ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In this episode of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center podcast, host Mike Derrios speaks with Trevor Wagner, Director of The LAB (Learn, Assess, Build) for Acquisition Innovation at the Department of Commerce. Wagner discusses how meaningful innovation in federal acquisition is rooted in culture and mindset change rather than technology. He highlights the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul's emphasis on professional judgment, the importance of early industry engagement, and leadership support for thoughtful risk-taking. Using NOAA's cloud transition as a success story, Wagner demonstrates how robust market research and streamlined processes drive competition and better outcomes. He also addresses protest mitigation, measuring innovation, and fostering open government-industry communication.
Food for Thought—There's so much more in the recording!
"If a person or a program wants to try something new to obtain some sort of value or benefit, then we think that they are innovating and we want to support them." [00:03:22]
"We must disabuse the notion that including industry throughout our market research and our requirements building is risky. On the inverse, not doing it is super risky." [00:24:04]
