Acquisition MythBusters 2025-03: Procurement Innovation Labs aren’t Just About Technology
One surprise that’s come from jumping into the private sector is the misconception about Innovation Labs. Perhaps it’s just because I’m coming out of an 1102 bubble, but there seems to be a common belief that they are there to sandbox and demo new technology. While Tech does play a factor, the assumption that it is the foundation of a Lab misses the spirit and purpose of these (often unfunded) centers for the 1102 community.
Why this matters? A lot of the discussion around the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul is centering around how crucial the right training is going to play in it’s success. As 1102 course time and classroom training has continued to decline in the last few years (to completely date myself … I remember when CON 90 was the month-long mandatory starter course!), a smart use of Procurement Innovation Labs will play a crucial role in any hybrid approach to ensuring that agency 1102s understand how to implement newly allowed flexibilities.
The Myth: “A Procurement Innovation Lab is merely a space or program to test new technology tools and software solutions.”
Reality: Procurement Innovation Labs (PILs) are fundamentally about fostering a culture of strategic experimentation, agility, and risk-tolerance within procurement teams, not merely testing new technologies. While technology is often part of innovation efforts, PILs primarily exist to redefine and improve procurement practices and processes through iterative experimentation, organizational mindset shifts, and a willingness to rethink traditional rules and approaches.
Even agencies that do not have PILs closely monitor the largest ones to understand procurement best practices and techniques they can introduce to their own teams. From confidence scales to self-ratings and affordability statements, these labs set the precedence (and evidence such as protest outcomes) to allow 1102s to make the case for change to a notoriously risk adverse culture.
Why Does This Myth Persist? The Acquisition-community (from PMs and CORs to industry and 1102s in highly bureaucratic agencies) often associate the term "innovation" exclusively with digital tools, automation platforms, or emerging technologies like AI. This narrow focus causes organizations to overlook the transformative potential of innovation labs as cultural and strategic enablers. Moreover, technology solutions are tangible and easily demonstrable, whereas cultural and process-based changes are more abstract and harder to showcase.
Breaking Down the Reality:
Cultural Change: Procurement Innovation Labs prioritize creating environments where experimentation and calculated risk-taking are encouraged. Staff members are empowered to propose new approaches without fear of failure. This cultural shift can lead to more efficient, responsive, and adaptive procurement teams, better able to manage emerging challenges like the ongoing FAR overhaul.
Iterative Experimentation: Rather than solely adopting technologies wholesale, effective innovation labs run pilots and controlled experiments. These iterative cycles allow procurement teams to quickly learn what works, make rapid adjustments, and scale successes. This methodology, derived from Agile practices, significantly reduces risk and enhances flexibility. This aspect specifically is where the IT perception truly comes into play.
Process Redesign: Often the greatest value from a procurement innovation lab is realized not through technology adoption, but through rethinking outdated procurement processes. Streamlining cumbersome internal policies, eliminating redundant approval layers, or redesigning source selection processes can dramatically cut procurement timelines and reduce operational costs. One technique that was a game changer for myself and my Team was the introduction of the advisory down select, allowing less cumbersome front end vetting for both the government and industry and more transparency on a vendor’s changes in a procurement.
Collaboration and Cross-Functional Teams: Effective innovation labs foster cross-functional collaboration, bringing together procurement specialists, program managers, technical experts, and end-users to collectively solve procurement problems. Such diversity in collaboration ensures comprehensive solutions that address actual organizational needs rather than just "tech for tech’s sake." Tech doesn’t mean the IT team alone though, for example we would often work through innovations with teams ranging from Finance (systems and modeling sides) to legal or deal sourcing, to figure out ways to get resources for those offices quicker and more effectively.
Talent Development: By exposing procurement professionals to new ways of thinking, PILs become incubators for talent development. Staff gain new skills in project management, strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, and change management, directly enhancing organizational capacity to handle complex acquisitions and transitions. Think of it as an incubator to grow a culture willing to take risks and think outside the box.
