2018 Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award

2018 Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award
Please read the following information carefully before completing and submitting the nomination package.
Background: The David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)), recognizes Department of Defense (DOD) civilian and military teams who have, in their approach to program management, demonstrated innovation and technical excellence to achieve more timely and cost effective delivery of capability for the Warfighter.
Eligibility: All Component and DOD organizations, to include the Defense Agencies, are eligible to compete for the Packard Awards, with the exception of other (non-Agency) Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) staff organizations. Questions concerning eligibility should be directed to the award coordinator Vicky DeGuzman at [phone] or via email [e-mail]. The award for 2018 will be granted for contributions made or completed within the 12-month period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018. Given that many developments result from an organization’s efforts and contributions cumulatively over a period of time, initiatives that began before the 12-month window may be reported, but the culmination of the work must be within the window that is specified above. Multiple teams may receive the award based on merit.
Evaluation Criteria: Nominations will be evaluated on the quality and innovation of specific actions taken by program or service acquisition teams, the exceptional nature of the challenges that were overcome and the significance of the improved outcomes. Teams should use the CCAR (Challenge-Context-Action-Result) model when completing the narrative of their accomplishments. Successful applications will describe in detail which acquisition initiatives and tools were used, clearly describe and substantiate the actions taken, and quantify the improved results. Submittals should describe how the actions provide lessons that can be more broadly applied, and how the accomplishments and lessons learned will help achieve the goals described by the Secretary of Defense in the National Defense Strategy.
Examples of elements that teams might highlight include improved outcomes achieved using:

• 
  Design tradeoffs in the requirements process
  
• 
  Non-traditional suppliers
  
• 
  Prototyping and experimentation
  
• 
  Tailoring and innovative use of available acquisition authorities
  
• 
  Improved software acquisition techniques, including agile development
  

This list is not meant to be all-inclusive, nor is it necessary to address every element. Rather, it is intended to emphasize the importance of innovation and improved acquisition outcomes to the Department, and to the evaluation of applications for this award.

Detailed Instructions:

1. 
   The nomination package must be submitted with a signed endorsement letter from the organization commander. Each organization may nominate one team. Contractors may not be listed as members of the team. The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) is the official collection point for U.S. Army nominations. USAASC will coordinate nomination packages for Army Acquisition Executive approval and endorsement to the USD(A&S).
   

All nominations must be completed using the award application form herein and submitted, in MS Word format (not PDF), through the online portal at https://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/.

Applications must include:

1. 
   The administrative information on the following page.
   
2. 
   A narrative describing the team’s accomplishment(s) not to exceed two pages.
   
3. 
   A citation award abstract summarizing your narrative not to exceed 300 words.
   
4. 
   A high resolution organizational logo (at least 2 inches by 2 inches at 300 dots per inch) in either JPG or TIFF format, attached with your e-mail submission.
   

2. 
   Applications must be submitted by close of business June 15, 2018. Late submissions cannot be considered due to schedule constraints.
   
3. 
   You will receive an email acknowledging your nomination has been submitted. If the point of contact has not received a confirmation e-mail within two business days after submission, please contact the award coordinator Vicky DeGuzman at [phone] or via email [e-mail]. Award applications will not be considered complete until you have received a confirmation e-mail.
   
4. 
   The USD(A&S) will oversee the awards process and will appoint a chair for the Packard Award Board, which will be composed of up to 10 Senior Executive Service panel members within OSD. The Board Chair will be responsible for selecting the other panel members to review and evaluate the nominations. Once the Board has completed the review process, the Board Chair will present the recommendations to the USD(A&S), who is the final approval authority.
   
5. 
   Presentation of the 2018 Packard Award to the winning team(s) will take place in the late 2018/early 2019 timeframe at a formal awards ceremony.
   
6. 
   All travel costs associated with an awards presentation will be borne by the nominating organization. The winning organizations will be notified several weeks in advance in order to facilitate travel reservations. Because of limited space at the awards ceremony, winning teams are typically limited to five or six representatives each.
   
7. 
   OUSD(A&S) will ensure the winning organizations are announced in various communication media.
   
8. 
   Questions regarding the 2018 Packard Awards or the application process should be addressed to the award coordinator Vicky DeGuzman at [phone] or via email [e-mail]. Additional information can be found on the awards website at: https://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/.
   

Administrative Information

Award coordinator POC:

Name:

Telephone:

Email:

Organization, Group, or Team

Name:

Mailing Address:

Address (continued):

City: State: Zip:

Primary Organization Point of Contact (POC)

Name:

Title:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Alternate Organization POC

Name:

Title:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Current Number of Employees:

Your organization, group, or team’s mission statement:

Brief description of your organizational structure:

Chain of command to whom your organization, group, or team reports:

Names and position titles of individual(s) contributing to organization, group, or team:

Award Narrative

(Two pages maximum, 12-point Times New Roman, 1” margins, based on criteria described herein)

Award Citation Abstract

(Maximum 300 word summary that will be placed in the award program for the winning teams)

ATTACHMENT 1