AcqDemo

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1996, as amended by section 845 of the NDAA for FY 1998, allowed the Department of Defense (DoD), with approval of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to conduct a personnel demonstration project with its civilian acquisition workforce. The DoD Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) was implemented on February 7, 1999, in accordance with the Federal Register notice (64 FR 1426), January 8, 1999. AcqDemo was an opportunity to re-engineer the civilian personnel system to meet the needs of the Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) Workforce and to facilitate the fulfillment of the DoD acquisition mission.

The purpose of AcqDemo was to demonstrate that the effectiveness of the AT&L Workforce could be further enhanced by allowing greater direct managerial control over personnel functions and, at the same time, expanding the opportunities available to employees through a more responsive and flexible personnel system. It was designed to provide managers the authority, control, and flexibility needed to better manage the AT&L Workforce, with the immediate goal of enhancing the quality and professionalism of that workforce, and the ultimate goal of providing the best acquisition systems for the DoD.

The AcqDemo Project implemented ten civilian personnel system changes, or interventions, designed to overcome the limitations of the existing title 5 personnel system. Together, the AcqDemo interventions:

• Delegated and streamlined position classification and assignment processes;
• Gave managers a wider range of applicants and the ability to set pay;
• Linked pay and awards to employee contribution to mission; and
• Rewarded high contributors, and encouraged low contributors to improve.

Similarly, AcqDemo was designed to provide the following opportunities to employees:

• Allow rapid advancement without cumbersome promotion procedures;
• Provide flexibility to adequately compensate (salaries and awards) employees;
• Link employee work assignments to the mission of the organization; and
• Expand opportunities for training and development.

Success for the AcqDemo Project was focused on the achievement of three broad objectives: Improved Management of the AT&L Workforce; Improved Human Resources Management Systems; and Improved Mission Accomplishment. In addition to these three broad objectives, the Federal Register listed five expected outcomes for the demonstration project:

• Increased Quality in the AT&L Workforce and the Products it Acquires;
• Increased Timeliness of Key Personnel Processes;
• Workforce Data Trends Toward Higher Retention Rates of "High Contributors" and Higher Separation Rates of "Low Contributors";
• Increased Satisfaction of Serviced DoD Customers with the Acquisition Process and its Products; and
• Increased Workforce Satisfaction with the Personnel Management System.

DoD intends to move The AcqDemo Project will end upon transition of all AcqDemo participants into the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The transition of AcqDemo participants is projected to continue through at least January/February 2008.

Until such time that all participants are converted out of AcqDemo, Defense Procurement (DPAP) Office will maintain all centrally provided services in support of participating organizations to include operation and maintenance of automated employee appraisal and pay systems and interface with the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System; technical support of pay pools and pay pool managers; policy and procedure interpretation and assistance; and assistance to Component personnel on use of automated appraisal and pay system software. In addition, the DPAP Office will coordinate with and assist the NSPS Program Executive Office in the transition process.