CATEGORY: INNOVATION IN OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Innovation in Overcoming Obstacles:
Ensuring Mission Continuity Through Acquisition Agility B Y CAPT. JORDAN LINDLEY, USAF
While serving in the 771st Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (771 ESS) under the Air Force Installation Contracting Center (AFICC), I faced an acquisition challenge that required quick thinking, innovative application of acquisition flexibilities, and close col- laboration across functional communities. The requirement centered on continuing services for the Advana platform, owned by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO). Advana (derived from “Advancing Analytics”) is the Department of the Air Force’s centralized data and analytics environment. Advana supports more than 100,000 account holders across 55+ Department of Defense (DoD) organizations and operates on three accredited networks: NIPRNet, SIPRNet, and JWICS. The platform enhances strategic decision-making processes to streamline operations and uses responsible implementation and utilization of these technologies to support the Department’s mission. A lapse in service would have had immediate operational and reputational consequences across the Department. However, during the June 2024 Advanced Analytics Multiple Award Contract (AAMAC) kickoff meeting, it became clear that the requirement would not be awarded before the existing Advana contract expired on 31 January 2025. The requirement owner identified the need for a short-term solution, 12 months with a 12-month option year, to prevent a lapse and reached out to us for assistance. The challenge was significant. According to Defense Acquisition University (DAU) guidance, a traditional FAR Part 15 source selection typically requires between 197 to 308 days, depending on the use of discussions. From finalization of the requirement package, a standard timeline projected contract award to be no earlier than end of February to mid-June of 2025, well beyond the current contracts period of performance. The risk of service interruption was real and unacceptable. Rather than accept traditional timelines, I applied independent judgment and innovative acquisition strategies to compress the award schedule while preserving competition and compliance with regulations. Solution 1. Leveraging Acquisition Flexibilities and Early Team Integration Following a Request for Information (RFI) posted to SAM.gov in August 2024, we received 19 responses (7 large businesses and 11 small businesses). Initially, the requirement owner did not believe a small business could meet the complexity and scale of this artificial intelligence requirement. Instead of defaulting to a large-business, full and open acquisition under FAR Part 15, I worked with the requirement owner to refine evaluation questions and assess market capabilities critically. Through structured market analysis, we identified five highly qualified vendors on the Alliant 2 Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). This discovery was pivotal. By utilizing FAR 16.505 fair opportunity procedures under Alliant 2 instead of a FAR 15.3 source selection, we significantly re- duced administrative lead time while maintaining competition. This decision demonstrated innovative use of existing acquisition flexibilities emphasizing tailored acquisition approaches. Early integration of the entire acquisition team was essential to this execution. Contracting, the Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE), policy experts, legal and CDAO technical experts collaborated during development of Sections L and M and the Perfor- mance Work Statement. This ensured clear, performance-based requirements with evaluation criteria aligned. Also, this added to our confidence that small businesses could meet technical demands and ensured a reduced likelihood of protest vulnerability. Additionally, I coordinated for ACE and CDAO experts to attend the Acquisition Strategy Panel (ASP) and Business Clearance reviews. Their presence ensured approval authorities fully understood both the urgency of the requirement and the rationale for leveraging the GWAC vehicle. Following approval, we issued a Fair Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR) and received three competitive proposals by late November 2024. At this point, the team had fewer than 60 days, including the holidays, to evaluate proposals, complete docu- mentation, and award before contract expiration. The timeline compression required a second innovative solution.
44 DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE | JULY – AUGUST 2026
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