‘Houston we can solve procurement problem’ – NASA
Innovative procurement ideas are to be launched into space via a new agency NASA has established.
NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the organization responsible for the US space program, has thrown open the door for “procurement ideas and solutions” to improve its procurement in the future.
NASA said it wants to use procurement to “improve reach, reduce barriers, and ultimately meet and exceed agency goals.”
The agency has set up The NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad (NAIL), managed by its Office of Procurement, to strengthen how it spends $21 billion USD on goods and services, roughly 85% of its spend.
Submissions and ideas are being accepted on a rolling basis, says NASA and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy who suggested no idea is off the table.
“This new framework is an exciting step forward as NASA streamlines its procurement activities, and we’re looking for responses from our workforce, as well as industry,” she said.
“The launchpad is a safe space for anyone, including, but not limited to, contractors, engineers, and program managers of any level, to field and test ideas in a collaborative and managed risk-taking environment to help us improve life for everyone on the planet.”
NASA encouraged bottlenecks to be pointed out “that slow down or block procurements” and called for recommendations on tools and “outside-the-box thinking to optimize activities within procurement work.”
NASA says the NAIL will apply NASA’s culture of exploration and innovation to procurement and overcoming challenges such as NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
“The NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad will serve as a dynamic catalyst for innovation in both procurement and program management processes, tools, and techniques,” said Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Assistant Administrator for the Office of Procurement at NASA Karla Smith Jackson.
Ms Jackson has revealed NASA has been redefining how it purchases through the use of an objective-based procurement strategy to advance its ongoing Moon to Mars initiative
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