The Procurement Innovation Lab brought a live acquisition problem to the table. Government staff and industry sat together for a day, and nobody was allowed to pitch.
Sponsor board up, tables set, the canvas waiting on the easel. People arrived into a room that had already decided what it was for.Before anyone sat down
The Procurement Innovation Lab exists to test better ways of buying inside DHS. The day opened with the real problem, named in front of everyone, by the people who own it.The challenge, out loud
Acquisition staff and industry answering the same questions in front of the same room. No separate sessions, and nobody speaking about the other side while they were out of earshot.The panel
Mixed tables, a facilitator each, and a canvas to fill in. This is the part that separates a Collabolutions day from a conference.Government and industry, same table
Evaluation criteria, workflow friction, and who actually owns a proposal review. The conversations that usually happen separately, happening in one place instead.The hard part
Every idea had to survive being written down where the other side could read it. By the end the canvases were the record of the day.On the canvas
Each table takes the room through what it built. Canvas on the wall, no slides, and the questions come from the people who would have to live with the answer.Back to the room
The test of a day like this is simple: what exists now that did not exist yesterday, and who would pick up the phone to the other side tomorrow.Who was in the room
