Solving the Last Mile of Tech Acquisition is Critical to Defense

Dcode is Hacking Bureaucracy to Do It

The Department of Defense (DoD) and its agencies have no shortage of cutting-edge prototypes and promising technologies to fulfill critical needs. What they often struggle with, according to Dcode Founder and CEO Meagan Metzger, is the ability to effectively transition these innovations into widespread operational use.

“For years, the DoD has invested millions in building cutting-edge technologies, but too often they don’t make it into programs at scale—even when the tech has been tested, proven to work in the field, and there is a critical need for it,” Metzger explains.

This gap—the final stretch between successful technology demonstration and full implementation—is what experts call the “Last Mile” of federal tech acquisition. For nearly a decade, Metzger and other Dcoders have worked successfully with federal clients to identify and address acquisition barriers.

“It’s not easy, but it’s absolutely doable when we consider all of the factors that typically get blocked along the way—budget, process, acquisition, legal and policy, culture and workforce—and we work together to unblock them.” 

Spotting the Biggest Roadblocks—and Navigating Around Them

The first step in getting tech across the Last Mile is for the DoD to know its own enemy, Metzger notes, and Dcode has identified two primary sets of barriers that often stymie the agility necessary to scale  acquisition of cutting-edge solutions:

1. Policy and process barriers, including:

• Rigid contract structures that lock in long-term contracts with prime contractors
• Inflexible requirements processes that inhibit adaptability and keep agencies from staying current with emerging capabilities (creating the risk of adversaries rolling them out faster)
• Over-prescriptive budgets that require predicting technology needs years in advance with little room for adjustment 
• Closed, proprietary architectures that prevent integration of new technologies

 

After both active duty and work as an acquisition professional for the U.S. Army, Dcode Director of Client Success Mia Bruner has seen these roadblocks on the government side—and in the field. “When your contract mechanisms are inflexible and your budget doesn’t account for today’s critical needs, the promise of new tech goes unrealized and the warfighter is ultimately at a disadvantage,” notes Bruner. 

Metzger offers a common scenario: “Two years ago a defense program didn’t fund a critical capability because they didn’t know they needed it yet. Now the finance and budget folks are asked to try to find a way to work it in, but they are locked in with a long-term contractor and the requirements frameworks don’t accommodate the new technology.”

2. Knowledge and incentive barriers

These bureaucratic roadblocks are 100% solvable, Metzger says, but not without first addressing the second barrier she often sees: the workforce’s ability to take advantage of unconventional acquisition approaches. Defense acquisition personnel were hired and trained to follow the most typical or common contracting and budgeting protocols, but these weren’t necessarily designed for the rapid pace of technological change we see today. 

Bruner notes that waivers to typical contracting rules and other special authorizations—such as Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and Commercial Solutions Offerings (CSO)—are available that can facilitate more rapid fielding and integration of new tech, but they aren’t always leveraged to full advantage. “The issue is that folks working in acquisitions, legal, and tech requirements need the training, tools, and know-how to access those options and navigate the system differently,” Metzger adds. 

Learning from Defense Acquisition Successes

When acquisition is able to sprint through the Last Mile, it sets a high bar. Metzger points to the success of the Navy Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) as a key example. Working with Dcode, the team focused on breaking down acquisition silos and aligning capability priorities to mission needs, developing a Capability Portfolio Model that significantly increases tech acquisition timelines. 

“This team is now managing to deploy in just one year tech that would typically take 24-36 months to get into the field,” Metzger says. She notes several key actions the team took to succeed—illuminating best practices for other defense programs:

• • Addressing a real operational problem
    The team understood end-user needs and fleet requirements, enabling laser focus specificity in fielding the right tech
  • Prioritizing a partner-first approach
    Close collaboration across the Navy and with industry partners brought together all stakeholders to focus on the finish line and navigate acquisitions and requirements efficiently
  • Defining a clear outcome and goal
    The team set a specific, time-bound objective of deploying new tech in under 12 months
  • Gaining leadership top cover
    The team aligned leadership to gain buy-in and clear understanding of critical urgency, and leaders provided teams with autonomy to navigate established systems to try new approaches and innovative problem solving 

 

Bruner emphasizes that industry also has significant responsibility to avoid Last Mile roadblocks – and systems engineering processes play a key role. “They provide the technical foundation that ensures needed performance—that the tech meets size requirements, sensor range specifications, integration with existing systems—all those things that ensure the tech will be tactically useful to fulfill the mission,” Bruner notes.

Leveraging Industry to Operationalize Rapid Acquisition and Integration

Metzger and Bruner both emphasize that defense agencies don’t need to tackle Last Mile challenges alone—and in fact, doing so may not be as effective as bringing in outside perspectives. 

“Industry experts who have worked in the federal government can bring additional perspectives and guide defense organizations to identify the most appropriate acquisition pathways based on specific technology goals,” says Bruner. 

This “bureaucracy hacking” approach is exactly how Dcode champions government customers, Metzger adds. “We’ve designed a specific methodology and framework along with rapid acquisition and integration services to help government navigate this process and make that Last Mile a sprint,” she says. 

“Solving tech acquisition simply isn’t an option anymore. Both adversaries and technology are advancing at lightning speed, so we have to get it right to keep our country safe.”

 

 

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