WASHINGTON, D.C.—USDA Forest Service Job Corps recently completed a critically important acquisition program improvement project. Combining feedback from 285 staff interviews with data from five years of contracts and purchase card transactions, the project was called “Nexus” due to the essential role of procurement at the center of Job Corps program success.

The first phase produced baseline understanding of key procurement issues and their corresponding impact on mission delivery. The findings formed a comprehensive set of program improvement recommendations. The second phase looked at six key focus areas: engineering bottlenecks, roles/responsibilities, key processes, training, early acquisition planning and review of opportunities for contract consolidation. From this, program improvement decisions include: 

• Early acquisition planning and analysis informs leadership decision-making.

• Contracting Officer Representative “Boot Camp” training increases number of CORs.

• Consolidation of national medical and security services contracts improves program efficiency.

• Development of training reference materials increases team knowledge and performance.

• A new simplified acquisition trail maps basic processes (image below). 

• A new framework guides annual acquisition planning.

• Overview of GSA Advantage and Amazon Commercial platforms improves use of these key tools.

• Training on the new dashboard increases access to key program decision support data.

Cyndi Szymanski, Job Corps assistant director for Administration, shared, “The Nexus project helped Job Corps and PPS improve performance and efficiency. We reviewed everything from contract consolidation and program management to staff training and development. The results guide short- and long-term actions for improving our contract management. I am grateful to PPS for their support and ongoing partnership.”