Last week’s in-person Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO) Executive Roundtable (ERT) event focused on the operating decisions behind acquisition reform. Leaders discussed Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) implementation, targeted consolidation, workforce development, and the need to move faster while preserving sound judgment and defensible outcomes.
The discussion reflected a broader shift across federal acquisition: Agencies are managing smaller workforces, consolidation mandates, and growing pressure to deliver results faster. Meeting those demands requires acquisition organizations to operate as mission-enabling business functions.
Here’s a brief synopsis from the event.
RFO Depends on Culture and Confidence
More than any individual policy change, the RFO communicates urgency. It encourages agencies to delegate decision-making authority down as far as practicable and gives acquisition professionals more room to exercise judgment. That requires:
- Leadership support for thoughtful risk-taking
- Coaching and practical examples
- Clear evidence that different approaches can succeed
- Confidence across contracting, program, legal, and policy teams
Participants shared examples, such as streamlined acquisition planning, commercial construction practices, oral presentations, consensus-based evaluations, practical templates, and innovation incentives in performance plans.
Teams need more than permission in policy, however: They need a safe environment to test new approaches, learn from peers, and see how others have structured acquisitions that moved faster and held up under review.
Consolidation Works when the Requirement Fits
Common spend and repeatable work often benefit from a shared services model, creating visibility, purchasing power, consistency, and workforce capacity. However, it must be applied selectively: Specialized and mission-critical requirements may depend on agency expertise, customer relationships, and operating context that should remain close to the mission.
The strongest shared services models define clear service boundaries and treat centralization as a customer service function. That includes transparent intake, regular status updates, customer feedback, and evidence that the consolidated approach improves the outcome.
A useful question is: Where can the work be performed most effectively? That decision should reflect the requirement, available expertise, mission risk, and value the service provider can deliver.
The Workforce Must Operate as Business Advisers
Structural changes alone won’t produce better acquisition outcomes. The workforce model matters just as much.
The 1102 community increasingly needs to operate as business advisers. They must understand the mission, identify the real problem, challenge assumptions, present viable options, and help leaders understand risk and tradeoffs. This shift is especially important as agencies lose experienced personnel and develop the next generation of acquisition talent. Business adviser academies, practical webinars, reusable templates, and shared innovation examples can help professionals build confidence faster and apply new flexibilities more consistently.
Speed and Defensibility Are Inseparable
Leaders want to reduce duplication, shorten handoffs, improve collaboration, and move decisions closer to the work. They also need clear rationale, reliable documentation, auditability, and confidence in the result.
Practical tools can support both goals. Teams can build current Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and RFO language into notices and approvals. Super intelligence (SI)-enabled compliance reviews, protest testing, and document checks can help users identify issues before work enters the formal review process. Proven models can show acquisition teams how peers shortened an evaluation, structured a solicitation, used an existing vehicle, addressed protest risk, or improved the customer experience.
At VAO and Unison, we value the opportunity to join these conversations. We thrive on helping the acquisition community compare approaches, share what works, and improve the processes that support federal missions. If you’re interested in joining a future VAO ERT, visit our event page to learn more and request an invitation.
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