A recent research report issued by the George Mason University Center for Government Contracting has endorsed the consortia model for the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition strategy.
The consortia model was touted by the GMU CFGC study as encouraging open communications between government and industry participants and as lowering the barrier of entry for nontraditional defense contracting organizations, George Mason said last Wednesday.
Stephanie Halcrow, one of the report’s co-authors and a senior fellow at the GMU center, identified the consortia model as playing “a vital and growing role in the defense innovation ecosystem.”
“Going forward, we see the role of consortia only increasing as the need for innovation and expanding the industrial base continues to be critical for the security of the nation and our warfighters,” Halcrow continued.
The report’s other scribe was Moshe Schwartz, president of business management consulting firm Etherton & Associates.
Through attractions such as dedicated collaboration events, the report indicated that the consortia model might be able to boost the speed of acquisitions and thus allow the DOD acquisition workforce to attend to other tasks. In addition, the report enumerated the benefits of the consortia model as setting in place a preestablished network of supplier options with various specialties as well as aiding government program offices who are inexperienced in carrying out other transaction agreements.
Entitled “The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial Base, and Accelerate Acquisition,” the report was sourced from a set of DOD consortia that furnished data and case studies. Halcrow and Schwartz also conducted interviews, research and data analysis.
The duo also list seven recommendations for enhancing the consortia model in the future.
“This report indicates that when done right, consortia expand the industrial base, promote collaboration, and more efficiently deliver the innovative technologies our armed forces require to maintain their edge,” shared Schwartz.
