Better Acquisition Planning and Contracts - Term Paper Example

DHS, HHS and NASA preferred proper implementation of policies to ease their work. Moreover, the three departments adopted the need to establish a proper time frame. The three agencies: HHS, DHS and NASA, as well as, USAID developed policies, which formulated various different necessities and levels of supervision for the acquisition planning that was aimed at providing a balance between oversight and time and organizational load. Together, HHS, DHS and NASA opted for a written acquisition plans that were closely related to the fundamentals contained and defined in the federal acquisition regulation.

All the departments and agencies were required to have all their cost approximation and obligations ready during acquisition planning; its aim was to ensure that time consumption and operational costs were minimized. However, NASA and DHS guidance considered the inclusion of essential lessons learned and new skills acquired from the past contracts they have been involved in the acquisition planning. In contrast, the three agencies have established differing conditions on the acquisition planning, for example, the individuals to carry out reviews of the documents (Compton, 2010).

Implementation of the policies established under the acquisition planning took varying approaches. . DHS, on the other hand, stated that the acquisition plans did not provide for acquisitions, for example, urgent situations, acts that had been integrated in an earlier plan already approved or procurements carried out within the mandate of Small Business Research Program (SBRP). NASA, just like HHS stated that acquisition plans did not provide room for un-sourced for proposals. NASA also confirmed their wish that architect-engineering services and research from nongovernmental organizations should not be included in the acquisition plans.

Basing on the dollar awards, DHS, HHS and NASA had different requirements for different levels of grant. DHS viewed that it was essential to have vital information stored in an advanced Acquisition database for all rewards valued below $10 million. DHS proposed that failure to include the information in a database, a written acquisition plan had to be prepared. NASA opted for meetings on procurement strategy, which was aimed at establishing the way forward for awards below $10 million. The main agenda of the meeting was to look for approval of their proposal (Compton, 2010).

HHS and NASA required that written acquisitions be provided for contracts that were way higher than the expectation of the agency; HHS demanded written documents for contracts above $500,000, while NASA opted for documents for any value of $10 million and above. Several elements are essential in an acquisition planning that includes cost, time, need and lessons learned from past contracts. It is very crucial to ensure that proper cost estimations are made so that the awards can cover the proposed use.

The organization requesting for grants should work in collaboration with other stakeholders so that they can coordinate the process. The