communications with the contractor. The team laid out a case and won buy-in from agency leadership to pursue this approach. The MDA acquisition team initiated and led face-to-face negotiations with the contractor, clearly articulating the authorities afforded to the Contracting Officer by FAR Part 15.306 (d) while maintaining the perception of competi- tion by not informing the contractor it was the only offeror. During the bargaining process, the team negotiated a cost reduction of nearly $80 million from the original proposal without removal of any technical scope. This cost reduction was based on technical tradeoffs that aligned with the government’s complex technical requirements with zero scope reductions and while meeting the GWS program’s fiscal year funding profile. The team successfully developed a negotiation strategy that reduced overall fee by $25 million. The team achieved significant savings through realignment of schedule and technical performance requirements and it also ensured stakeholders did not unwittingly make any substantive changes to the overarching requirement, an important consideration in terms of maintaining a defensible position in the event of protest. Ultimately, the bargaining strategy was 100 percent successful. The contract was awarded on time, and the total cost reduction of approximately $105 million allowed a substantial amount of technical requirements be performed in line with programmatic schedule needs in order to support NGI flight tests that could have otherwise caused an unacceptable schedule impact due to the GWS Future Years Defense Program phasing issues. The aggressive schedule to develop, test, and field the next-generation GMD capabilities by 2028 remained intact and enabled other concurrent next-generation GMD capabilities (namely, the all-important NGI) to stay on schedule. The contract was awarded within budget, which was imperative given that no additional funds were available. Lastly, MDA successfully executed a competitive source selection, with no negative implications that would have resulted from canceling and switching to a formal sole source requirement. The team shared its experiences when it delivered a detailed briefing to the MDA contracting workforce that sum- marized the lessons learned from its bargaining experiences. The team ensured the MDA workforce was familiar with the bargaining tool in order to effectively leverage it across the Missile Defense enterprise. The Innovation in Implementing Acquisition Flexibilities Award focuses on, among other things, creative adaptation of inherent flexibilities within the FAR. The Acquisition Team leveraged the bargaining flexibilities to achieve the de- sired mission outcomes. By identifying an often overlooked but effective authority in the FAR, formulating a creative interpretation of that authority, and gaining Agency buy-in on implementation, the team successfully awarded the critical contract on time and within budget in a sole-offeror competitive environment.
NELSON is a certified Level III Contracting professional and Level I Program Management professional with over 14 years in Federal Government Contracting, including experience in major weapon system acquisition, weapon system sustainment, supplies and services. She began her career at MDA, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., in 2016 where she served as a contracting officer supporting Targets and Counter Measures, Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, and Sea-Based Weapon Systems. The author can be contacted at jamie.p.nelson3.civ@mda.mil . The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the Department of Defense. Reproduction or reposting of articles from Defense Acquisition magazine should credit the author and the magazine.
DEFENSE ACQUISITION | May-June 2025
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