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TheLectern

By Steve Kelman

Blog archive

The Lectern: Talking government-vendor partnerships

Blogger Steve Kelman wants to start a dialogue on the benefits, pitfalls and challenges that come with close collaboration between agencies and contractors:


I have written a few blog posts, and today a column, based on a case study I am doing on a British Ministry of Defence tri-service human resource program, called the joint personnel system. A close vendor-government partnership has characterized the development of the project, and the posts and the column have discussed why the partnership approach appeared -- the two-word answer: past performance -- and what benefits particularly the government derived from this kind of government-vendor relationship.


Because the idea of government-vendor partnership is now under a good deal of attack as some sort of synonym for government capitulation to rapacious contractors, I'd like to see if we can get a dialogue going on this blog on the benefits, pitfalls, challenges, and future of government-vendor partnerships in the IT and/or other contracting areas. Does a partnership approach benefit the government usually, sometimes, or seldom/never? If only sometimes, what are the pitfalls the government needs to watch out for? If there are benefits from a partnership approach, how can they best be achieved?


Contributions -- including comments on the posts of others -- to this discussion are welcome. I'd love to hear from government folks (with real names or not), industry and others outside government/industry. Even "Connie the Contractor" is welcome, though s/he is probably not really a contractor.


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Posted by Steve Kelman on Mar 24, 2008 at 7:03 PM


Reader comments

Tue, Jul 8, 2008 Mike Zanon

Interesting article. I am joining to learn what others' experiences have been...good or bad. We're giving serious consideration to strategic vendor partnership model with in the Oregon Judicial Dept.

Tue, Jul 8, 2008 Mike Zanon

Interesting article. I am joining to learn what others' experiences have been...good or bad. We're giving serious consideration to strategic vendor partnership model with in the Oregon Judicial Dept.

Thu, Apr 3, 2008 Charles Roberts

Emory Miller has it right. Commitment from both sides of the partnership to mission success and the integrity of all involved are crucial to success in government-industry partnerships. They can overcome weaknesses in project governance -- e.g., metrics -- because these traits are fundamental and inform every transaction. They are essential in overcoming the inevitable obstacles that arise from imperfect planning. Without them project failure is virtually certain. With them, even less than optimally planned projects can produce worthwhile results.

Fri, Mar 28, 2008 Emory Miller

I like to say contractors and government are “kin.” What I mean, of course, is…the government and its contractors are closely aligned around a common set of objectives. They have different motives (i.e., mission or profit), but at a level, they come together. They share accountabilities to deliver against the contract. They share objectives to achieve the outcomes of the contract. And, at contract end, they share the successes (and/or failures) of a contract. Well-designed, written, and executed contracts should yield win/win results that are tied to outcomes delivered to an end customer. The government wins because it achieves the outcomes of the contract; the contractor wins because the government achieves the outcomes of the contract. Achieving this kind of collaboration between the government and a contractor is not always easy and not just the result of good contract writing. It occurs when leadership shares a joint vision to be successful.

Thu, Mar 27, 2008 M M

I think if the government could manage to clear and taxpayer aligned performance objectives, maintain transparency, and sustain fair competition - the sky is the limit for partnership. In fact, I don't believe the government should buy solutions any other way.

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