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Procurement

DHS looks to expand its Procurement Innovation Lab

A small but influential team of procurement officials within the Department of Homeland Security is steadily changing how the agency conducts business, and now wants to help the rest of the federal government shift away from legacy procurement processes.

Former DHS Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa first established the Procurement Innovation Lab in 2015 to help lower entry barriers for non-traditional contractors, shorten the time-to-award and increase successful outcomes with improved acquisition techniques. Correa said she launched the framework to encourage DHS’ acquisition workforce to pitch projects that seek to streamline the procurement process and create “a more efficient and effective experience for industry and government.”

“My goal was not to seek changes to statute or regulation but to identify and use all the flexibilities available in the Federal Acquisition Regulation,” Correa told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in May. “Our process was designed to test the innovation or idea and share what we learned across the acquisition community.”

Correa retired in 2021 after a 40-year career in public service, but her vision for the lab to serve as a model for other agencies and the private sector is continuing to take shape.

The lab is expanding its support and services for federal and industry acquisition departments as it currently coaches eight external teams with a total procurement value of $3.3 billion, in addition to 35 internal teams.

DHS Chief Procurement Officer Paul Courtney told FCW the agency is beginning to search for a new director to lead the innovation lab, in addition to launching a new boot camp training program for government and industries this fiscal year titled “The Next Level.” The new training program features nine new innovative procurement techniques. More than 5,000 people have participated in lab boot camps, including DHS and external federal agency employees and industry partners.

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