The Striking the Balance course list provides a description of available courses and presentation materials for self-paced course instruction. The recorded sessions are available on DAU’s website here.
| Date | Training Event Title | Description | Course Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 JAN 13 | Pricing and Other Transactions: Striking the Balance Between Speed and Price | The Department of Defense wants to crowdsource and explore how it evaluates price in Other Transaction environments. While the DoD guidance is to use price analysis, too commonly the Government tends to resort to cost data and cost analysis. Join DAU professor of contracting Michelle Currier, and pricing experts Ryan Connell, DCMA; Daniel Kent, USAF Survivable Airborne Operations Division; and Christine Sordillo, ACC-Aberdeen; for a discussion of how the DoD can use existing authorities and methods to quickly perform price analysis in support of acquisition streamlining | Speed and Price |
| 2021 JAN 27 | Meeting Warfighters’ Requirements While Achieving Industry Financial Goals | What incentivizes industry? How do we determine the health of the defense industry? How do companies compensate their corporate executives? What are some key financial indicators you should know? Most importantly, how does knowledge of the defense industry help to negotiate better business deals? Join DAU as we host Ms. Janice Muskopf, Director, Price, Cost and Finance, Office of the Principal Director, Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)); and Mr. Phil McManus, McManus Consulting, LLC for their presentation on “Understanding the Defense Industry.” |
Balancing Industry and Warfighter Needs |
| 2021 FEB 10 | Price and Value for Software Acquisition | This webinar will feature Ryan Connell, Director, Northeast Pricing Team, Defense Contract Management Agency Commercial Item Group, leading a discussion on how to strike the balance between price and value in software acquisition. | Software Acquisition |
| 2021 MAR 10 | Price and Data Rights | This webinar will feature Ryan Connell, Director, Northeast Pricing Team, Defense Contract Management Agency Commercial Item Group, leading a discussion on how to strike the balance between price and data rights, and intellectual property valuation. | Price and Data Rights |
| 2021 APR 14 | Lessons Learned and Best Practices on Speed, Price, and Quality | Join DAU faculty Renee Butler and Michelle Currier for a special edition of our "Striking the Balance" series featuring DPC's Janice Muskopf. As Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy’s Director for Price, Cost, and Finance, Janice Muskopf lives by the philosophy that balancing speed, price, and quality are not mutually exclusive propositions. This philosophy guides her reviews of major defense acquisitions, and the lessons learned and best practices gleaned from these reviews are equally applicable to all levels of contracting and pricing. During this session she will share lessons learned and best practices to improve the quality of the Department’s contracting processes, and ensure that contracting officers implement policy and regulations in a consistent manner. | Sole Source Lessons Learned |
| 2021 MAY 12 | FPIF Contracts with Leslie Overturf | This "Striking the Balance" webinar features Leslie Overturf, Senior Procurement Analyst in Price, Cost and Finance for the office of the Principal Director, Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (DPC). Ms. Overturf will discuss the use of Fixed Price Incentive Firm (FPIF) contracts and how they can be used to balance Government requirements and industry needs to get a good deal that supports the warfighter while prudently spending taxpayer dollars. | FPIF Contracts |
| 2021 JUL 21 | Performance-Based Payments | Performance-based payments (PBP) are the preferred government financing method when the contracting officer finds them practical, and the contractor agrees to their use. When can they be used? How do you negotiate a PBP arrangement? How can you use the PBP Analysis Tool to help develop your negotiation position? Join DAU faculty Michelle Currier and Dr. Renee Butler for an in-depth discussion with Phil McManus, of McManus Consulting, LLC, for a demonstration of the Performance Based Payments Analysis Tool. McManus will provide an introduction and overview for Performance Based Payments as it applies to structuring, and negotiating, "win-win" PBP agreements with contractors. | Performance-Based Payments |
| 2021 AUG 04 | Cost Plus Incentive Fees | This "Striking the Balance" webinar features Leslie Overturf, Senior Procurement Analyst in Price, Cost and Finance for the office of the Principal Director, Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (DPC). Ms. Overturf will discuss the use of Cost Plus Incentive Fee contracts and how they can be utilized when a cost-reimbursement contract is necessary due to less-defined requirements. This contract type allows the PCO to strike the balance between mitigating cost risk for the contractor, while also allowing both industry and the taxpayer to benefit from achieved savings while also providing the warfighter with what they need to meet mission. During this discussion, Overturf will demonstrate the use of the DoD CPIF Pricing Tool. | CPIF Contracts |
| 2021 OCT 06 | Pricing Variable Quantities | DAU faculty members Dr. Renee Butler and Michelle Currier will be joined by Stephen Rost, Cost/Price Analyst with Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, for the October offering of DAU's the "Striking the Balance" webinar series. Rost will discuss the basics of pricing variable quantities, including why we price variable quantities and the inputs that are needed to develop a successful request for proposal and construct a pricing scenario that creates flexibility while balancing the cost risk for both parties. Rost will lead an in-depth discussion of various methods for pricing variable quantities and provide analytical tools that contracting officers can utilize to drive outcomes that are equitable to both the government and the contractor. | Pricing Variable Quantities |
| 2021 DEC 15 | Subcontracting | Join DAU faculty Dr. Renee Butler and Professor Michelle Currier for a special edition of the DPC "Striking the Balance” series featuring Ms. Shannon Prince, Field Support Representative with Headquarters Air Force, SAF/AQCP. Ms. Prince will discuss the importance of striking the balance between recognizing the prime's responsibility for awarding subcontracts to responsible sources at reasonable prices, with the Contracting Officer's responsibility to provide goods and services to support the warfighter at fair and reasonable prices for the taxpayer. Ms. Prince will discuss the basics of evaluating subcontract business deals including topics such as important thresholds for obtaining data, commercial subcontracts, sole source cost and price analyses, consent to subcontract, long-term agreements; and why early engagement with the prime is critical. |
Subcontract Pricing |
| 2022 AUG 23 | Constructing EPA Clauses | This course covers the importance of "Striking the Balance" when mitigating the risk of economic uncertainty between the Government and Industry. The course includes topics such as the basics regarding the impact of abnormal inflation on Government and Industry, how to carefully consider contract type amidst market fluctuation, and creating EPA clauses based on cost indices of labor or material to share risk in a way that is fair to both the Government and Industry to "Strike the Balance"! | |