Capt. Don Harder: Navy’s NGEN Recompete Now an Outcome-Based Contract

Capt. Don Harder, deputy program executive officer for the U.S. Navy’s enterprise information systems, told Federal Times in an interview published Friday the reason behind the service’s move to make the Next Generation Enterprise Networks recompete program become an “outcome-based type of contract.”

“In easy terms, we’re getting away from ‘how I want them to do it’ to ‘here are the eight or 10 big-ticket objective outcomes that we’re looking for from the network,’” he said of the recompete contract.

“What we’re asking for industry to provide to us will be their attempt to state, ‘Here’s the way we want to ensure that flexibility, optimization, effectiveness of the network is maintained as those types of needs and desires and requirements change or evolve over the next many years,’” he added.

Harder cited the Navy’s implementation of an “open door” process to immediately gain industry feedback on the NGEN follow-on contract and the need for a culture change when it comes to services procurement.

He said the change in the network acquisition strategy has allowed the Navy to consider the “incorporation of modern industry capabilities” such as the use of technically acceptable platforms, unified communications, hybrid cloud, bandwidth optimization, virtual infrastructure and integration with the service’s legacy network, Navy-Marine Corps Intranet.