk purchasing in areas like information technology to make use of the government’s immense buying power.


Second, Wooten said he wants to “upskill our workforce.” In recent years, the government has struggled to keep pace in both retraining legacy IT employees and in hiring fresh tech talent.


Third, Wooten said he wants to “harness the power of the vast treasure troves ..

Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.