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Capital Planning and Investment Control
June 7, 2021
Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) is a long-standing process that government agencies use to select, deploy, and monitor new technology investments. Naturally, the CPIC process must integrate into the existing acquisitions processes at these federal agencies. However, many agencies have struggled to find a way to strategically plan for the future, while also acknowledging all the acquisition components necessary to build a complete procurement.
Washington Business Dynamics (WBD) is currently spearheading CPIC re-engineering efforts for a variety of Department of Defense (DoD) clients. Our CPIC experts provide detailed requirements to our acquisitions teams and only then can those requirements be added to the an organization’s strategic plan. This ensures that investment spending is thoughtfully pursued instead of reactively executed, looking not only at the investment, but any future operation and maintenance.
To ensure a requirement can be placed on an organization’s strategic plan, our acquisition teams collaborate with our CPIC teams in developing a defined package. This will allow the whole team to get in front of requirements, dig into the details of the products and services necessary, and provide a more cohesive package ahead of any future acquisition deadlines. The new process streamlines cross-functional capabilities for our clients. CPIC and acquisitions teams working together also ensures that the mission needs are comprehensively evaluated from multiple perspectives and provides a new method of achieving efficiencies in spending.
For example, if the requirement is headsets. The CPIC team would provide more detailed information such as – What kind of headset? What are the salient characteristics? How many will be needed? When are they needed? What color of money can we use for this action? Is there any potential Operation and Maintenance? Is this item already in the environment? By having those types of questions answered ahead of schedule, it creates clear standards for what is needed to develop a complete package and allows leadership a holistic view into what investments are planned for future years.
With better-defined requirements in their strategic plans, the DoD will develop a more mature portfolio, that no longer uses reactive approaches to fund requirements. WBD is changing the narrative and leading our clients to see more streamlined and proactive approaches to managing its everchanging DoD technology environment.
Author: Brittney Bookout, Lead Consultant at WBD, is an acquisitions professional engaged with a WBD’s Department of Defense client and is leader of the firm’s Acquisition Solutions Group.