Costello Research Government Accounting / en George Mason鈥檚 government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century /news/2024-05/george-masons-government-contracting-center-helping-pentagon-enter-21st-century <span>George Mason鈥檚 government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century</span> <span><span>Jennifer Anzaldi</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-05-30T12:17:30-04:00" title="Thursday, May 30, 2024 - 12:17">Thu, 05/30/2024 - 12:17</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="intro-text">When the Pentagon attempts to field innovative technology, its contracting decisions are largely dictated by a process that predates personal computing. Known as the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) resourcing system, it betrays its mid-20th-century origins in its extreme emphasis on long-range management and sequential planning over more agile and rapid program execution.</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2024-05/jerrymcginn2024_300x300.jpg?itok=jQHWK38H" width="300" height="300" alt="Jerry McGinn" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Jerry McGinn</figcaption> </figure> <p>Calls for PPBE reform are nothing new in the halls of the Pentagon, but <a href="https://business.gmu.edu/news/2024-04/equipping-us-military-geopolitical-shift" title="Learn more.">recent geopolitical threats </a>have contributed to a general recognition within the federal government that change is badly needed to speed the development and acquisition of new military capabilities.</p> <p>Hence Congress鈥檚 formation in 2022 of an <a href="https://ppbereform.senate.gov/" title="Learn more.">independent commission</a> tasked with closely assessing the current process and making specific recommendations for reform.</p> <p>The Commission on PPBE Reform promptly engaged the <a href="https://business.gmu.edu/centers/center-government-contracting" title="Baroni Center for Government Contracting | Costello College of Business | 海角社区">Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting</a> at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at 海角社区 as a key research partner. The center was awarded a $645,000 Department of Defense (DoD) research contract consisting of two projects.</p> <p>First, the research team, headed by the center鈥檚 executive director <a href="https://business.gmu.edu/profiles/jmcginn5" title="Learn more.">Jerry McGinn</a>, prepared six case studies documenting PPBE鈥檚 effect on DoD鈥檚 work with both research and development centers and industry to develop and adopt new technologies.</p> <p>鈥淲e set up hypotheses and did background research on the programs,鈥 McGinn says. 鈥淥ur conclusions were based on a number of interviews with government and industry officials.鈥</p> <p>For example, one of the case studies dealt with the Air Force鈥檚 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, for the development of AI-piloted combat drones. Five Air Force officials involved in CCA told the Baroni research team that PPBE complicated necessary collaborations with the Navy and other agencies, due to siloed budgeting protocols making it difficult to align priorities and make resource decisions in a timely manner.</p> <p>Next, the Baroni research team turned their attention to three inter-related subtasks delving into specific rules governing PPBE鈥檚 application.</p> <p>鈥淔or this project, we used a mixture of non-public DoD unclassified databases as well as information available to the general public,鈥 says McGinn.</p> <p>The researchers investigated whether PPBE should vary based on DoD鈥檚 acquisition categories or remain the same for all categories, concluding that the categories were similar enough to warrant a unified process. They were also asked to evaluate how military departments and agencies use PPBE鈥檚 various acquisition pathways, resulting in a determination that 鈥渂udget justification documents, particularly for RDT&amp;E (research, development, testing and evaluation), are overly complex, unnecessarily intricate, and lack standardization鈥. Finally, the researchers performed an extensive analysis of PPBE鈥檚 legal underpinnings and the wider governmental implications of reforming the process.</p> <p>The team鈥檚 final report, submitted to the commission early in 2024, contained a consolidated list of dozens of findings and recommendations. In its own report issued in March 2024, the PPBE Reform Commission cited the Baroni team鈥檚 research numerous times.</p> <p>鈥淥ur work played a large role in informing the Commission鈥檚 findings and reinforcing their policy recommendations,鈥 McGinn noted. 鈥淭hese inputs are today being considered as Congress debates 2025 appropriations and DoD concurrently develops and vets the budget for 2026 and 2027.</p> <p>Shortly after the release of the Commission鈥檚 report, the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting hosted a rollout event at <a href="https://masonsquare.gmu.edu/" title="Mason Square">Mason Square</a> featuring the Commission鈥檚 chair, vice-chair and executive director. A series of additional events around PPBE reform are being planned for the summer.</p> <p>鈥淥ur report reflects the strategic vision with which George Mason established this research center. Our research and analysis inform the federal government as well as the large government contracting industry here in the national capital region. Our relationships and location make the center uniquely situated to benefit policy-makers and entrepreneurs, alike,鈥 McGinn says.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/jmcginn5" hreflang="en">John G. (Jerry) McGinn</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="e66fa088-8c5d-4c82-b1c1-eba5695ef739" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:call_to_action" data-inline-block-uuid="82f7e7a0-593b-42c9-ab45-fd80c081f2b2"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://business.gmu.edu/"> <h4 class="cta__title">Learn more about the Costello College of Business <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"></span> </a> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="59c425df-dcf0-4569-9f2b-c708caab9ef0" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="340c397e-52e4-4938-bbfc-4f3e467dd49f" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related News</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-eeac2f90f8988c44c470b0a32d86eee01dbb0c56e6423d9af338db9ea9604acf"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/are-there-upsides-overboarding" hreflang="en">Are there upsides to 鈥渙verboarding鈥?</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 14, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/doing-well-doing-good-theres-framework" hreflang="en">鈥淒oing well by doing good鈥? 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She is the sole academic working with the U.S. Department of Commerce鈥檚 Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to develop a pilot account tracking the environmental, goods and services (EGSS) sector of the U.S. economy. (<a href="https://seea.un.org/sites/seea.un.org/files/egss_practical_guide_ks-gq-16-011-en-n.pdf" target="_blank" title="Learn more">The UN defines ESGG</a> as 鈥渃ompris[ing]鈥he economic activities that result in products for environmental protection and resource management鈥.)&nbsp;</p> <p>Wentland and the BEA team have produced a pilot EGSS account, along with preliminary results that formed the basis of a recent <a href="https://www.nber.org/books-and-chapters/measuring-and-accounting-environmental-public-goods-national-accounts-perspective/accounting-environmental-activity-measuring-public-environmental-expenditures-and-environmental" target="_blank" title="Read the article.">working paper</a>, presented at the March 2023 <a href="https://www.nber.org/conferences/criw-measuring-and-accounting-environmental-public-goods-national-accounts-perspective-spring-2023" target="_blank" title="Learn More">NBER-CRIW conference</a>.</p> <p>鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing is, we鈥檙e developing a national account based on the supply side of our economy,鈥 Wentland explains.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Ninety countries have introduced their own environmental-economic accounts based on frameworks from the UN Statistical Commission. The challenge for Wentland and the BEA team was to design their pilot account so that it would be comparable to those of other countries while aligning with established approaches from the U.S. federal government. This involved making a huge number of close comparisons between European and American product and industry classification standards to identify shared data points that mapped to UN guidelines.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>After carefully selecting for relevant economic activity during the years 2015 and 2019, the team used the BEA鈥檚 supply-use tables鈥揺xtremely detailed compilations of economic inputs and outputs for more than 5,300 product categories鈥搕o build their estimates.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <figure class="quote"> <p>So far, the reaction to Wentland鈥檚 work from government-affiliated economists has been markedly positive.</p> </figure> <p>They found that EGSS accounted for $620.6 billion in 2015, and $724.5 billion in 2019. The top four categories were responsible for about 70 percent of the total. These were: waste management (far and away the top category, comprising one-quarter of the entire sector), management of water, wastewater management and protection of biodiversity and landscapes. This roughly matches up with equivalent studies in the EU, which also have waste management as the largest environmental-economic category, with 26-27 percent of the total.&nbsp;</p> <p>Wentland and her collaborators also divided EGSS activity into private- and public-sector output. In 2015, the government portion of environmental output stood at 28.3 percent, and the private-sector contribution at 71.7 percent. By 2019, the balance had shifted slightly, with 27.2 percent attributed to government spending, and 72.8 percent to commerce.&nbsp;</p> <p>Wentland stresses that the account is very much a work in progress. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to point out that it is not an official BEA national account. It is purely a pilot effort to see how far we can get with the data the U.S. already has.鈥 Part of the purpose of the pilot is to identify gaps in the current data available as future avenues to improve estimates. Environmental research and development (R&amp;D) is one potentially significant area where data were inaccessible.</p> <p>鈥淎 lot of companies are putting out sustainability reports, but when you get down to what percentage of them actually include an annual dollar value attached to their activity, it鈥檚 very low,鈥 Wentland says. She notes that the SEC鈥檚 proposals for mandated environmental reporting鈥搘hich may be scaled down amid strong corporate pushback鈥揷ould help fill this void. 鈥淭he alternative is likely adding questions to other lengthy surveys the BEA collects from these companies.鈥</p> <p>So far, the reaction to Wentland鈥檚 work from government-affiliated economists has been markedly positive. 鈥淭he main critique had to do with the international guidelines for product classifications themselves, rather than our methodology,鈥 Wentland reports.</p> <p>As of this writing, further development of the EGSS pilot account hinges upon the progress of President Biden鈥檚 budget for 2024. 鈥淚t鈥檚 formally listed in the budget that they have an increase allocated to this as part of the increase in the BEA鈥檚 budget. Obviously, we鈥檒l have to see how things pan out in terms of whether the budget moves forward.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>As Wentland sees it, calculating the dollars and cents that go into the 鈥済reen economy鈥 would enable granular, impact-focused policy debate on climate issues. 鈥淵ou could think about research or policy that wants to say, 鈥榃hen we spend more on EGSS, do we see emissions change or which types of investment have more impact than others?鈥 You have to be able to measure both the effort and the outcome, in order to be able to say something about its effectiveness.鈥&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/21016" hreflang="en">Accounting - Costello</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/21021" hreflang="en">ESG - Costello</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/21066" hreflang="en">Costello Research Government Accounting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20931" hreflang="en">Costello Research Sustainable Operations</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/12501" hreflang="en">Costello College of Business News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/13796" hreflang="en">Costello College of Business Faculty Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/13081" hreflang="en">Accounting Faculty Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/271" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/561" hreflang="en">Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE)</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:call_to_action" data-inline-block-uuid="4ac79eb5-fb1f-4647-aaa1-e93c314e2810"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://business.gmu.edu/faculty-and-research/highlights"> <h4 class="cta__title">More School of Business Faculty Research <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"></span> </a> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="ebbb3531-5417-401f-9701-c5813c66a911" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-cbe5c707dc44a79a1f026a998f89cc3047fdbd5807a6929a0e2861dfe7a2cc19"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/are-there-upsides-overboarding" hreflang="en">Are there upsides to 鈥渙verboarding鈥?</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 14, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/doing-well-doing-good-theres-framework" hreflang="en">鈥淒oing well by doing good鈥? 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