The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) is a United States law that requires the Department of Defense to establish education and training standards, requirements, and courses for the civilian and military workforce.
At the same time, President Reagan established the Packard Commission to review the management of the DoD.
Both studies indicated that acquisition workers were undertrained and inexperienced, resulting in the enactment of DAWIA as part of the FY 1991 National Defense Authorization Act.
The DoD Directive 5000 series set forth a unified approach that all services were to follow.
The efforts to structure and advance acquisition led to 5 college-level campuses, producing works such as the Defense Acquisition Guide (DAG); library collections; publications of Defense AT&L Magazine and the Defense Acquisition Review Journal; the development of numerous courses including online learning; and professional conferences.