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<p>The purpose of this study is to explore whether and how the United States Air Force (USAF) can improve efficiency in sourcing knowledge-based services by instituting for-profit sector best practices in strategic sourcing. Knowledge-based services are a major part of the total services acquired by the Department of Defense (DoD); however, the DoD is currently unable to determine how much savings can be attained in this area. Despite evolving DoD policies, there is currently no cost-saving/avoidance framework or set of best practices for knowledge-based service contracts. In this study, we interviewed procurement professionals from the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, analyzed USAF knowledge-based service contracts, and conducted a spend analysis on the USAF FY2010 spend data to identify for-profit best practices to aid the USAF in realizing cost savings when purchasing knowledge-based services. The findings of this research suggest that the USAF is currently not utilizing the for-profit best practices to their fullest potential. This study provides recommendations for the USAF and DoD to realize additional cost savings in the purchasing of knowledge-based services. Additionally, the research serves as a pilot for future study on identifying for-profit sector best practices in the sourcing of knowledge-based services.
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<br>Subjects: Knowledge-based Services; FY2010 USAF Federal Procurement Data System (Spend Data); Product and Service Code Manual 1998; For-profit Sector Best Practices in Strategic Sourcing; Knowledge Management Theory</div>
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<dl><dd>Syed, Mohammad</dd>
<dd>Qureshi, Muhammad</dd>
<dd>Welch, Brian</dd></dl></div>
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