The Department of Transportation spent $5.6 billion on procurement in fiscal 2011 but lacks sufficient and reliable data to fully identify its acquisition workforce needs and assess progress in addressing shortfalls over time, GAO has said.
It found a lack of internal controls to maintain, compare and reconcile data compiled from DoT’s 11 operating administrations (OAs) and determined that the department-level data were not sufficient to assess progress.
For example, Transportation did not maintain the data it used to prepare the 2010 and 2011 acquisition workforce plans and in some cases the data were also not available from the OAs, according to GAO-13-117.
Further, it said some OAs reported low certification rates for program/project managers and contracting officer’s representatives, which increases the risk of DoT programs not receiving appropriate oversight.
DoT lacks the strategic focus and oversight needed to ensure that the department can meet its acquisition workforce goals, GAO concluded.
It said Transportation agreed to take steps to improve its ability to address workforce needs, such as improving internal controls for acquisition workforce data and providing guidance to ensure that the OAs collect and report workforce data consistently.
