Federal Leaders Lean Into Collaboration to Make OneGov Strategy Work

The federal government is advancing the OneGov Strategy, but success will depend on sustained industry partnership, feedback and patience as the model evolves, according to Kevin Rhodes, administrator of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy within the Office of Management and Budget.

The General Services Administration launched OneGov in April to move federal software procurement away from siloed, slow buying processes and toward a unified, more efficient model. The initiative seeks to modernize governmentwide purchasing and establish consistent terms and pricing for commercial technology. The IT Initiative — the first phase of OneGov — focuses on software and technology contracts with commercial vendors. Unlike previous years where different government agencies duplicated efforts by negotiating separate contracts for the same software, OneGov works to negotiate as one buyer. 

“We need a procurement and acquisition system that becomes the envy of the world. We need to deliver to the speed of the mission,” Rhodes said at the Elastic Public Sector Summit in D.C. Thursday. “One of the things that we can do is we can leverage the world’s largest buyer and start to pull these agencies together and think about the things that we do across all of government.” 

Rhodes described OneGov as an evolving framework that depends heavily on continuous input from the private sector as they switch from strategy to execution. He asked for grace as the federal government navigates learning curves associated with revamping its procurement approach. 

“When I have an opportunity to talk to senior leaders, I let them know that it’s okay to take on managed risk as we do this. Let us learn, because if we’re not making mistakes, then we’re not trying to learn, and we’re not trying to get better. And that will happen early on,” he said. “You got to have that mindset and make people feel comfortable, make agencies and leaders feel comfortable. That it doesn’t have to be perfect the first iteration, but let’s get after it.” 

Rhodes added that industry plays a critical role not just in executing contracts, but in shaping how those contracts and the broader acquisition system should work. He encouraged companies to provide candid feedback, flag blind spots and offer suggestions. Industry leaders have previously pointed to inconsistent requirements and limited visibility into government decision-making as friction points in the acquisition process. Rhodes said OneGov could address many of those concerns with routine communication between the federal government and vendors. 

Equally significant is the cultural shift required to sustain these changes. Rhodes said he has 24 CFO agencies, in addition to smaller agencies – roughly 340,000 people – that he is encouraging to embrace a new mindset. 

“Trying to get that acceptance of taking on managed risks, communicating more, not being perfect in policy, but let us think about how to do things differently … That’s what I struggle with and continue to think about,” he said.