Market Research Center of Excellence: Defense Procurements and the DoD Acquisition Process, Military Purchasing, Gathering Information About Commercial Products and Services, Small Business

This informative report from March 2019 has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Market research is a critical step in the acquisition process and requires due diligence; however, in October 2014, the Government Accountability Office identified limitations in market research performed on Department of Defense (DoD) procurements. To address these limitations, the authors evaluated issues that DoD acquisition professionals face in completing market research. They reviewed current federal literature pertaining to market research and analyzed data received from a questionnaire sent to more than 75 contracting and acquisition personnel, ranging from GS-09 contract specialists to Senior Executive Service-level assistant secretaries of the Navy. Different tools for market research were analyzed and benefits of a command-level staffed Market Research Center of Excellence were explored. Finally, the authors presented seven recommendations to improve market research effectiveness.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Market research (MR) is the process of collecting and analyzing information, making a decision, and then documenting the results (PCADD), as defined in the Market Research Gathering Information About Commercial Products and Services (SD-5) published by the Defense Standardization Program Office. Additionally, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) devotes an entire chapter (Part 10) to MR, which "prescribes policies and procedures for conducting market research to arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing, and supporting supplies and services" (FAR 10.000). It is based on statutory requirements found in 41 United States Code (USC) 3306(a)(1), 41 USC 3307, 10 USC 2377, and 6 USC 796. Obviously, MR is a critical step in the acquisition process and requires due diligence. However, in October 2014, the General Accounting Office (GAO) identified limitations in the MR performed on Department of Defense (DoD) procurements. This finding validated the work of Dr. Aruna Apte, Dr. Uday Apte and Dr. Rene Rendon of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in their 2010 article "Contracting for Services in the U.S. Army: An Empirical Study of Current Management Practices" published in the Journal of Contract Management. The article cited recent GAO and DoD Inspector General reports that "have shown that [DoD] has not conducted adequate market research during procurement planning of services contracts" (Apte, Apte & Rendon, 2010, p.10). Additionally, improving MR was a constant theme in the Better Buying Power (BBP) trilogy under the last presidential administration. Our team investigated current MR literature, MR training and MR practices, specifically including communicating with industry. Communicating with industry is embedded in four of the eight MR techniques prescribed in FAR Part 10 and communicating with industry is also one of the seven MR guiding principles prescribed in the SD-5, clearly illustrating that communicating with industry is a key element of the overall MR process. We also developed and issued a MR survey to contracting and acquisition personnel. Finally, based on our investigation and analysis we then developed requirements for a notional Market Research Center of Excellence (MaRCOE) to help DoD agencies and major buying commands improve MR.