Upcoming Center Events
OTAs & Everything Else
Webinar Registration
1:00 to 2:00 pm
August 11, 2020
Join us for a Special Edition of the Acquisition Talk Podcast series hosted by Eric Lofgren on breaking down barriers to entry in government contracting. Eric, also a Fellow at the Center for Government Contracting, will interview procurement expert Benjamin McMartin of the Public Spend Forum on the past, present, and future of contracting using Other Transactions Authority. What does military modernization look like? How do we go beyond innovation theater? Will new firms transition at scale in the defense industry? Join in the discussion and get your questions answered by Ben in a webinar event presented by George Mason's Center for Government Contracting.
SPEAKERS
Benjamin McMartin
Managing Partner
Public Spend Forum
Benjamin McMartin is Managing Partner of the Public Spend Forum, a Washington DC-based firm dedicated to enabling open public markets worldwide. Ben is a nationally recognized expert, and speaker in Federal procurement and non-traditional acquisition methodologies, who spent more than a decade developing some of the most unique procurement solutions for the Department of Defense. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of defense policy and guidance for the use of Other Transaction Authorities and is a regular speaker on topics related to alternative acquisition methods, public procurement culture, and acquisition reform.
Eric Lofgren
Fellow and Webinar Moderator
Center for Government Contracting
Eric Lofgren is a Research Fellow at the Center for Government Contracting in the School of Business at George Mason University (GMU) where he performs research writes and leads initiatives on business, policy, regulatory, and other issues in government contracting. He manages the daily blog Acquisition Talk and produces a podcast with the same name where he speaks with leading experts in the field.
The DoD Budget Process: The Next Frontier of Acquisition Reform
Webinar Registration
2:30 to 4:00 pm EST
August 19, 2020
The budget process is the "master controller" of virtually everything that is done in the Department of Defense, yet it hasn't seen real reform since 1961. The current "waterfall" process from the industrial era requires prediction and control of programs from two years out, and then locks them in for five or more years into the future. Defense acquisition studies have repeatedly asserted the need to move away from program-centric stovepipes and toward portfolio-centric management. Yet half of all Research, Development, Test & Evaluation programs proposed for FY2021 are less than $29 million, with limited flexibility to take advantage of new opportunities. Join Bob Daigle, Bill Greenwalt and Katharina McFarland for a conversation about a constructive proposal to address the next frontier of acquisition reform: the DoD budget process.
SPEAKERS
The Honorable Bob Daigle
Director of Strategy
Rebellion Defense
Bob Daigle is Director of Strategy at Rebellion Defense, a technology startup. Before that, he was Director of the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation Office responsible for overseeing the Planning-Programming-Budgeting-Execution Process. He also served as a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee, an executive in several government and business organizations, and as an Army soldier.
Bill Greenwalt
Visiting Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
Bill Greenwalt is a Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an advisor and consultant to a number of government and private sector organizations. He is an expert in defense innovation, acquisition, industrial base and public management issues and served in senior positions at the Pentagon as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, in Congress on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and in the defense industry.
The Honorable Katharina McFarland
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
With over 30 years of government service, Katharina (Katrina) McFarland is widely recognized as a leading subject-matter expert on government procurement. In addition to the Defense Intelligence Memorial Foundation, she serves on the board of directors of SAIC, Chairman of the Board of Army Research and Development at the National Academies of Science, Commissioner of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, and as a Director on the Procurement Round Table. She was previously the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology). She is an accredited Materials, Mechanical, Civil and Electronics Engineer. She has received an Honorary Doctoral of Engineering from the University of Cranfield, United Kingdom; the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Department of the Navy Civilian Tester of the Year Award, and the Navy and United States Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service.
Community Interests
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Events
The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce is a partner of George Mason University, with the Center engaged in the Chamber's Government Contracting Council. Here is a link to their Events Calendar.
SECAF Events
SECAF, the Small Advisory Contractors Advisory Forum, has numerous events of interest to the GovCon community. See their Events Calendar for further details.
Reston Chamber of Commerce
The Reston Chamber of Commerce is holding the 8th Annual NoVA B2G Matchmaking Conference & Expo Thursday, August 27th as an online event!
Register and Information
Registration includes Keynotes from Andrew Ko, Global Director at Amazon Web Services and Antonio Doss of SBA, Matchmaking, Educational sessions on “Managing through Disruption,” and a Virtual Expo Hall.