Procedures are now in place for identifying and submitting Department of the Army’s "Best Practices." Organizations may submit their "Best Practices" directly to the Headquarters functional proponent or to the Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, Vice Director of the Army Staff. All submissions are approved by Headquarters, Department of the Army before they are forwarded to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

What are "Best Practices"?

A "Best Practice" is defined as a superior method or an innovative practice that contributes to improved performance of the process. The practice must demonstrate through data that it is "better, faster, cheaper".

"Best Practices" highlight the many world-class innovations taking place throughout our Army.

Background: The Office the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Quality Office maintains an Internet web site that highlights Department of Defense quality initiatives. A recent addition to this web site is the inclusion of a section devoted to "Best Practices." The Secretary of Defense expressed a personal interest in this section of the web site. He wants to get the word out, to as wide an audience as possible, about all the smart things DoD is doing to conduct business more efficiently.

The "Best Practices" are displayed under the following categories:

• Administration
• Contracting
• Distribution
• Financial Resource Management
• Maintenance
• Operations
• Quality Management
• Repair

How does the submission process work?

The Strategic Management and Innovations Division (Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Vice Director of the Army Staff) forwards "Best Practices" monthly to the OSD Quality Office for inclusion on their web site. A "Best Practice" submission must include the following information:

• Name and phone number of the individual submitting the practice
• Name of the process affected by the practice
• Name of the "Best Practice"
• Date implemented
• Process owner’s organization, address, and E-mail
• Summary of:
  1. - How the process works
  2. - How you measure success
  3. - How it was validated
  4. - The impact on organizational performance

Submissions are consolidated and forwarded to the appropriate Headquarters Department of Army functional staff for approval and then to OSD the third Friday of each month. Each category can have multiple submissions, so forward any "Best Practice" your organization wants considered and highlighted among DoD’s best!

Forward submission and comments to: leadingchange@hdqa.army.mil

Last revision: 18 Aug 2008