Guidebook for the Acquisition of Services

The acquisition of services plays a vital role in advancing and maintaining the mission capability of the Department of Defense DoD. Services acquisition covers a broad spectrum of requirements from research and development, advisor services, information technology support, medical, to maintaining equipment and facilities. For over ten years the DoD has spent more on service requirements than it has on equipment acquisitions. While the acquisition of major systems follows a much defined process, the acquisition of services tends to be more ad hoc. Services acquisition is not about awarding a contract it s about acquiring performance results that meet performance requirements needed to successfully execute an organization s mission. This guidebook provides acquisition teams with a disciplined, seven step process, for the acquisition of services. Applying this rigorous and systematic approach requires the dedicated effort of an acquisition team composed of functional experts, contracting specialists, contracting officer representatives, and others working together to achieve performance results and value their mission requirements. It s important to remember that the Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR states that the acquisition process is a shared team responsibility . Completing this process, like all acquisitions, takes allocated planning time. Getting your acquisition team organized and focused early in the process is a fundamental key to successfully achieving the mission results your customers require.