WASHINGTON, D.C. - A 45-day program review underway aims to enable timely and effective EM decision-making, Acting EM Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff told more than 50 people at the latest procurement forum on July 13.
“What I see the major thing we’re challenged with is timely decisions," Owendoff said at EM’s 11th quarterly Business Opportunity Forum. “How do we make timely decisions, either we’re going to do something or we’re not going to do something."
The review, which Owendoff initiated in late June, seeks to identify program decisions that need immediate or short-term focus, and ones that can simmer, he said.
“We’re looking at what ones the site managers can make, which ones can we make up here (at EM headquarters) and which ones do we need to engage with the Deputy (Secretary) and with the Secretary," Owendoff said. “That’s the long and short of it with the review."
“And one of those key areas is contracting," Owendoff said. “We’re genuinely looking for ways to get those decisions made quicker."
Organized by EM’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management, the forum allows companies to get the latest news on doing business with EM and participate in dialogue about the program’s business opportunities. Dozens of people also joined the outreach event remotely.
Owendoff’s message was underscored by Ralph Holland, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management. The 45-day review extends from EM’s concentration on being “agile and crisp and being able to focus on what’s really relevant," Holland said.
“That’s very relevant to what we’ve been doing for the last year in contracting," he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of internal things focused on making the decision-making process more agile."
For instance, “It’s not necessarily visible to folks in industry but we’ve reduced the number of internal directives in the area of acquisition from more than 30 down to eight," Holland said. Additionally, EM is working to further standardize practices for businesses.
The goal “is to make the acquisition process work better," Holland said.
Norbert Doyle, EM Acquisition and Project Management Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, guided the audience to segments of the EM public website devoted to program management and procurement resources. Navigating the site “may give you some business intelligence as to where you want to put your focus going forward," he said.
Throughout the two-hour session, Doyle answered questions about the appropriate contacts within EM, the role of the EM Consolidated Business Center, and opportunities for small business.
“We take our work with industry very seriously," Doyle said. “We want to work with you. We cannot succeed in EM without industry and you can’t claim success if we’re not doing the cleanup in an efficient manner for the taxpayers."
The next EM Business Opportunity Forum is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Knoxville, Tennessee in conjunction with the Business Opportunities Conference organized by the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
