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Acquisition Corner

By Matthew Weigelt

Blog archive

David Gragan, the next OFPP administrator?

As early as next week, the White House may announce its nominee for the administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, a source said today. The source also offered a possible name: David Gragan, the chief procurement officer for the District of Columbia.

D.C.’s bio of Gragan:

"David Gragan is the chief procurement officer for the District of Columbia having been appointed by Mayor Adrian Fenty in June 2007. Prior to joining the District government, he spent several years serving state and local governments as a consultant on public procurement best practices and strategic sourcing. He has been a public contracting professional since 1993, when he became the chief procurement officer for the State of Indiana. He subsequently served the State of Texas in the same capacity. Dave has been honored with the distinguished service awards of both the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) and the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). He is a certified public procurement officer and a lifetime member of NASPO, as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the National Contract Management Association. Before embarking on his public procurement career, Dave was a signals intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Southern California."

If Gragan is the one, Vivek Kundra, another former D.C. government official and now federal chief information officer, may have advocated for his nomination as he helped Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, hunt down a nominee.

Many names have been bounced around as possible nominees and many have been discredited or brushed off. But the position needs to be filled. President Barack Obama wants contracting reforms, Congress wants reforms, and they aren’t waiting around for someone to fill the top procurement policy job. The reforms have hit the Defense Department in Obama's comments, a presidential memo and in legislation — all in the short time Obama has been in office. Gragan has experience with the Armed Services as well as the civilian side of contracting, albeit at a state level.

Questions:

Have you heard the same name as a possible nominee?

How does a D.C. government guy go about leading all the federal government’s procurement policy officers?

Posted by Matthew Weigelt on Sep 01, 2009 at 10:08 AM


Reader comments

Wed, Sep 2, 2009 SP Mayor

Thank you for sharing and providing a better perspective and understanding of why this appointment should be viewed in a positive and hopeful light.

Wed, Sep 2, 2009 David Yarkin

I want to echo Rick Grimm's comments about David. David is among the most well respected and progressive procurement directors within the state and local procurement community. I had the pleasure of interviewing David a few months ago for Government Procurement Journal about whether David could turn around DC's procurement shop that was universally believed to be enormously challenged. I think if you read the column (http://govsourcing.com/pdf/sourcing/February_08_GovPro_Column.pdf) you will be impressed (with David's qualifications and approach to procurement - not my prose!).

Wed, Sep 2, 2009 Rick Grimm CPPO CPPB NIGP

I was pleasantly surprised and honored to see that David Gragan is being considered for the OFPP position - if only through this blog. As a personal friend and professional colleague for many years, I can attest that David would bring a wealth of public procurement experience, skill and leadership that he earned with state and local governments to the federal scene. Mr. Gragan's public service is anchored in procurement principles and best value practices that are pervasive and consistent at all levels of government. (And it should be noted that David is perhaps the best candidate to bridge the chasm that currently exists between federal procurement professionals and their counterparts in state/local governments. This chasm creates an unnatural barrier to employment portability as well as professional development, certification, resource sharing, and networking. It's one profession that should not be segmented by where you work.) Equally important, he demands accountability, ethical behavior, transparency, and the fair and equitable treatment of the supplier community. He understands the ultimate, positive impact that procurement and contracting provides to the financial bottom line of governments. And finally, his dogged determination to enhance procurement's role as a strategic player rather than solely a regulator is beginning to pay dividends at the mal-aligned District offices. Several comments on this blog point to the poor record of DC government over the past decades. Much of this criticism is warranted. However, when Mayor Fenty won his election, he assembled a team of some of the most innovative and committed public servants available in the marketplace. The Mayor demonstrated a top-down commitment to public procurement through the appointment of David Gragan two years ago. From my vantage point, President Obama has made this same top-down commitment to ensure that federal business is performed in the light of day. With the administration's commitment and support, there is hope for transformation that will empower public procurement professionals at every level of the governmental spectrum. Finally, procurement professionals will be recognized for their value as key contributors to good government. Let's be clear: the administration's commitment and support is essential in order for professional leaders like David Gragan to be successful. This is a critical decision for the federal government and the profession we serve. Let's make sure we get the right person for the job! Rick Grimm, CPPO, CPPB - Chief Executive, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP)

Wed, Sep 2, 2009

Done a little research and although there have been some negative things, DC has made some positive changes and won quite a few awards in the Procurement community since the current CPO has been there.

Wed, Sep 2, 2009 SP Mayor

Please enlighten me : what is great about this appointment? In this context it looks like a throw-away phrase.

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