Contracts & Acquisitions Management

Director: Janet Scott

Deputy Director: Sherese Lewis





Contracts & Acquisitions Management (CAM), in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, is one of two contracting activities within the Department of Education (Department)and is responsible for the solicitation, award, administration, and closeout of all contracts and other acquisition instruments, except for Office of Federal Student Aid procurements and some simplified acquisitions and General Services Administration schedule orders.

CAM’s mission is to proactively lead the acquisition process by planning, negotiating, awarding, and administering contracts from “cradle to grave”; i.e., the contracting officer responsible for administering a contract is normally the same contracting officer that awarded the contract. CAM strives to fulfill its mission as efficiently and effectively as possible in support of the overall Department mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access to education. We believe these goals can best be met by considering past performance, determining best value for the government, and fostering an environment of openness and fairness toward the vendor community. We are committed to reducing unnecessary red tape and making our acquisition practices as user-friendly as possible. We are also committed to promoting opportunities for small businesses. For further information, please see the guide Doing Business with the Department of Education.

CAM promotes competition in procurements over $3,500. Purchases between $3,500 and $150,000 are generally reserved for small businesses in accordance with Federal regulations. Federal regulations require that three quotations be requested for actions in this dollar range. Most routine purchases up to $25,000 are procured outside of CAM by authorized staff in each program, staff or management office, usually through the use of telephone quotations. Acquisitions over $10,000 are, however, advertised at FedBizOpps. Solicitations are also available for download at FedBizOpps. CAM uses the System for Award Management (SAM) to find vendors who provide products and services to meet Department requirements.

James Hairfield is the Department's Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). The SPE has responsibility for providing acquisition leadership and management of the Department’s acquisition system. Specifically, the SPE provides management direction for implementation of procurement policies, regulations, and standards for the entire Department. Additionally, the SPE coordinates and oversees the Department's acquisition planning process, ensuring that planning activities are completed in accordance with established Department and federal acquisition policies and procedures. Finally, the SPE is responsible for the development and maintenance of a procurement career management program to ensure an adequate and professional acquisition work force at the Department. In carrying out these duties, the SPE works with the Department's two contracting activities (CAM and FSA Acquisitions) to ensure that their needs are met enabling them to carry out their important missions.

CAM consists of four groups--one group that provides support services and three groups that directly serve their assigned principal offices through contract award and administration support. Each principal office works with a single group committed to meeting its needs.

The Performance and Logistics Group (PLG) , which is led by Michele Moore, provides support internally to the Director of CAM and other CAM staff, and externally to the Department’s principal offices. In carrying out its duties, PLG administers the Department-wide Acquisition Planning Process, coordinates the certification programs for the Department’s Acquisition Professionals (i.e. contracting officers, Contracting officer’s representatives, and project managers). PLG administers the Department's Government purchase card program and coordinates the agency’s electronic commerce activities. PLG is responsible for reviewing CAM solicitations and pre-award contract documents for compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other applicable regulations and statutes. In addition, PLG conducts internal reviews of CAM’s acquisition activities and maintains the electronic contract data requirements for agency automated management systems and preparing internal and external procurement performance reports. PLG administers CAM’s contract closeout activities. This group develops, recommends, establishes, implements, and maintains acquisition policies, regulations, procedures, and procurement performance measures for CAM, consistent with applicable Federal and Departmental laws, regulations, guidelines and procedures. Finally, PLG provides guidance to CAM on acquisition-related policies issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), General Services Administration, Office of Management and Budget, and other authorities.

The Operations Contracts Group, which is led by Matthew Manning (Chief of the Contracting Office), supports the following primary customers:

The Program Contracts Group, which is led by Chris Rosier (Chief of the Contracting Office), supports the following primary customers:

The Education Sciences Contracts Group, which is led by Veronica Price (Chief of the Contracting Office), supports the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IES has the following responsibilities: Department's main research arm, compiles statistics; funds research, evaluations, and dissemination; and provides research-based guidance to further evidence-based policy and practice. Its three operational divisions are the National Center for Education Research, the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Federal Student Aid Acquisitions is the Department's other contracting activity. It is led by Patrick Bradfield. Federal Student Aid administers federal student aid programs, providing more than $90 billion of financial aid per year to college students. Works to modernize the delivery of student financial assistance and improve service to millions of students and the postsecondary institutions they attend.

For more information on what the Department buys and how, see the guide Doing Business with the Department of Education. For a more complete discussion of the Department's principal offices and programs see the "Guide to Department of Education Programs".


Top Top
>


Last Modified: 03/20/2019