Nasa Procurement Reform PDF Download

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) implementation of its procurement management improvement initiatives. GAO found that: (1) NASA has partially or fully implemented all but one of its eight key procurement management improvement initiatives; (2) the initiatives include establishing a new award fee policy, increasing contractor liability for defective items and inadequate performance, establishing a standardized data set for reporting specific contractor performance measures, reducing the number and value of unpriced contract changes, minimum training requirements for contracting officers' technical representatives (COTR), achieving small and disadvantaged business goals, communicating with industry representatives about procurement issues and concerns, and testing methods to reduce the time and effort applied to the majority of NASA contracting actions; (3) some of the initiatives have partially achieved or exceeded their cost-reduction or schedule goals; and (4) other initiatives may not be fully effective due to planning and implementation problems which include potentially higher contract costs, the lack of clear and complete guidance, and subcontractors' potential unwillingness or inability to participate in NASA procurements due to increased liability.