Strategic Sourcing discussion with Ms. Luwanda F. Jones

In this episode of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Technology Acquisition Center’s (TAC) podcast, TAC Talks, we discuss Strategic Sourcing with Ms. Luwanda F. Jones. Ms. Jones is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who served for 28 years in various senior acquisition and information technology positions. Ms. Jones has been serving as the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for the Office of Strategic Sourcing in the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) since August 2018.

What is TAC Talks?

Come for a peek behind the federal acquisition curtain as we gain insights from acquisition professionals at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and dissect varying relevant topics. In this five-episode series we will explore topics such as proposal evaluations, innovation, debriefs, and more!

TAC Talks is premiering Tuesday, September 29th!

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products or services they may provide.

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Chuck Ross: Welcome to the Technology Acquisition Center Podcast, which we affectionately call TAC Talks. Join us as we discuss highly relevant and compelling acquisition topics with highly esteemed industry professionals and attempt to share information with you, the 1102 workforce, program officials and our contractor friends. We hope that you find these topics and discussions helpful. So, turn up the volume on your earbuds, and get ready for TAC Talks.
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Chuck Ross: Hello, friends, and thank you for joining me today for another episode of TAC Talks. My name is Chuck Ross, and I am a Procurement Service Director at the Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center. We have an exciting episode for you again today featuring Ms. Luwanda Jones. Ms. Jones currently serves as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Office of Strategic Sourcing in the Office of Information and Technology (OI&T). As the DCIO for Strategic Sourcing, she supports OI&T and the Department providing executive oversight and leadership for the development of plans and processes necessary to control, optimize and leverage the volume of acquisition actions associated with over 4 billion dollars in Information Technology expenditures annually. She works directly with the CIO to ensure that the accountability and responsibility documented in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, otherwise known as FITARA, for IT and IT related acquisitions is implemented, monitored, and followed through throughout the Department. Ms. Jones is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who served for 28 years in various senior acquisition and information technology positions and it's truly a pleasure to speak with Ms. Jones today. Thank you for being here.
Luwanda Jones: Thank you, Chuck. I'm honored to be here today, and I look forward to this discussion. I'm excited to talk about the different capabilities that we're doing in OI&T and really about our partnership even with you and your organization.
(CR): Great. So, let's just jump right into it then. So, during your tenure at the VA, there have been many changes, one of which was the creation of your office, the Office of Strategic Sourcing within the Office of Information and Technology. Can you provide our listeners with just a brief description role of OSS as we call it and how the creation of the Office of Strategic Sourcing has improved the acquisition and delivery of IT goods and services to the department?
(LJ): Yeah, and that's a good question, because most people say, you know, the first thing that they say, well, your office. That name is such a long name, but it all comes down to partnerships, you know in strategic sourcing, we're responsible for oversight of all IT contracts. And that's when you look at what the federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, i.e. we call it the FITARA Act. What the legislation really states is that the CIO is responsible for all IT acquisition strategies or plans, regardless of funding appropriation. So, when you look at that, we have to team or create partnerships not only within OI&T or within the department, but within our vendor community too. So, we work with the contracting officers to ensure that you know, they understand how we're going to ensure that all of our acquisitions are FITARA compliant by ensuring that they understand our acquisition review module, which is a module inside of our budget tracking tool. And as you know, our vendor partnership, it's invaluable. And so, I received a number on yesterday, we've had even this fiscal year over 200 vendor relationships or sessions and that helps us with our market research. And when you take everything that we're doing within the office of Strategic Sourcing, it's our responsibility to ensure strategic partnerships, internal and external to our organizations ensure that we are FITARA compliant and most importantly standardize our IT acquisition processes, our communications efforts and as well as our training. And that does not mean that you know I'm not responsible for acquisition training, but I need to point our staff to the appropriate stakeholders that can give them that training.
(CR): No, that's excellent. That's a good overview for our listeners. So let me ask you this then. What are some of the biggest challenges or hurdles that you still see ahead for the Office of Information Technology? I mean, what keeps you up at night?
(LJ): You know, when we look at the world that we're in and sometimes we want to say, oh, well, we're in a post-pandemic, I would say post-COVID pandemic, we're in a long-term pandemic, and so understanding that, we have to understand how we forecast our IT acquisitions, how we ensure FITARA compliance, how we're looking at the supply chain and, oh, by the way, if I don't have those creative processes, then my supply chain lead time could affect our business operations. So as we're looking at standardizing our IT processes, making sure our OIT employees are trained to make the appropriate IT requirements. And so it truly does take a village as we look from a federal perspective. And how are we going to deliver the highest quality product and services for our nation's Veterans, of which I am one, and at the same time ensuring that we are good stewards of our taxpayers� dollars, of which I am one, and you are one. And so, what really keeps me up at night is making sure that we are doing the right things, yet at the same time, being innovative-- taking a look at how do we fund, and how do we procure those products and services that Veterans need, and making sure that we are collaborating to take a look at what are those contractual vehicles that's available for us. And, you know, we can't assume that you're going to get every contract, but I would encourage people that are listening to me that if you're interested in working with us, it is about partnerships and you know it's about understanding technology, understanding innovation and understanding customer requirements. And so, I think that is the strength in our relationships and our partnerships with industry. Because when you take a look, technology is moving so rapidly, and we've got to get in a place where both industry and the federal government are working as partners. And one of the things that is really troublesome to me is I see that we are creating those partnerships, but we need our vendor community to ensure that they create their partnerships with their other vendors. We're looking for commercial industry partners that can work together in our ecosystem. That is really imperative.
(CR): You're absolutely right. So, let me kind of spin it now to key priorities. One thing I've noticed since working at the VA now is early on, it almost seemed like it was a scramble to put out fires with the budget that we had. But since your office has been created, there's been much more emphasis put on planning, you know, looking into the future budgeting, identifying those things that that are priorities for the agency. So could you talk about any interesting IT programs that might be focuses of the agency here and in the future? I know you'll probably want to talk about a little bit the supply chain and obviously EHRM and things like that, but I just didn't know if you wanted to give our listeners any kind of insight into some of the future programs that might be on the horizon.
(LJ): Yeah, I think that when we look at these initiatives, particularly that the President is putting out on security, security is so very important to us as we look at how do we support zero trust architecture across OIT for rapid execution. And you know those words are probably easier said than done, but how do you build that security inside of everything that we do? How do we make sure that from a FISMA and FISCAM compliancy state that we are looking at all of our authorities to operate and sometimes and on the contracting staff or contracting perspective we really don't think about when we're awarding a contract, What about the ATOs? But we're beginning to look at that as even when we are exercising an option period, we're asking questions about access controls and we're asking questions about ATOs. Are they expiring? Are they almost expired because we see that the FITARA compliance is the front gate to ensuring that those security parameters that we are supposed to do are happening. And of course, one of my favorite topics on supply chain risk management. We I would say in the federal government, this is not a just the VA interest. If COVID taught us anything, it taught us that our supply chain is extremely complex and even to say the word supply chain, for me, when you look at it, supply chain itself. It's complex, and then you look at the globalization of that supply chain. And so we've gotta make sure that from an organizational perspective that we are putting that supply chain risk management rigor in our strategic planning, because you and I know that if I need a new car today, right, simple example. My husband and I were going to look for a car, right? And the car was for me? Well, I got mine and then we walked over to the dealership that was across the street. In this particular dealership, had the state of the art electric car. And so we were sitting down talking to the dealer and the dealer said, well, if you're interested in XX car, sight unseen, you need to put in your request now to get one shipped in 2024. So as we look at the supply chain for a simple, I'll just use laptops. We have to have those strategic relationships so that we understand any supply chain hurdles that we may have. And so that we can have those supply chain risk management processes and procedures in place and so that is something that is key to not just the VA, but also the federal government. And in the Office of Information and Technology we want to become an acquisition leader in the federal workspace. And of course that is working with our partners at the TAC, our partners with Mike Parrish as well as the other federal agencies. And we also see that supporting our account management office is really paramount because it's our account management, Brad Houston and his staff, they are at the tip of the spear when it comes to our customers and understanding what our customers� requirements are. And so that helps us from a planning perspective on the acquisition side. Understand where we need to. Who and where We need to talk to. Where do we need to go to make sure that we are structuring these requirements correctly?
(CR): That's great, that's good insight. And you're right on point with the supply chain, and I think we all found that it was in our best interest not just to have, you know, one standard laptop or one standard piece of hardware during the pandemic. It was good to have a variety of sources in some of those instances to decrease the risk. So this �
(LJ): And Chuck, before we go on, let me just pull the string on that, on just the supply chain effort a little more. Unfortunately, it took COVID-19 for us to, for the world to wake up and realize the complexity of our supply chains. But in reality, we should have already recognized that with natural disasters like hurricanes and rain storms and snow storms. But it just adds on that flavor of the importance of planning and the importance of the federal government, not just telling our contractors, here you go, here's the contract, go out and execute, come back and tell me when you got it. I haven't. You know, I'm sure we all don't do that, but I think it really opens our eyes that we have to understand our suppliers.
(CR): Right.
(LJ): Supply chain.
(CR): You're quite right. I mean, from a contractual perspective, it's quite easy to say, hey, they're not delivering on, you know, contractors not delivering on time, terminate the contract. But at the end, we still need what's supposed to be delivered there and it's up to us to be able to manage that and reach out and try to, you know, look for other sources. So that's an interesting, interesting point that it took a pandemic for us to realize that. So this next one's a little bit of a tricky question and it kind of goes on to that point about standardization, but one of the goals that your office has and has done very well, is to buy smarter and that often results in, ah you know, some sort of consolidation and putting requirements so that we get the the benefits of economy of scale, but not only that but also you know some standardization across the enterprise. Ah but there's still you know our end users still have preference for certain types of equipment, IT, software, that they're comfortable with and as opposed to having the discipline to use some of these vehicles. How is your office managing that? Or is there any effort to try to manage and create that discipline within some of the organizations that still have a reluctance to utilize the enterprise type contracts?
(LJ): Yeah, you know, that's a great question because it's really essential that the CIO has visibility over all IT solutions and that you know, we really cannot afford to deviate from our enterprise solutions. Um, and it's and the way we do that is really through our FITARA Compliance. As a matter of fact, when we finish this discussion, I have a review of a GAO audit where we, that GAO has asked us, they've actually looked at our system and they've gone in to ensure that we are doing IT FITARA Compliance on all IT acquisitions. And so it doesn't matter what the funding appropriation is the CIO has to have visibility over those actions. And so we have to ensure that we have those security parameters. Now are we perfect? Uh no, we're not perfect. Are we better than we were yesterday? We absolutely are. So we look to our OIT customers to collaborate with us to ensure that all of these protocols are followed and you know and with any company or any federal agencies, we're looking to deliver the highest quality products and services you know to ensure that Veterans again like me, we are getting the best quality, the best products and ensuring that the cost that we are paying for those costs are advantageous to the government. So, I encourage all of the businesses that are planning to work with the department that when you come to us and you understand our challenges. You know you can help us help you. One of the things that I'm constantly asking our vendor community, I will always ask. You tell me, what do you see as your footprint? Because sometimes we may not be able to see it and so when we have various contract actions over here over there, we need to really ensure that we are being those good stewards of taxpayer dollars and that we can consolidate these efforts and we also have to be ready to listen. I want to hear the good, the bad, the ugly. But at the end of the day let's communicate your value proposition and talk to me about your capabilities. Also talk to me about what you think our VA challenges are or our IT challenges. Because when you come to me and you say can you tell me about your challenges? The first thing that goes through my mind is okay, now this tells me you did not do your homework and for those of you that know me very well, I will probably most likely say that. And for those of you that come in and you say Lawanda, you have my capabilities over here over there over there and here's your value proposition that I think that you need to consider. That's a great conversation.
(CR): Yeah, I've been in some of those meetings with you and you always do get right to the point, like, how is this going to help us serve the Veteran better and put it in layman's terms so that we can understand it. And I think that's always a good way to, you know, refocus the conversation. So that's a good segue now into this next one. And it's a little bit of an open ended question, so I'm going to scope it a bit, but since you've been with the VA, what are some of the programs you believe have had the biggest impact on Veterans? So let's just focus on maybe two, one or two programs that you are most proud of since you've been here.
(LJ): Oh man, there is just. There are just so many Chuck.
(CR): I know that's why I had to scope it.
(LJ): And it's just, it's really hard to narrow down just two. And I'm going to answer this question in terms of the partnerships that we have and really the partnerships that we have with the TAC, with you, and your office, and Michele Foster, the partnerships that we have with Angela Phillips and Phil Christy and also the partnerships that we have with the department�s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, with OSDBU, because all of these offices allows us to ensure that we are providing access and economic opportunities through developing our processes and our programs to improve our market research to increase our direct access, but most importantly maximizing the participation of procurement ready, Veteran owned small businesses and service disabled small businesses as well as women owned and hub zone. So I know I just clumped all of the socioeconomic categories together, but when you think of small businesses, small businesses are the lifeblood of our nation and so I am so very proud of our ability to collaborate with the various offices to ensure that the VA's socioeconomic goals are met. Now, do we meet all of the goals? No. And when we when I look at the goal that the Secretary has on small businesses, OIT our spend as of today and we're not even done with the end of the fiscal year for small businesses, we're already at 41% of which the VA wide goal is 26.4%. When we look at Veteran owned small businesses, we're at 41.1% and VA's goal is 17% and then when you look at service disabled Veteran owned small businesses, we're at 41.2% and VA's goal is at 15%. We're leading, VA is leading the way in the federal government when it comes to the Veterans, Small business or socioeconomic goals. What I would like to see some improvement on is our service disabled businesses, the 8A's, VA has a goal of 10% and we've only accomplished 7.2%. And then of course, women owned small businesses and being a woman myself, I would really like to see us increase that goal and reach that goal of 5%, and today we're only at 2.9% and then on, hub zones we're only at .85% and VA's goal is at 3%. I've been here for 11 years and I've seen all of these goals just increase. I can tell you that a couple of years ago and the hub zones we weren't even getting any percentages there, for women owned small businesses we were just a snippet below 1%, so we're getting better, but that's not good enough and it takes a village for us to really take a look at achieving all of our socioeconomic goals, and that's another thing that COVID-19 should have really hammered in our head, that it was the small business communities that suffered. I'm not saying that large businesses didn't suffer either, but when it comes to economic growth in our country, small businesses are the backbone.
(CR): No, that's a good point. And you're right, those are great accomplishments that you cited there as well as the one that I kind of overlooked is you brought everybody to the table too. You know, we've got all of our stakeholders, we're all engaged, we're all cooperating to deliver what's best for the Veteran. And now speaking to the Veteran; the end user, and your office is unique because you work with a lot of the different program offices so to speak, and you're the liaison that really helps them get those needs, wants, and desires on contract but are there efforts that are utilized by OIT to engage with Veterans that are using the end product to determine their level of satisfaction or any kind of useful technology that they believe would be helpful for future acquisitions?
(LJ): So, and that's a great question because when you look at OIT; OIT, we're responsible for ensuring the IT capabilities. We work hand in hand with the Veterans Experience Office (VEO), who really is working with Veterans themselves. When you look at our, Veteran�s website, va.gov, you know, VEO and our CTO (Chief Technology Officer) worked hand in hand to make sure that, as we were configuring that particular site, that it was what the Veterans wanted, and I can tell you as a recipient of Veteran's benefits for my own personal education, I use our capabilities and as a Veteran of which I would say 50% of our 8,000 government employees in OIT are Veterans, and so we speak up as a Veteran, taking my VA employee hat off and putting on my Veteran hat and we are very vocal because we are Veterans and we are the ones that are receiving these capabilities and we understand, because we have walked where our service members that are about to walk out of the door and become a Veteran; We've been in their shoes, and we know those things that they are looking for and for all of us that really work in the VA and I'm sure the same thing happens for you if you're at a family picnic or a family barbecue or any type of affair, and as soon as someone finds out that, oh you work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Well, can you tell me X,Y, and Z and why are you doing this or that? And so, we become ambassadors for our organization that has one of the highest missions. And so all of us are bringing these things back and making sure that the products and services that we provide is what the Veterans want. And so I would say that we have our account management office who works with all of our staff offices and administrations to make sure that we provide the appropriate IT capabilities that the Veterans want. That our customers want as well as just having working directly with the Veterans Experience Office as they go out and they survey the Veteran community on a lot of the products and services that the VA provides.
(CR): That's great and for our listening audience, we will put a link to the Veteran Experience Office in our corresponding blog to this podcast so that you can click on that and research that a little further. But that is good information. So, Ms. Jones we know you're busy and we thank you for being here. But before we let you go, is there anything else that you just want to share with our listening audience today?
(LJ): Yeah and Chuck, thank you again for having me on today. For the listening audience, many of you may know that I have an OIT Vendor Management Office and that office acts as the front door for IT vendors who are either doing business or seeking to do business with the VA. And so it is our goal to make sure that our relationships are maximized and so I would ask that you reach out to my office. We can also provide you with the link to our Vendor Management Office. And most importantly, Chuck, as you know your boss has set up an IT pathfinders link of which industry can go in. And so that is the preferred method that we would like for industry to engage with us, and that link leads right to my IT Vendor Management Office. And I would say that we�re looking for you to be procurement ready, so ask yourself these questions; Is your firm's industry number on the applicable National American Industry Classification Systems list? Or NAICS list? And so ask yourself, are you registered in the system for award management (i.e., SAM)? And are you registered with the Small Business Association (SBA)? It was a pleasure talking with you all. I am just so honored and so privileged to work for an agency that has a sacred mission.
(CR): Thank you for being here and we will put the links to both the Pathfinder site as well as your Vendor Management Office in the corresponding blog. Again, we can't thank you enough. You've been a great partner with the TAC, and we look forward to continue working with you and doing great things by providing good contracts that serve our Vets. So, thank you again Ms. Jones for being here. For our listening audiences, we thank you for continuing to support our podcast and tuning in to another episode of TAC Talks.
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(CR): As always, we must remind you the Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products, or services that they may be providing. We thank you for listening to this episode of TAC Talks and hope you found it helpful as well as enjoyable. You may direct any questions or feedback to me, Chuck Ross at [e-mail]. And remember, if you are passionate about government acquisition, are a continuous learner and enjoy fruitful dialogue then keep tuning into TAC Talks.
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