Outcome-Based Contracting Reorients Government IT Acquisition Around Public Value and Mission Results

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Outcome-Based Contracting Reorients Government IT Acquisition Around Public Value and Mission Results

Article Published April 21, 2026

This article originally appeared on the Federation of American Scientists website on April 21, 2026.

By Ann Lewis

The effectiveness of federal programs is increasingly determined by the technology that powers them. Yet decades of oversight and research have documented persistent challenges in large-scale IT modernization. The Government Accountability Office has repeatedly designated federal IT management as high risk, citing cost overruns, schedule delays, weak requirements management, and inadequate oversight.

This paper examines Outcome-Based Contracting (OBC) as a model for aligning acquisition with the realities of modern IT delivery. OBC reframes procurement around the staged achievement of measurable mission outcomes rather than the delivery of predefined technical artifacts. OBC ties funding, evaluation, and continuation decisions to mission outcomes and pairs naturally with iterative delivery practices that surface and reduce risk early.

Read the Full Article

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Outcome-Based Contracting Reorients Government IT Acquisition Around Public Value and Mission Results

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