The Challenge of Contracting Large Complex Projects -- A Case Study of the Coast Guard's Deepwater Program

Guest Post from RADM Gary Blore, CG-9

Over the last year, a number of Coast Guard senior leaders and members of our acquisition staffs participated with a project sponsored by the IBM Center for the Business of Government; entitled "The Challenge of Contracting for Large Complex Projects: A Case Study of the Coast Guard's Deepwater Program." While much has been written about the Coast Guard's original Deepwater acquisition strategy, how it was meant to work, and how it actually performed -- this is the first comprehensive overview I have read constructed from validated data. Pulling information from a variety of sources, the authors: Trevor L. Brown, Associate Professor, John Glenn School of Public Affairs, Ohio State University; Matthew Potoski, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Iowa State University; and David M. Van Slyke, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and Senior Research Associate, Campbell Institute of Public Affairs; detail the motivations behind the original acquisition strategy, why it was chosen, what worked well, what disappointed, and how the structure of the original contract supported and sometimes impeded Coast Guard recapitalization. The authors then go on to demonstrate how the Coast Guard reacted to the "new reality," and "stepped up to the plate" to reform our acquisition processes. A second report will continue to assess how well the Coast Guard's acquisition and contracting changes have faired.

The report draws three final conclusions as "Lessons for the Future;" that the effective acquisition of complex products requires: (1) an expanded and more highly skilled acquisition workforce; (2) a better understanding of risk; and (3) an investment in learning. As the Coast Guard's Assistant Commandant for Acquisition, I think they "got it right" -- and agree that these three precepts are necessary to the success of any large, federal acquisition enterprise. I'm also confident that the acquisition reforms that the Coast Guard has made over the last two years have fully incorporated the authors' recommendations, and we are a much better organization for having done so.

Rear Admiral Gary T. Blore
Assistant Commandant for Acquisition (CG-9),
Chief Acquisition Officer