Air Force Management of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund: Opportunities for Improvement

Abstract

The Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (DAWDF) charter requires the Director of Acquisition Career Management in each of the services to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with measurable objectives and to track the performance of programs receiving resources from the fund. To satisfy this requirement, the Air Force Office of Acquisition Career Management, SAF/AQH, asked the RAND Corporation to help develop a framework for using DAWDF to effectively invest in recruiting, retaining, and developing the civilian acquisition workforce. This report discusses process, data collection, and metrics improvements that will help the Air Force DAWDF program manager better initiate and track the performance of DAWDF initiatives. It also describes a general framework for prioritizing DAWDF proposals that could be useful for all DoD DAWDF program managers. Finally, it presents insights on the use of recruiting, training, and retention initiatives outside DoD, based on interviews with 21 commercial organizations that have been listed among Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For.