Barriers to More Active Contractor Participation in the Department of Defense Value Engineering Program

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the barriers to more active contractor participation in the DOD Value Engineering (VE) program. A review of professional literature such as DOD Inspector General, General Accounting Office, and other research reports provide the background information necessary to explain potential barriers to more active contractor participation in the DOD VE program. Thirty telephone surveys were conducted with Government and contractor personnel to solicit the opinions of these acquisition professionals concerning barriers to more active contractor participation in the DOD VE Program. The results and analysis of the interviews are reported. It was concluded that there are four significant barriers preventing more active contractor participation in the DOD VE program. The four significant barriers to more active contractor participation in the DOD VE program are insufficient funding, the VECP submission and approval process, a low level of VE awareness among acquisition professionals, and a lack of support for the VE program among top-level DOD management. Recommendations to improve contractor participation in VE are establishment of a centrally managed VE fund, streamlining the VECP process, increased VE awareness training, additional VE personnel resources, enforcement of VE savings goals, and greater top-level management support.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Barriers to More Active Contractor Participation in the Department of Defense Value Engineering Program' with ISBN 9781423559719 and ISBN 1423559711.