To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. NEBRASKA AVENUE have dogged the process, but would have likely been flagged, tagged or at least rectified earlier with the proper reviews, say outside government acquisitions experts who spoke with Homeland Security Today. A lack of line authority and centralized contracting standards at Nebraska Avenue and its 22 component agencies and departments, insufficient foresight and focus— including proper budgeting and good program management—have served to poison the system. Add that to minimal resources—especially personnel—in the Office of Procurement Operations over the years, and you have a giant mess. “There was a stretch of time in which, if there was a DHS program, I would expect to see it fail,” said one contracting expert. In February: Ralph Basham announced his retirement as commissioner of CBP…DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano named Chani Wiggins as assistant secretary for legislative affairs and Nelson Peacock and Sue Ramanathan as deputy assistant secretaries for legislative affairs…John Morton was nominated to be assistant secretary for ICE…Esther Olavarria was named deputy assistant secretary for policy…Mary Ellen Callahan was named DHS chief privacy officer…Paul Schneider retired as DHS deputy secretary and was replaced by Rand Beers as acting deputy secretary pending the confirmation of Jane Holl Lute…Dora Schriro was appointed the secretary’s special advisor on ICE and detention and removal. there are lingering gaps and long-term needs, the department has instituted a critical training and internship program, creating a personnel feeder from where there was none. In addition, Gunderson said the department has established “a new governance framework which provides a disciplined process for our investments to go through before they can proceed.” The framework, which shifts much of the burden for reviewing the biggest projects out of the disparate procurement structures at the component level to the central office, institutes an Acquisition Review Board, replacing the responsibilities of the IRB and the JRC. In name, the JRC will live on with a different mission—making sure each major project over $300 million is validated and incorporates clear vision and requirements for its execution. In addition, the new Program Review Board ensures there is adequate cost estimation and budget for each major project. There are about 67 Level I and Level II programs across the department now, said Gunderson. At least 20 of them have been reviewed in compliance with the new reforms in the last eight months, he added. “Our end goal is every Level I and Level II program will be reviewed.” The reforms have not gone unnoticed, not even in the more recent GAO reports. “DHS is taking important steps to strengthen investment management and oversight,” said the November GAO report, though it was equally cautious. “Our work has found that DHS has not fully implemented similar steps in the past.” retary, respectively—were popular and wise decisions that had an almost immediate stabilizing effect, sources said. (Schneider stepped down as deputy secretary on Feb. 11 and his place was taken by Rand Beers as acting deputy secretary pending the confirmation of Jane Lute.) “They were the right people at the right time, and they [were] trying to impose the right levels of discipline,” said Jeff Greene, deputy director of legal affairs for the Project on National Security Reform. “It’s a great illustration of the importance of leadership,” added Bodenheimer. “They [DHS] are strategically looking at it the right way. I actually have high hopes,” said Stan Saloway, president of the Professional Services Council. “I think there is the potential for DHS … to take this to a whole new level.” However, Greene claims it’s not clear the department has sufficiently reduced the number of troublesome no-bid contracts (DHS spokespeople say the introduction of a competition advocate and other measures have steadily reduced such bids). Meanwhile, homeland security committee sources on Capitol Hill said they are still waiting for proof that the directive and all of its reforms have translated into real action. “Man, it looks good on paper—now they have to implement it,” said one Senate aide. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was peppered with similar questions during her confirmation hearings in January. In response, she said she is going to continue making good investment practices a priority. “I want to create a culture where this is a department … not 21 separate agencies,” she told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “That means the nuts and bolts: acquisition, program management, procurement.” HST HSToday Magazine | April 2009 DHS ROSTER Turning the corner Without disputing the major problems of the past, DHS officials say it’s all becoming old news quickly. Ongoing central office reforms in acquisitions culminated last November in the Acquisition Directive 1022, which put the focus on streamlining and standardizing the development (including program requirements and standards), reviews and overall management of every major DHS investment. It’s what DHS officials are calling a major philosophical and policy shift toward acquisition management, as opposed to mere procurement and contracting. “One of the steps we’ve taken is to strengthen the various aspects of acquisition” over the lifecycle, explained Gunderson, who comes from a US Navy procurement background. Though he is the latest in a long line of senior procurement officials at DHS, experts say he has assembled the best team yet to turn things around. As he said, “A contract is only as good as the information that supports it.” To achieve success, the best-trained staff and the right policies must be in place to manage a contract from start to finish. “About 15 months ago [DHS] established a separate division within the chief procurement office, an acquisition program management division,” he said. Beyond the 1,100 contract officers department-wide, (a far cry from the original 60), Gunderson has helped to assemble teams dealing with program management, logistics, cost estimation, system engineering and testing and evaluations. And where Industry Reviews Most industry insiders and Capitol Hill staff who spoke with Homeland Security Today say there have been honest, positive efforts in recent times. Elevating two career procurement and acquisitions officials— Elaine Duke and Paul Schneider to under secretary for management and deputy sec- Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters 15