Lights, Camera, Action! A New Type of DHS Proposal Is Available

In a June speech, Russell Deyo, undersecretar

y for management at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced they will be accepting video proposals in addition to traditional written propositions. Speaking at the 2016 Homeland Security Conference of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) in Washington, D.C., Deyo commented, “We’re working hard to be innovative.” The new DHS proposal option is a way for the department to decrease its footprint over the next few years.

As DHS’s chief acquisition officer, Deyo heads the department’s approximately $16.5 billion in annual purchases and more than $300 million in major acquisition programs currently in development. In 2015, Deyo, a former Johnson & Johnson executive, came out of retirement to take on the third highest office at the DHS and noted he did not possess the skill set for video production. A fan of YouTube, Deyo admits, “This is way beyond me.”

As part of a new collaboration, video proposal will give contractors the ability to present their solution in a clear concise way using various electronic methods, apps, and software to put together a finished proposal. With today’s technologies, this new opportunity for DHS proposals gives contractors a visual component to convey their product, solution, and result in a new format.

Deyo’s responsibilities at DHS include IT, focusing his efforts to prioritize the needs of the department instead of looking at individual components. “Change is hard, but we’ve accomplished it,” Deyo said. Additional work is planned to modernize financial systems. Created in 2002 by combining 22 federal agencies, the DHS has leases expiring in the next five years. Deyo’s goal is to decrease the department’s footprint over the next few years, and this new DHS proposal type is one of the ways he plans to do so.

With about 230,000 employees, DHS has been dealing with an increasingly low morale problem. With a visit to the New York Police Department, Deyo was able to get an insight on the tough issues but understands it won’t be a quick turnaround. With parting advice to federal managers, Deyo suggested giving attention to management support and listening to the people.

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