United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-02-01 monographic deposited born digital 38 p. GA 1.13:HR-97-13 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13 P0b002ee18037e4c4 f:hr97013 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13 HR-97-13 Risk management Federal procurement Competitive procurement Contract administration Contractor performance Procurement policies GOCO Radioactive waste disposal Cost control Privatization DOE Superconducting Super Collider Project High Risk Series 1997 Other Written Product GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) implementation of its contract reform initiative, focusing on DOE's continued use of noncompetitively awarded contracts to operate its major facilities.<p/>GAO found that: (1) a major contract reform effort now under way and receiving high priority and visibility at DOE raises expectations for improvement; (2) responding to continued criticism of DOE's contract management, in 1993 the Secretary of Energy established a Contract Reform Team; (3) the Reform Team evaluated the Department's contracting practices and, in its February 1994 report, recommended nearly 50 actions to fundamentally change DOE's contracting practices; (4) in response, DOE has made progress in developing an array of policies and procedures; (5) in addition, DOE is including incentives to improve performance and control costs in its contracts; (6) DOE also has initiated a new approach for some environmental cleanup work in an attempt to shift much of the risk and responsibility onto the contractor; (7) although DOE has made headway, most of the completed actions were delayed, which will push back the implementation of the final reforms accordingly; (8) the changes proposed in DOE's current reforms, which are unprecedented in scope within DOE, provide a comprehensive plan to address the problems resulting from its past contracting practices; (9) this effort will require time as the current contracts are either competitively awarded or noncompetitively renewed with the reform provisions incorporated into the contracts; (10) continued high-level monitoring and oversight by DOE will be needed to identify problems, standardize the best practices, and make needed corrections as DOE makes its way through these changes; and (11) DOE should competitively award its management and operating contracts to the greatest extent possible and link the contractors' goals to DOE's strategic goals. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13/html/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13.pdf GAO/HR-97-13 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HR-97-13 Other Written Product GAO/HR-97-13; High-Risk Series: Department of Energy Contract Management; Risk management Federal procurement Competitive procurement Contract administration Contractor performance Procurement policies GOCO Radioactive waste disposal Cost control Privatization DOE Superconducting Super Collider Project High Risk Series 1997