Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Maxwell Associate Dean, Doctoral Student Author IBM Report on Improving Defense Acquisition

Monday, November 9, 2015, By News Staff
Share
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the IBM Center for the Business of Government will issue a report called “Beyond Business as Usual: Improving Defense Acquisition through Better Buying Power” that was jointly authored by Maxwell School Associate Dean David Van Slyke and Ph.D. student Zachary Huitink.

David Van Slyke

David Van Slyke

“This is one of the first full-scale examinations of the Department of Defense’s ‘Better Buying Power’ initiatives,” says IBM. The Better Buying Power (BBP) initiatives were launched in 2010 by current Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in his previous position as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. The goal of the initiatives is to get more for each dollar DOD spends on buying goods and services. The third version of the program, Better Buying Power 3.0, was announced in April 2015.

“Funding for public management research is limited and and the competition is significant to receive one of the IBM Center for the Business of Government’s small number of awards. That a project proposal submitted by a doctoral student was funded speaks strongly to the quality inherent in the work set forth by Zach,” says Van Slyke, chair of the public administration and international affairs department. “The center’s praise for the ultimate report and the rigor and quality of analysis is a strong endorsement of Zach Huitink’s systematic and objective research. He is the first doctoral student in the public administration and international affairs department to receive this prestigious source of funding and recognition. I’m confident we can expect continued high quality research and analysis from Zach in the future.”

“I was honored to receive a grant from the IBM Center, and deeply grateful for the opportunity it afforded Dr. Van Slyke and me to conduct research on an issue with real relevance to U.S. national security,” says Huitink. “I am also grateful to the Maxwell School’s Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, as well as to the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, each of which provided additional support for the project. Given the current pressure on the defense budget and the unprecedented mix of security challenges confronting the nation, maximizing the return both taxpayers and war fighters receive from each dollar invested in defense acquisition is critical. We sincerely hope our case study of Better Buying Power makes a contribution to this effort, as well as advances the objective of connecting scholarship with practice to address key public policy challenges.”

Zachary Huitink

Zachary Huitink

In their report, Huitink and Van Slyke examine the following core initiatives of Better Buying Power:

  • Achieving affordability and controlling costs
  • Promoting competition
  • Providing incentives
  • Reducing bureaucracy
  • Improving services

For each core initiative, the authors examine the motivation for the initiative, experience to date and the challenges facing each. The report sets forth eight lessons learned about implementing acquisition reform.

Although Better Buying Power was launched within the Department of Defense, the report’s authors conclude that there is government-wide applicability of the initiative. The report concludes with three government-wide recommendations:

  • Continue to pursue the idea of “agile”
  • Maintain and enhance the focus on improving services
  • Further the effort to build partnerships outside the traditional industrial base
  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Engaged Humanities Network Community Showcase Spotlights Collaborative Work
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • Students Engaged in Research and Assessment
    Tuesday, May 20, 2025, By News Staff
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, May 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Media, Law & Policy

Memorial Fund Honors Remarkable Journalism Career, Supports Students Involved With IDJC

Maxwell School alumna Denise Kalette ’68 got her first byline at age 12, under a poem titled “The Poor Taxpayer” that she submitted to her local newspaper. In a few paragraphs of playful prose, she drew attention to an issue…

New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’

Fourteen student-athletes will experience Washington, D.C., next week as part of a new Maymester program hosted by the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC). The one-week program, Democracy Playbook: DC Media and Civics Immersion for Student-Athletes, will…

Advance Local, Newhouse School Launch Investigative Reporting Fellowship Program

A new collaboration with Advance Local will provide Newhouse School journalism students opportunities to write and report on investigative projects with local impact for newsrooms across the country. The David Newhouse Investigative Reporting Fellowship program, which launched this year in…

Lauren Woodard Honored for Forthcoming Book on Migration Along Russia-China Border

Lauren Woodard, assistant professor of anthropology, has received the Spring 2025 Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) First Book Subvention for her upcoming book on Russia’s migration policies on the Russia-China border. Woodard’s book is titled “Ambiguous…

Maxwell School Proudly Ranks No. 1 for Public Affairs in 2025

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs has earned the No. 1 overall spot in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Public Affairs Schools rankings. This year’s top ranking follows Maxwell’s yearlong celebration of its founding 100…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.