This research identifies where poor communication between DoD and industry, between DoD and Congress, and internally within DoD is hampering acquisition outcomes
Arlington, Virginia, September 10, 2025 – The Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University released its latest White Paper: What We’ve Got Here Is Failure to Communicate: How Better Communication Can Improve DoD Acquisition Outcomes.
“Effective communication is key to the success of any organization. In the Department of Defense (DoD), breakdowns in communication—or the absence of robust communication—have led to subpar requirements, inefficient budgeting, increased bid protests, poor acquisition outcomes, increased costs, and a strained DoD–industry relationship.”
Written by Moshe Schwartz, Michelle V. J. Johnson, and Daniella Schwartz, this white paper provides a framework for identifying and defining communication challenges, drawing from case studies that illustrate both successes and failures. Some of the most common communication challenges found in DoD include a lack of clarity, withholding information, lack of trust, one-way communication, and communication processes that often lack the substantive discussions intended by the formal communication process. The authors’ research assesses the impact of these challenges on the acquisition process and its outcomes, identifies causes, and recommends approaches to improving communication and collaboration.
Why it matters:
Healthy communication drives innovation: “Private industry is one of the greatest strengths of the United States. DoD can tap this innovation by ensuring all aspects of its acquisition system view communication with its partners through a relational, rather than a transactional, lens.
- “On the other hand, failure to improve communication will lead to DoD having less competition, less access to advanced capabilities, and a defense industrial base that is disconnected from the greater dynamic national industrial base.”
The authors provide a framework for achieving effective communication:
- Be timely and responsive to feedback
- Allow for information to flow both ways along the communication channel
- Be meaningful, not formulaic
- Treat individual communications as part of a larger relationship
- Build new knowledge collaboratively
- Establish trust, and
- Most importantly, foster an environment where communication is encouraged.
The authors consider potential benefits for applying this framework to engagements with industry, the regulatory process, and Congressional coordination.
The research demonstrates how these benefits can apply in two areas of high interest in the government contracting community:
- Decreased bid protests and improved future competition
- Increased industry participation in the solicitation process and a diversified supply chain