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

Join the Aspen Policy Academy mailing list to learn more about us and our fellows (you’ll receive one email a week).

{"action":"swipe","clientId":"ac5a79b3-027f-4735-ad6e-8ed9a01adc94","controls":["submits"],"property":"newsletter","recipients":"","receipts":"","rules":[],"subject":""}

{"type":"email","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Email Address","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"email_address","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"^[a-zA-Z0-9.]{2,}@[a-zA-Z0-9]{3,}\\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$","count":1}

Email Address

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"First Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"first_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

First Name

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Last Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"last_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Last Name

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"I want to learn how to change policy"},{"label":"I am a journalist"}],"title":"Focus","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["multiple"],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":684774041,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Focus

Description of field

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"Washington DC area"},{"label":"New York City area"},{"label":"San Francisco Bay area"},{"label":"Los Angeles area"},{"label":"I'm in another location"}],"title":"Select your location","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":851931556,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Select your location

Description of field

By submitting this form, I agree that the Aspen Institute can collect, process, and retain limited personal information for administrative purposes; and that the Institute can share this limited personal information with its trusted service providers for program administration purposes. I consent to receiving email communications from the Aspen Policy Academy. I understand I can withdraw my consent at any time by contacting DataPrivacyLegal@aspeninstitute.org.

I agree to the Aspen Institute’s Terms of Use Agreement and acknowledge that I have read and understand the Aspen Institute Privacy Policy which provides additional information about how the Institute processes personal information, as well as rights I may have regarding the personal information the Institute maintains about me.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox for our next weekly newsletter!

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"header","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"mobile","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

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

{"abilities":[],"action":"swipe","className":"wide","columns":3,"controls":["arrows"],"exclude":[{"starter.postid":"29316"},{"default.postid":"26818"}],"filters":[],"include":[{"starter.termid":"120"},{"starter.termid":"231"},{"starter.termid":"235"}],"maximum":6,"meta":[],"property":"box","searching":"","sorts":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"sorting":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in","relevance"],"filtering":"","refiner":false,"total":98}

Aspen Policy Academy

AI’s Biggest Energy Impact Might Be in the Oil Patch, Not the Data Center

Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop

Apply Now: New AI Civic Action Accelerator