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Series

George Washington University Law School

Public procurement

2010

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Law

Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2009), Steven L. Schooner, David J. Berteau Jan 2010

Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2009), Steven L. Schooner, David J. Berteau

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2009), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2010 in U.S. federal procurement. In large part, the paper focuses upon the challenges inherited by the Obama administration and its efforts during its first year in office. Among other things, the paper suggests that the administration charted a course of what it perceived as bold action – most dramatically, touting "savings" and accountability, while permitting special interests to distract focus from value for money and customer satisfaction. Accordingly, at least to date, the Obama administration's procurement …


Federal Contracting And Acquisition: Progress, Challenges, And The Road Ahead, Steven L. Schooner Jan 2010

Federal Contracting And Acquisition: Progress, Challenges, And The Road Ahead, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This brief paper discusses the Obama administration's public procurement agenda, major trends that influence the acquisition regime (that now encompasses $500B annually), and significant challenges the administration faces in improving the value it receives for the money it spends. It concludes with a group of research questions suggested by participants at the November IBM forum on Framing a Public Management Research Agenda.


A Versatile Prism: Assessing Procurement Law Through The Principal-Agent Model, Christopher R. Yukins Jan 2010

A Versatile Prism: Assessing Procurement Law Through The Principal-Agent Model, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Over the past several decades, the federal procurement system in the United States has grown remarkably, and now totals over $500 billion annually.

Over that same period, the rules governing federal procurement have been buffeted by broad efforts at reform. At no point, however, have we ever had an overarching theory - a model or prism - through which to assess the procurement system or its reform. Agency theory provides one such theoretical model. Long established in economics and the other social sciences, the principal-agent model (agency theory) provides a model to explain successes (and failures) in organizational structures, and …