Washington, DC – Today, the District’s Chief Procurement Officer David P. Gragan announced a series of initiatives to enhance procurement oversight and integrity within the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP).  The key component of this oversight effort is the establishment of a new office to conduct audits, contract reviews, and contract compliance monitoring.  The new office will be called the Office of Procurement Integrity and Compliance (OPIC).  Through the establishment of OPIC, OCP will have, for the first time, a dedicated section for eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. 
 
“My number one priority is to ensure that the contracting process in this city carefully and deliberatively spends the public money entrusted to us in a manner that every citizen can be proud of,” said Gragan.  “The new Office of Procurement Integrity and Compliance will lead OCP’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the District’s procurement process is conducted in accordance with the District’s laws, regulations, policies and directives.  As we strive to maintain the public’s trust, this new office within OCP will serve as the most important function in every aspect of our daily operations.”

In making the announcement, Gragan introduced Esther Scarborough as the head of the new office.  Scarborough, who has over thirty years of procurement experience in both local and federal governments, has served in various positions within the District, including interim Chief Procurement Officer.  “I am honored that Mr. Gragan has chosen me for this very important role,” said Scarborough.  “I look forward to working with my colleagues as we take another important step towards ensuring we fulfill our mission while helping District agencies achieve their missions.”

In addition to the establishment of OPIC, which was announced at an all-hands meeting of the city’s contracting staff on Friday, OCP conducted mandatory procurement ethics training for its entire workforce.  Staff members learned about the various aspects of contracting ethics and how to seek help in the event that they observe questionable behavior.  “Our goal is to set the gold standard for ethics throughout District government,” said Gragan.  “We want to ensure that our staff members have the tools for recognizing potential conflicts of interest, ethical dilemmas and the motivation and confidence to simply do the right thing.”    

For additional information about this topic, please contact Briant Coleman at (202) 724-3655 or visit our website: www.ocp.dc.gov.