Acquisition | Develop Acquisition Workforce

In order to provide agencies with the goods and services that they need to accomplish their missions at the best value to taxpayers, the Government needs talented and trained individuals who can plan, manage and oversee acquisitions.The inflation-adjusted dollar value of contracting has increased much faster than the number of contract specialists between FY 2000 and FY 2008. As a result, the acquisition workforce spends less time on critical steps in the acquisition process such as planning, requirements development, market research, competition, and contract administration – increasing the chances of cost overruns, delays, and other poor outcomes. To ensure that the Government can effectively manage its acquisitions, the Administration is working to properly staff, train and develop the acquisition workforce.

Number of Contract Specialists

The inflation-adjusted dollar value of contracting increased much faster than the number of contract specialists between FY 2000 and FY 2008. The effect of this trend is that acquisition personnel often cannot spend sufficient time on important pre-award activities (such as acquisition planning and requirements development) or important post-award activities (such as contract management), which increases the chances of cost overruns, schedule delays and other poor acquisition outcomes. The table below shows for each agency the current and target numbers of contract specialists (1102 series), a position which is critical in the acquisition process. More information is available in the Frequently Asked Questions.

Certification of Contract Specialists

In addition to increasing the number of civilian agency acquisition personnel, the Administration wants to ensure that all acquisition professionals are sufficiently trained and appropriately certified. Each agency has taken an inventory of its contract specialists (1102 series) to find out what percentage are certified, and also has set a target for certifying more employees. The table below shows the percentage of contract specialists (1102 series) that were certified in FY10 as well as the target for FY12. We focus on contract specialists because they play a key role in the acquisition process and ensuring that the government gets the best value for taxpayer dollars. Agencies submitted the data in the table below to OMB as part of their annual Acquisition Human Capital Plans. Visit the Frequently Asked Questions section for more information on this metric.

Agency Breakdown

Agency Breakdown
Agencies	FY11 No. of Contracting Specialists	FY12 Target No. of Contracting Specialists	% of contract specialists certified in FY11	FY12 Target % of Contract Specialists Certified
Department of Agriculture	641	672	78	87
Department of Commerce	201	299	70	75
Department of the Interior	891	935	81	81
Department of Justice	559	549	60	80
Department of Labor	104	131	59	60
Department of State	177	166	50	50
Department of The Treasury	442	471	70	70
Office of Personnel Management	32	40	95	95
Social Security Administration	94	99	90	90
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	49	50	75	80
Department of Veterans Affairs	2,048	2,377	72	80
General Services Administration	1,584	1,665	78	81
National Science Foundation	23	27	85	85
Environmental Protection Agency	327	325	78	78
Department of Transportation	451	528	75	85
Department of Homeland Security	1,464	1,606	85	85
U.S. Agency for International Development	293	289	69.1	69.8
Small Business Administration	86	73	82	82
Department of Health and Human Services	1,025	1,123	75	80
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	744	742	82	89
Department of Housing and Urban Development	96	112	65	75
Department of Energy	646	719	85	85
Department of Education	95	126	75	75
Department of Defense	24,434	24,834	84	84

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not currently have an agency page on Performance.gov. For more information about NRC, please click here.

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Agency Breakdown