Griffin Halts ESMD Systems Engineering and Integration RFP
“NASA has concluded that Government personnel at Headquarters and NASA Centers will implement systems engineering and integration in Constellation Systems and other areas of the Exploration program. Consequently, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate will not be releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an Industry systems engineering and integration contractor.”
Original 3 April 2005 Procurement Notice
Editor’s note:This solicitation notice, released just three weeks ago, was the product of many months of preparation – preparation built upon a year’s worth of planning by ESMD. The justification for canceling this procurement activity cited is that “NASA has concluded that Government personnel at Headquarters and NASA Centers will implement systems engineering and integration in Constellation Systems and other areas of the Exploration program.”
Didn’t NASA consider this in-house option before releasing the Procurement Notice on 3 April? If so, then why did they ask contractors to jump through hoops and submit ideas? Or, did Griffin and his team make this evaluation and course reversal in the scant 13 days he has been Administrator? It is curious how a two-week evaluation of NASA’s workforce (present and future) could trump a process that involved months of study and preparation. Although a source of potential good news for field centers looking to find work for its employees, this decision does seem to go against the outsourcing focus that NASA has been pursuing, as directed by the White House. I suspect there will be more dramatic alterations in how NASA will implement the VSE under Mike Griffin. Stay tuned.
