Digital IT Acquisition Professional Training Program (DITAP)

Traditional federal government training and procurement practices often inhibit agencies' ability to effectively acquire and implement modern IT/Digital Services, because they lag behind the rapidly changing technology and markets. Timely, relevant, and continuous training for acquisition professionals is the key to keeping pace.

Accordingly, the United States Digital Service (USDS) and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) collaborated to develop a specialized and immersive training and development program called the Digital IT Acquisition Program (DITAP).

What is DITAP?

This training and development program teaches federal government acquisition professionals to design innovative and flexible procurements for IT/Digital Services, and how to become change ambassadors. Once completed all students earn 60 to 80 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs), and a DITAP Training Certificate, which can be used to apply for the Digital Services Credential (DITAP), through the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) Credential Program.

• Each DITAP class is called a cohort
• Each cohort has a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 30 students
• Each cohort runs for approximately 6-months
• Agency-only cohorts consist of students from one agency
• Open-agency cohorts consist of students from various agencies
• All cohorts are being held remotely, and there are no travel requirements
• Agencies are required to cover all travel costs for in-person cohorts
• Cohorts may include contracting professionals, Contracting Officer's Representatives (CORs), and/or Program and Project Managers (PMs)

DITAP Learning Objectives, Competencies, and Performance Outcomes

After completing the program, acquisition professionals will be able to:

• Execute digital service procurements and act as qualified business advisors on digital services over FAR 13.500(c) thresholds.
• Work directly within an agency digital services team or acquisition innovation lab to serve as a business advisor to the team, its customers, and stakeholders.
• Lead agency training workshops and consult on ways to expand digital service procurement expertise throughout the federal government.

Competency	Performance Outcome
Digital Services in the 21st Century Government	Describe digital services in the 21st century, including what they are, who provides them, how they are delivered, and why they are important
Digital Service Market Intel & Stakeholder Analysis	Determine the problem to be solved while effectively supporting and communicating with the customer and industry
How do you buy	Effectively use techniques for acquiring digital service solutions in your solicitation or acquisition strategy
Awarding & Administering Digital Service Contracts	Conduct and award digital service contracts, using and applying metrics and incentives appropriately, and applying proper course correction when necessary
Leading Change as a Digital IT Acquisition Professional	Apply techniques to create a culture of innovation within your sphere that enables you and others to effectively lead and influence customers to the best solutions
Application of Skills	Apply techniques learned in the course through various activities; including shadowing a real-world digital service expert or development team of the participant's choice

Policy Memos and updated guidance

2018 Establishment of Federal Acquisition Certification in Core-Plus Specialization in Digital Services memo

Provides information on the creation of DITAP and further details about the DITAP program.

Download memo

2023 OFPP Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Modernization memo

Introduces the new single-level FAC-C (Professional) that replaced the legacy FAC-C certification. All changes affecting the DITAP program are noted in the Who can enroll section below.

Download memo

Who can enroll in the DITAP program?

Applicants must have one of the following to enroll in the DITAP program:

1. A new single-level FAC-C (Professional) Certification

• FAC-C (Professional) holders assigned to acquisitions consisting primarily of digital services over FAR 13.500(c) thresholds are required to attend DITAP training.
• Applicants must have at least two years of federal government contracting experience to enroll in the DITAP program.

2. A current FAC-P/PM or FAC-COR Level II or III certification

• FAC-COR and FAC-P/PM Level II/III holders assigned to acquisitions consisting primarily of digital services over FAR 13.500(c) thresholds should be encouraged to attend DITAP training to create a cohesive team that fully understands how to buy digital services.
• FAC-C holders who are required to take DITAP are given priority during registration.
• FAC-COR/PM holders are placed on a waitlist and allowed to complete registration if all the seats aren’t filled.
• At this time, the FAC-C-P/PM and FAC-COR certificates and requirements are not affected by the FAC-C changes.
• Applicants must have at least two years of federal government contracting experience to enroll in the DITAP program.

If you have questions regarding the FAC-C (Professional), please visit the FAI FAC-C (Professional) page, or follow up with your Acquisition Career Manager, Small Agency Representative or the person who approves your FAC certification in FAI Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD). A list of Acquisition Career Managers and Small Agency Representatives is available at FAI's Acquisition Career Manager (ACM) & Small Agency Representative (SAR) website.

How to enroll

There are many ways students and agencies can enroll:

1. For large acquisition shops with the need to train at least 25 students at the same time

   • Agencies should contact the DITAP provider directly and negotiate a contract for an agency-only cohort

2. For smaller acquisition shops with the need to send one or a few students

   • Agencies should have their student visit the DITAP provider’s website and apply to attend a scheduled open-agency cohort
   • If there are no open-agency cohort dates advertised, agencies should complete the ‘Contact Us’ form on the DITAP provider's website
   • If enough interest is shown they may open an open-agency cohort

3. Periodically, the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) sponsors a no-cost open-agency cohort

   • This option is best for agencies with limited training budgets
   • FAI posts this information on FAI.gov, and in the FAI newsletter Acquisition Today
   • These cohorts typically fill up within 30-minutes of the posting, so interested students should sign up to receive the newsletter via email by visiting the FAI site
   • FAI does not cover any travel costs

DITAP Providers

There are two types of DITAP providers--Authorized and Contingent.

• Authorized. Have met all the required criteria, demonstrated the ability to build and run their DITAP program, and have successfully run multiple cohorts.
• Contingent. Has shown interest in becoming an Authorized provider, and built its DITAP program, but has not run a cohort. USDS works closely with these providers to ensure they meet specific criteria and demonstrate they have a full understanding of what is required to run the DITAP program before being placed in contingent status. USDS attends and closely monitors the first cohort and provides feedback. Once they complete their first cohort, they are moved to authorized or given feedback about any necessary changes before they can be moved to authorized.

DITAP providers create and schedule cohorts based on the interest they receive. If more interest is received, they can open more cohorts to meet agencies' training needs. There is no financial assistance for this training, and it is up to each agency to negotiate with the DITAP providers.

Agencies can negotiate with Authorized and Contingent providers, and can send students to open-enrollment cohorts offered by the providers. Students who graduate from either type of provider receive a DITAP Training Certificate, which they can use to apply for the Digital Services Credential (DITAP), through the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) Credential Program.

To find more detailed information about cost, schedule, or basic details visit the provider's website using the links below and fill out their 'Contact Us' form. The links may not work on all federal government computers, so you may have to copy and paste them into your browser.

Authorized providers:

• ICF - https://www.icf.com/work/digital/ditap - Approved May 18, 2018
• CivicActions - https://civicactions.com/ditap - Approved July 22, 2020
• Management Concepts - https://www.managementconcepts.com/Training/Training-Topics/Acquisition-Contracting/Digital-IT-Acquisition-Professional-DITAP-Program - Approved April 27, 2022
• EAGLES, LLC - https://www.execacq.com/ditap - Approved July 21, 2022
• Skylight Inc. - https://skylight.digital/work/services/training/ditap/ - Approved March 6, 2023
• Graduate School USA - https://www.graduateschool.edu/DITAP - Approved January 1, 2024

FAQs for Graduates of DITAP

CLPs

• After you graduate you will receive a certificate from the DITAP provider.
• It is the graduate's responsibility to upload the certificate to FAI Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD). Students should follow guidance on the FAI website.
• Once the certificate is uploaded, graduates need to work with their supervisor/acquisition career manager to get everything approved.

Graduates Information

• DITAP providers send USDS a list with all graduates' names.
• This information is used to track the number of graduates and to add your name to the DITAP Alumni LISTSERV.

LISTSERV

• Your email will be added to the DITAP Alumni LISTSERV which is used to communicate with all alumni.
• You will receive an email once your name has been added.
• If you do not want to be part of the LISTSERV, you can unsubscribe yourself
  • To unsubscribe from the DITAP list, create a new email message, addressed to DITAP-unsubscribe-request@listserv.gsa.gov.
  • The message content does not matter and the sender's email address will be removed from the list.
  • To join again, any current or former DITAP student with a .gov or .mil email address can join the list by creating a new email message addressed to DITAP-subscribe-request@listserv.gsa.gov (Subject and Message Body are ignored and the sender's email address will be added to the list.)

Maintaining a Digital Services Credential (DITAP)

Graduates need to keep their skills fresh and keep up with new technologies, methods, and companies that are introduced to the ecosystem.

To maintain certification, 20 of the required 80 FAC-C CLPs should be earned by participating in additional IT/Digital Service training/activities.

After May 1, 2024, the total number of CLPs required for a FAC-C (Professional) will change to 100 every two years. To maintain a Digital Services Credential (DITAP), 20 of the 100 required FAC-C (Professional) CLPs should be earned by participating in additional IT/Digital Service training/activities.

Acquisition professionals should coordinate with their acquisition career manager and/or supervisor to confirm the CLPs are approved for each activity. Once the CLPs are achieved, a document listing all the activities should be uploaded into CSOD. Do not forget to include any preparation work in the CLP count, as shown in the example below.

Activity	Time Spent Developing Content for Presentation	Total Earned CLPs
1-Hour Conference Presenter	4 hours	5 hours

Per the FAI Guidance on Meeting the Requirement for Continuous Learning Points, there are many activities available to earn CLPs.

Sample Activity	Digital Service Example
On-Line Training	GovLoop Academy, AGL Academy, DigitalGov University, EdX Agile Training
Formal Training	ACT-IAC Academy, Procurement Innovative Lab (PIL) Primer
Conference, training, or seminar presentation	ACT-IAC Upcoming Events, Scrum.org Events, DigitalGov Events; or check the DITAP provider's websites.
Publications (Case studies, blogs, training material)	TechFARHub Case Studies, DHS Procurement Innovation Lab Resources Library
On-the-job Experiential Learning	Work on, award, or administer a digital service acquisition, Conduct a brown bag training on a digital service topic, Organize a workshop, Be part of a modernization task force
Mentoring	Become a DITAP mentor, Participate in the DITAP shadowing assignment

Interested in becoming a DITAP provider?

Review the information below on how to build and facilitate a version of the DITAP training program:

See more

FAC-C DS Informational Presentation 7/18/18

To access the content, facilitation resources, training guides, and all other course material access https://ditap.learning-transformation.com and register for a read-only account to the information.

Need more information about the DITAP program or becoming a DITAP provider?

If you want to speak to one of the USDS DITAP coordinators, send an email to techfarhub@omb.eop.gov:

• Make sure you include DITAP in the subject line of your email
• The TechFARHub email is a mailing list--when USDS receives an email, it does not show the sender's email. Please make sure your email is included somewhere in the email you send.