Focus on the Profession

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Focus on the Profession

• Lenn Vincent
• National President, NCMA
• 2007 Mid-Year Leadership Conference
• Orlando, Florida

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Objective

• Understand whats happening to the contract
  management profession.
• Learn about the top issues facing the profession.
• Discuss how NCMA is responding to these
  challenges, and how your chapters can be involved.

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NCMA Values and Behaviors
Achieving NCMA Mission and Vision

• People
• Listen, think and dialogue openly, often
• Recognize and celebrate successes
• Achieve unity through fairness and respect for
  all
• Value our current and past board members

• Excellence
• Live NCMA Mission and Vision
• Embrace superior contract management
• Challenge the possible
• Exceed expectations

• Integrity
• Do the right thing
• Be open and honest
• Seek to understandask why

• Commitment
• Be engaged
• Do what you say
• Help each other to be part of the solution
• Question and challenge constructively

• Community
• Be visible in the NCMA community where you work
  live
• Respect work-life balance

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Elements of a Changing Environment

• Acquisition workforce
• Working conditions
• Acquisition rules
• The supply base
• Acquisition of goods and services

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Your Role is Changing

• More strategic presence, to guide organization
  through high risk.
• Relationship manager, to deal with increased
  complexity of value chain.
• Ambidextrous contractually, dealing with both
  buy and sell deals.
• Technology competent, to master new tools being
  fielded by company and customers.
• Multi-tasker, to deal with more projects of
  competing priorities.

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Quick Look at the DemographicsAge

• The typical (median) respondent is 48 years old
  the first reduction in 10 years!

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Our members

• Contract Manager
• Contract Administrator
• Contract Negotiator
• Contracting Officer
• Procurement Specialist
• Buyer

• Accountant
• Price analyst
• Attorney
• Project Manager
• Business Manager
• Sales manager
• Property Administrator
• and many more!

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Quick Look at the DemographicsIndustry

• The bulk of respondents (49) work in private
  industry. 30 work for the federal government
  (including military) 3 for state or local
  governments 4 in professional service firms 7
  in commercial businesses 1 in academia and 5
  elsewhere.

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Quick Look at the DemographicsEducation

• A majority of respondents hold at least a Masters
  degree 40 a Masters, and 5 a Doctorate. 41
  report the Bachelors as their highest educational
  attainment, and most of the rest have had at
  least some college .

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Quick Look at the DemographicsCertification

• Almost half of respondents (45) indicated they
  possess one or more of the certifications asked
  about
• DAWIA Level III (15)
• CPCM (11)
• CFCM (5)
• DAWIA Level II (9
• CPM or APP (4)
• Direct correlation between compensation and
  certification

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DAU and FAI Equivalency for NCMA Certifications

• Equivalency to Legacy DAU Courses approved
  December 13, 2006
• CFCM CON 101 Introduction to Contracting
  (4-week course)
• CPCM CON 202 Intermediate Contracting (2-week
  course) and CON 210 Contract Law (1-week course)
• Equivalency to New DAU Curriculum is under
  review (as of January 2, 2007)

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Implications of DAU Equivalency

• Reduces barrier for entry from Industry to
  Federal service
• Saves up to 7 weeks of an individuals time away
  from the job
• Saves up to 7,000 in training costs (cost of
  attending CON 101, 202, 210 equivalent courses
  with approved private offerors)
• Reduces training backlog for Federal Agencies who
  employ CFCMs and CPCMs in meeting new OFPP
  certification requirements
• Aides in increasing the size of the contractor
  labor pool for 1102 work which has been
  outsourced
• RFPs for such outsourcing typically demand DAWIA
  Level I or Level II qualified personnel
• Increases the market value of the
  certifications and those individuals who hold them

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Quick Look at the DemographicsJob Level

• Asked to indicate which of six choices most
  closely matched their management level, 9 chose
  executive, 16 senior-level, 12 supervisor, 19
  mid-management, 37 experienced
  (non-supervisory), and 4 entry level. A
  near-majority of those working for the federal
  government (48) place themselves in the
  experienced (non-supervisory) category.

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Quick Look at the DemographicsJob Category
contract management 55
purchasing 7
business management 5
subcontract management 3
legal 3
consulting 3
program management 2
policy and analysis 2
others 1 or less

• A related question asked which of 38 choices most
  closely matched respondents' job categories.
  "Contract management" was the runaway choice, at
  55 all others were named by fewer than 10

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Quick Look at the DemographicsJob Title
Manager 29
Specialist 20
Administrator 14
Director 8
Analyst 7
Officer 4
President 3
Vice President 3
others 1 or less

• Asked about specific job titles, respondents most
  frequently named Manager, Specialist, and
  Administrator.

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Issues Affecting the CM Profession
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Job Issues Affecting Our Members
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Federal Contracting Hot Topics

• Congressional oversight and investigations
  (ethics, misspending)
• Acquisition reform
• Acquisition Advisory Panel
• DAPA recommendations
• Acquisition workforce hiring, training and
  certification
• Interagency contracts
• Organizational Conflict of Interest

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NCMA Strategic Objectives

• Creating the Next Generation of CM Professionals
• Call for LDP applications
• Advocacy
• Increase Federal Contracting penetration

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NCMA News

• Governance change
• Certification equivalency
• Macfarlan Research Program
• Chapter Guide
• World Congress 2007
• NES programs
• Leadership
• Cost and Pricing Analysis
• Developing Solicitations and Proposals
• Earned Value Management (EVM)

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NCMA News

• Publications
• CMBOK Annotated
• Desktop Guide 6th Edition
• Technology upgrades
• New membership system Microsoft CRM
• Website management Content Management System
  (CMS)
• Online course system EducationDirector
• Office relocation

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What you can do.

• Lead by your actions
• Be a Chief Courage Officer
• Stay informed on the issues
• Have opinions, and engage in the discussion
• Participate in continuous learning
• Resist cynicism and skepticism
• Participate in your NCMA chapter

Engage in your profession
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Our Future
The future is not a result of choices among
alternative paths offered by the present, but a
place that is created . . . First in the mind,
and then in the will . . . Next in activity. The
future is not some place we are going to, but one
we are creating . . . - John Schaar, Futurist
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For further assistance

• Neal J. Couture, CPCM
• Executive Director
• 571-382-1123
• couture_at_ncmahq.org
• Rita Rose
• Membership Manager
• 571-382-1132
• rrose_at_ncmahq.org
• Wendy Murrah
• Chapter Relations Manager
• 800/344-8096 x411
• murrah_at_ncmahq.org

• Lenn Vincent, RADM, USN (Ret.), Fellow
• President
• 703-805-4944
• lenn.vincent_at_dau.mil
• Ronald Smith, CPCM, Fellow
• President-Elect
• 321-674-3522
• rsmith3082_at_aol.com
• Karen H. Reuter, CPCM, Fellow
• Past President
• 410-884-9001
• khrrdr_at_msn.com