[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 73 (Monday, April 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20181-20182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7651]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

Office of Federal Procurement Policy


Publication of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) 
Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy.

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 37(b)(3) of the OFPP Act, as 
amended (41 U.S.C. 433(b)(3)), the Administrator for Federal 
Procurement Policy is authorized to issue policies to promote uniform 
implementation of a program to develop the federal acquisition 
workforce. OFPP is publishing Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and 
Managing the Acquisition Workforce, which more broadly defines the 
acquisition workforce and more closely aligns civilian and defense 
acquisition workforce requirements. This Policy Letter applies to all 
executive agencies, except those subject to the Defense Acquisition 
Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) (10 U.S.C. 1741-46).
    OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 supersedes and rescinds OFPP Policy Letter 
92-3, Procurement Professionalism Program Policy--Training for 
Contracting Personnel, and Policy Letter 97-01, Procurement System 
Education, Training and Experience Requirements for Acquisition 
Personnel.

DATES: The effective date of OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 is April 15, 
2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lesley A. Field, Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 9013, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 
(202 395-7579 or 202 395-4761).
    Availability: OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 and rescinded Policy Letters 
92-3 and 97-01 may be obtained on: http://www.acqnet.gov/AcqNet/Library/OFPP/PolicyLetters. Paper copies of these documents may be 
obtained by calling (202) 395-7579.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The development and professionalism of the 
federal acquisition workforce is a priority for OFPP and supports the 
Office of Management and Budget's focus on human capital and financial 
management. The acquisition workforce is a federal asset upon which the 
government depends for mission accomplishment, and OFPP is committed to 
ensuring that the workforce is trained and developed to meet the 
government's current and future mission needs.
    The principal purposes of Policy Letter 05-01 are: (1) To define 
the acquisition workforce to include additional acquisition-related 
functions and create a multi-disciplined acquisition community, (2) to 
align the civilian (non-Department of Defense) and defense acquisition 
workforce training requirements, and (3) to emphasize the importance to 
federal managers and the workforce of continuous learning, to include 
training on critical subjects such as ethics, performance-based 
contracting, and other timely and topical areas.
    The acquisition function continues to become more integrated into 
agency core business processes, and the developmental needs of the 
workforce are changing. This progression is reflected in the Services 
Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA) (Pub. L. 108-136), which defines 
acquisition more broadly to include, among traditional contracting 
functions, requirements definition, measurement of contract 
performance, and technical and management direction. Additionally, SARA 
requires agency Chief Acquisition Officers to develop and maintain an 
acquisition career management program and ensure the development of an 
adequate, professional workforce. Policy Letter 05-01 articulates 
specific responsibilities to implement these SARA requirements.
    OFPP Policy Letters 92-3 and 97-01, which are rescinded, 
established an emphasis on the development of the acquisition workforce 
but did not prescribe a core, government-wide curriculum. Policy Letter 
92-3 established standards for skill-based training in contracting and 
purchasing functions and articulated core tasks. Policy Letter 97-01, 
which was developed in response to the requirements of the Clinger-
Cohen Act of 1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401(3)), required senior procurement 
executives to develop agency career management programs and establish 
policies and procedures, including training requirements, to ensure 
that the workforce was trained adequately. While these letters 
established a strong framework for managing the workforce, training 
content and delivery were not necessarily consistent across civilian 
agencies or consistent with the defense acquisition workforce 
requirements prescribed by DAWIA.
    Policy Letter 05-01 aligns core civilian agency acquisition 
workforce training requirements with those for the defense workforce. 
The Department of Defense (DOD) curriculum reflects the competencies 
required to perform the tasks articulated in Policy Letter 92-3, and 
later referenced in Policy Letter 97-01. This alignment will ensure 
that our federal acquisition workforce has common, core training, and 
will promote workforce mobility. Section 1.603-2 of the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 1) will be modified to reflect the 
requirements of the new Letter.
    The Letter also emphasizes the importance of continuous learning. 
For example, employees in the GS-1102 series will now need eighty 
continuous learning points every two years--twice the current 
requirement. This emphasis on continuous learning in areas such as 
ethics, performance-based contracting, and other critical areas, 
ensures that federal managers and the acquisition workforce adhere to 
ethical contracting practices, apply sound business judgment, and 
otherwise engage in responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Many 
of these continuous learning opportunities are available free of charge 
on the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) Web site on http://www.fai.gov and through the Defense Acquisition University on http://www.dau.mil.
    FAI and DAU are forming a partnership to advance the capabilities 
of our federal acquisition workforce. To address the changing nature of 
the acquisition environment, DAU is currently restructuring the 
contracting curriculum. As new courses are completed, course content 
will be made available to training providers to obtain equivalencies 
for the new offerings. Civilian agencies depend on the private training 
provider community for course delivery, and these providers need time 
to develop core courses and request equivalencies. Additionally, 
employees may already be scheduled to take

[[Page 20182]]

comparable courses or may have completed a significant part of the 
previous DOD curriculum. Therefore, civilian agencies should use 
October 1, 2005, as a general guideline in adopting the DOD curriculum, 
but may reasonably extend the transition time to accommodate agency and 
employee needs. FAI will provide guidance and information on transition 
as the coursework is developed and classes become available.

David H. Safavian,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-7651 Filed 4-13-05; 3:14 pm]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-P