The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a strong foundation for its acquisition policies, including best management practices, but the vast majority of its programs fail to meet all the milestone and document requirements as they proceed through the life-cycle, leading to cost growth and schedule delays, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report.
“I think the first thing that DHS needs to do is follow their own policies and procedures on acquisition,” David Maurer, director of Homeland Security and Justice at GAO, told the House Homeland Security Committee yesterday. He said that in the new report, which was released on Wednesday, GAO gave DHS “pretty good marks” for its acquisition policies.
Up until April 2012, the report says that DHS has only verified that four programs met all the requirements for progressing through the acquisition life-cycle and that typically the department’s “leadership has allowed programs it has reviewed to proceed with acquisition activities without meeting these requirements,” GAO says in the report, Homeland Security: DHS Requires More Disciplined Investment Management to Help Meet Mission Needs (GAO-12-833).
Citing DHS officials, the report say that the department’s culture has led to demand for rapidly executing missions over “sound management acquisition practices,” which has led to most major programs being at risk of cost growth and delays. The report says that DHS is aware that it should be more consistent in applying its acquisition policies to programs but that work remains here.
In conducting its investigation, GAO received strong cooperation from DHS, getting responses from 71 of 77 major program offices surveyed. Of the respondents though, 68 reported significant challenges that pose risks, including cost growth and schedule delays. Those challenges include funding instability, workforce shortfalls, or a change in the planned capabilities of the programs after design and development activities were initiated.
The report says that 43 programs reported that their required capabilities were changed after they had already been initiated and of these, half had experienced cost growth or delays.
Regarding workforce shortfalls, 51 percent of the survey respondents had issues here, specifically with government personnel. GAO says its past work has shown that inadequate government staff increases the risk of proper program planning and contractor oversight, “which is often associated with cost growth and schedule slips.”
Following the release of the report, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that given that DHS plans to spend $167 billion over time on its major acquisition programs, it needs to make sure “aggressive department-wide acquisition management must be a priority instead of an afterthought.”