Digital IT Acquisition Professional (DITAP) Training

Led by our team of master coaches and educators, this 6-month, part-time course is designed to immerse you in the core fundamentals of digital acquisition and how to use this knowledge to change the way your agency procures modern technology products and services. Upon completion, you'll earn the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Core-Plus Specialization in Digital Services (FAC-C-DS) and up to 80 Continuous Learning Points.

What you'll learn

In this course, you'll learn how to translate critical concepts and resources in the field of digital acquisition into effective, real-world practice at your agency. You'll learn:

• The fundamentals of digital services, including agile software delivery, human-centered design, cloud computing, and X-as-a-service.
• How to determine customer needs, how to assess which digital service solutions are most likely to succeed given your agency's current level of maturity, and how to conduct market research.
• How to develop an acquisition strategy that effectively factors in customer needs, digital service maturity, market research findings, and digital acquisition best practices.
• Proven tools and techniques for awarding and administering digital service contracts that actually deliver results.
• Leadership and communication skills you need to win stakeholder buy-in for digital acquisition

Who should attend

If you have a Level II or Level III FAC-C certification, then this is an ideal course for you.

But this training course isn't just for contracting professionals seeking certification.

It's for anyone who plays a role in the lifecycle of an acquisition, and wants to learn how to transform acquisition outcomes through digital acquisition methods.

So whether you're a finance officer, legal counsellor, procurement officer, program manager, or technical manager, you'll benefit greatly from this training.

Expected workload

• 12 full days of mandatory classroom instruction consisting of three separate, three-day in-person sessions.
• 15 hours of virtual, instructor-led training.
• 12 hours per week of asynchronous, self-paced learning (e.g., reading articles, participating in online discussions, contributing to work activities, and working on assignments).

What's included

The cost of registration includes:

• 6 months of digital acquisition training.
• Access to all course materials and our online learning platform.
• Access to our training team, who will be available for 1-on-1 sessions during non-classroom hours.
• Collaboration and networking opportunities.
• While most of the program can be completely remotely, travel for the in-person classroom session isn't included.

Upon successful completion, you'll earn:

• Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Core-Plus Specialization in Digital Services (FAC-C-DS).
• Up to 80 Continuous Learning Points, or CLPs, based on your level of achievement in the program.

Location

This class is a combination on online and in-person instruction. Full logistical details will be provided prior to the start of the course.

About your trainers

Chris Cairns

Chris served as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, and co-founded 18F. He started and built 18F's influential acquisition group, which specializes in digital acquisition methods. Chris is known for pioneering 18F's agile acquisition framework, and for architecting the government's first-ever agile vendor contract vehicle using a tech challenge.

Dan Levenson

Dan is a senior executive with Agile Six. He previously served as a certified digital acquisition expert and contracting officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). At CMS, Dan architected and managed a highly successful agile vendor contract vehicle, which supports programs such as the Quality Payment Program.

Robert Read, PhD

Robert served as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, and co-founded 18F. Originally trained by agile pioneer Kent Beck, Robert has over 15 years experience as an agile practitioner and coach. He holds a PhD in computer science, and is best known for writing a popular, multilingual guide on how to be a programmer.

Leslie Garner Franklin

Leslie brings nearly two decades of experience in user research, user experience design, product management, digital leadership, and instructional design. She started her career at Teach For America, and has worked for notable design firms such as EchoUser.

Policies

• Each course requires a minimum of 15 participants. The run dates are contingent upon meeting this minimum.
• You can submit a cancellation request 30 business days or more prior to the start of the course and receive a full refund, minus the Eventbrite processing fee, if applicable. If you submit a cancellation request fewer than 10 business days prior to the start of the course, you'll be issued a credit toward a future Skylight training course. The credit will be equal to the amount paid for the initial course less any applicable fees. Should Skylight cancel the course for any reason, you'll be refunded 100% of the registration cost.

COVID-19

If COVID-19 continues to present public-health risks, in-person classroom sessions will be held virtually.

More information

For more information on this course, including a detailed syllabus, check out our Skylight DITAP website page.