Mike Nartker
NS&D Monitor
1/17/2014

The Department of Energy is in negotiations with former DOE official Dan Lehman on a new sole-source contract to help improve project management at the Department’s Office of Science. The contract is estimated to be worth approximately $185,000 and would run from Feb. 7 to Dec. 31, according to a notice published this week. Under the new contract, Lehman, who formerly headed up DOE’s Office of Project Assessment, would be responsible for “performing a comprehensive assessment of current project management/delivery capabilities of DOE and SC [Office of Science] laboratories and/or major projects with emphasis on organizational project management/delivery cultures,” the notice says. “The fundamental goals of this effort are to characterize the current state of project delivery capability, and to identify good project management/delivery practices that can be shared among the laboratories and SC programs,” it states.

Lehman would also be responsible for providing “expert advice and counsel” for “project management improvement strategies and actions based on ongoing and historical SC and DOE project management practices and project outcomes;” as well as supporting the planning and execution of project peer reviews or special assessments and performing up to 20 hours per month of “mentoring for SCand DOE groups or individuals on a wide range of project management and project delivery topics,” according to the notice.

Explaining DOE’s decision to pursue a sole-source contract with Lehman, a Department spokesperson said late this week, “This expertise is critical for DOE’s Office of Science as it pursues a number of initiatives currently underway to enhance project management. There has been attrition at the Office of Science-managed laboratories in project management positions, reorganizations at laboratories creating new (and in some cases losing) project management functions, and some recent project management lapses or instances of less than desired project performance. The consultant hired must have a clear understanding of the state of project management capability and project performance issues across the Office of Science complex.”