FAIR Institute Weighs In on ‘Insourcing’ Policies

Experts Urge Caution and Propose Guidelines
For Identifying the Right Positions to Insource

Washington, DC—The Federal Acquisition Innovation and Reform Institute (FAIR) (thefairinstitute.org) today released a report urging caution but also providing guidance, as the government moves to insource a portion of their workforce.

“FAIR wholeheartedly supports efforts to “insource” critical functions and positions so that the government possesses adequate organic capability to address the challenging and daunting tasks ahead of us. At the same time, however, we recommend that the administration, Congress, and agencies proceed with caution, through a deliberate and systematic approach to insourcing based on facts and analysis, not innuendo and rhetoric. Rushing to undo what has been in the making for years, perhaps decades, will be counterproductive,” the report states.

The report, authored by President of FAIR Raj Sharma and titled, “The Move to ‘Insourcing’: Proceed with Caution,” identifies critical areas that should be addressed, as well as three types of positions that should be considered for possible insourcing: inherently governmental positions, agency core competencies and long-term contracted positions.

Inherently Governmental Positions: The report cites Policy Letter 92-1 which characterized inherently governmental activities as those requiring, “governmental decision making because they are so intimately related to the public interest that no ulterior motivation can be allowed to arise concerning those choices and those activities.”

Agency Core Competencies: This is a more ambiguous category to define, but by “systematically assessing whether positions involve true core competencies, agencies can base their decisions on a consistent fact based process,” the report states.

Long-Term Contracted Positions: In identifying these positions, policy should consider if the positions will be required for at least another five years, and if cost/benefit analysis shows government can perform more efficiently and at lower cost that contractors.

Once these positions are identified, FAIR recommends a series of common sense guidelines for implementation including identifying the mission critical positions and improving human resources process.

The FAIR report concludes that with President Obama’s call for public service and the current economic crisis, now is a good time to attract the best people to government service. However, it will require a clear plan, thoughtful strategy and systematic changes to the HR system.

“Through a collaborative effort and deliberate thinking, we can surely have a government capable of addressing the myriad of challenges we face today,” concludes the report.

The FAIR Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit* organization being led by several leaders in acquisition and supply management. The Board of Directors consists of the leaders in acquisition and supply management from private industry, government and academia including Raj Sharma, President/CEO of Censeo Consulting Group, Dr. Allan V. Burman, Co-Chair of the FAIR Board, former Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and President of Jefferson Solutions, David Nelson, former Senior Executive in Procurement with Honda of America and chair emeritus of the Institute of Supply Management, David Litman former Senior Procurement Executive for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Joseph Sandor, Hoagland-Metzler Professor of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, one of the leading supply chain programs in the world. The Institute’s priorities include providing input and recommendations to decision makers within OMB, Congress and federal agencies on comprehensive acquisition and workforce reform as well as implementation of the stimulus funding.

This report is the second in a series to be released by FAIR. To view the report in its entirety, as well as previous reports, visit thefairinstitute.org. FAIR plans to continue publishing research, bring together policy makers through conferences and events, and act as resources for Congressional leaders as they address the issue of acquisition reform.

The initial funding for FAIR is being provided by Censeo Consulting Group as part of its core mission to ensure the efficient use of taxpayer dollars.