Acquisition workforce

(a) Experiential learning Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Institute shall establish a pilot program to consider the incorporation of experiential learning into the Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting Officer’s Representative Program, and the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers Program, or any successor program. (b) Training on information and communications technology acquisition (1) In general Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, and in consultation with the heads of other executive agencies as determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, shall develop and implement or otherwise provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program for acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring information and communications technology. The training shall do the following: (A) Include learning objectives related to market research, communicating with industry and industry perspectives on the procurement process, including how investment decisions are impacted by Government communication and engagement, developing requirements, acquisition planning, best practices for developing and executing outcome-based contracts, and source selection strategy, evaluating proposals, and awarding and administering contracts for information and communications technology. (B) Include learning objectives that provide a basic understanding of key technologies executive agencies need, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-enabled applications, and cybersecurity solutions. (C) Include learning objectives that encourage the use of commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf technologies to the greatest extent practicable. (D) Include case studies of lessons learned from Federal information and communications technology procurements and contracts, and related matters as determined to be relevant by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute. (E) Include experiential learning opportunities, and opportunities to practice acquisition teaming involving collaboration of team members with varied relevant domain expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks, including tasks with accelerated timelines. (F) Include continuous learning recommendations and resources to keep the skills of acquisition workforce members current, including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business practices commonly used in commercial buys. (G) Be made available to acquisition workforce members designated by a Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity to participate in the training program. (H) Inform executive agencies about streamlined and alternative procurement methods for procurement of information and communications technology, including— (i) simplified procedures for certain commercial products and commercial services in accordance with subpart 13.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prize competitions under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–358), competitive programs that encourage businesses to engage in Federal research or research and development with the potential for commercialization, and joint venture partnerships; (ii) innovative procurement techniques designed to streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to entry, such as use of oral presentations and product demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals, appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based contracting, and other techniques discussed on the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations or other similar successor knowledge management portals; and (iii) information on appropriate use, examples and templates, and any other information determined relevant by the Administrator to assist contracting officers and other members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures described in clauses (i) and (ii). (I) Incorporate learning objectives to identify and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure the protection of established privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties in the procurement process. (2) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute shall provide to the relevant committees of Congress, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and the Chief Information Officers Council— (A) a report on the progress of the Director in developing and implementing or otherwise providing the information and communications technology acquisition training described in paragraph (1); and (B) a list of any acquisition training that the Director determines to be outdated or no longer necessary. (3) Duration The training program shall be updated as appropriate, but at least every 2 years after implementation, and offered for a minimum of 6 years following the date of implementation of the training program. (c) Acquisition workforce training fund Section 1703(i)(3) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking Five percent and inserting Seven and a half percent. (d) Harmonization of acquisition workforce training requirements Section 2 of the Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act (Public Law 117–207; 41 U.S.C. 1703 note) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking Director. —The term Director means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. and inserting Administrator. —The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services.. (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking Director, in coordination with the Administrator of General Services and any other person determined relevant by the Director and inserting Administrator, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; (B) in paragraph (4), by striking Director and inserting Administrator; (C) in paragraph (5), by striking Director and inserting Administrator; and (D) in paragraph (6), by striking Director and inserting Administrator.

(a) Experiential learning Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute may establish a pilot program to consider the incorporation of experiential learning into the Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives program, the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers program, or any successor program. (b) Training on information and communications technology acquisition (1) In general Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, and in consultation with the heads of other executive agencies as determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, may develop and implement or otherwise provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program for members of the acquisition workforce involved in acquiring information and communications technology that shall do the following: (A) Include learning objectives related to the following: (i) Market research. (ii) Communicating with and considering industry perspectives on the procurement process, including how investment decisions are impacted by Government communication and engagement. (iii) Developing requirements, acquisition planning, best practices for developing and executing outcome-based contracts, and source selection strategy. (iv) Evaluating proposals. (v) Awarding and administering contracts for information and communications technology. (B) Include learning objectives that provide a basic understanding of key technologies that executive agencies need, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-enabled applications, and cybersecurity solutions. (C) Include learning objectives that encourage the use of commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf technologies to the greatest extent practicable. (D) Include case studies of lessons learned from Federal information and communications technology procurements and contracts, and related matters as determined to be relevant by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute. (E) Include experiential learning opportunities and opportunities to practice collaborative acquisition strategies involving team members with varied relevant domain expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks, including tasks with accelerated timelines. (F) Include continuous learning recommendations and resources to keep the skills of members of the acquisition workforce current, including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business practices commonly used in commercial buys. (G) Be made available to members of the acquisition workforce designated by a Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity to participate in the training program. (H) Inform executive agencies about streamlined and alternative procurement methods for the procurement of information and communications technology, including the following: (i) Simplified procedures for certain commercial products and commercial services in accordance with subpart 13.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prize competitions under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–358), competitive programs that encourage businesses to engage in Federal research or research and development with the potential for commercialization, and joint venture partnerships. (ii) Innovative procurement techniques designed to streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to entry, such as the use of oral presentations and product demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals, appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based contracting, and other techniques discussed on the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations or other similar successor knowledge management portals. (iii) Information on appropriate use, examples and templates, and any other information determined relevant by the Administrator to assist contracting officers and other members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures and techniques described in clauses (i) and (ii). (I) Incorporate learning objectives to identify and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure the protection of established privacy rights, civil rights, and civil liberties in the procurement process. (2) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute shall provide to the relevant committees of Congress, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and the Chief Information Officers Council— (A) a report on the progress of the Director in developing and implementing or otherwise providing the training program described in paragraph (1); and (B) a list of any acquisition training that the Director determines to be outdated or no longer necessary. (3) Duration The training program described in paragraph (1) may be updated as appropriate (but not less frequently than once every 2 years after implementation), and offered not less than 6 years following the date of implementation of the training program. (c) Acquisition workforce training fund Section 1703(i)(3) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking Five percent and inserting Seven and a half percent. (d) Harmonization of acquisition workforce training requirements Section 2 of the Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act (Public Law 117–207; 41 U.S.C. 1703 note) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking Director. —The term Director means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. and inserting Administrator. —The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services.; and (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking Director, in coordination with the Administrator of General Services and any other person determined relevant by the Director and inserting Administrator, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; (B) in paragraph (4), by striking Director and inserting Administrator; (C) in paragraph (5), by striking Director and inserting Administrator; and (D) in paragraph (6), by striking Director and inserting Administrator.