The Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) program is for acquisition professionals in the Federal Government performing program and project management activities and functions. Program and Project Managers (P/PMs) are critical to project success - including developing accurate government requirements, defining measurable performance standards, and managing life-cycle activities to ensure that intended outcomes are achieved. The FAC-P/PM focuses on essential functional and technical competencies needed for P/PMs. It does not include agency-specific competencies. The purpose of this program is to establish general training and experience requirements for those acquisition program and project management professionals. The FAC-P/PM applies to all executive agencies, except the Department of Defense (DoD).
Project Management Institute (PMI)
As a result of FAI's analyses and collaboration with the Program and Project Management Functional Advisory Board (P/PM-FAB), FAI established a letter of understanding with the Project Management Institute (PMI) outlining competency alignment, training equivalency, and continuous learning (CL) credit for the PMI credentials per the listed matrix below. This competency alignment and CL credit comply with: (1) the certification training standards contained in the December 16, 2013, Memo on Revisions to the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM); and (2) the FAC-P/PM Core Competency Model.
A current PMI credential may be used as a one-time acquisition workforce system credit to waive the FPM X33 course as authorized by each agency Acquisition Career Manager (ACM).
FAC-P/PM Entry Level | FAC-P/PM Mid-Level | FAC-P/PM Senior-Level | Continuous Learning | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPM | |||||||||
N/A | N/A | N/A | 24 hours; one time FAI CSOD entry1 | ||||||
| PMP | |||||||||
Meets the Business, Cost and Financial Management competency typically taught in the FPM 133 course. | OR | Meets the Business, Cost and Financial Management competency typically taught in the FPM 233 course | OR | Meets the Business, Cost and Financial Management competency typically taught in the FPM 333 course | OR | 40 hours; one time FAI CSOD entry1 | |||
1 ACM may award additional CL credit for classes taken over the minimum PMI requirement.
Individuals pursuing or renewing PMI credentials who have completed training toward the FAC-P/PM certification, or have attained the FAC-P/PM certification, may submit evidence to PMI of such training or certification, subject to PMI review, toward meeting the education requirements of the initial or recertification of the applicable PMI credential. This letter of understanding is available as a downloadable PDF file.
Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)
For program manager professionals coming from DoD, a valid, current Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification is equivalent to a FAC-P/PM at the certification level shown below, provided the FAC-P/PM experience and continuous learning requirements have been met and the agency acquisition career manager/small agency representative approves the certification.
- DoD Program Management: Practitioner Level = FAC-P/PM Mid-Level
- DoD Program Management: Advanced Level = FAC-P/PM Senior Level
When applying for a FAC-P/PM, the individual is responsible for providing their agency acquisition career manager with the documentation supporting their DAWIA certification, education, and continuous learning history.
Because the DAWIA certification program has different training requirements, a valid, current FAC-P/PM does not necessarily meet all the requirements for the DAWIA certification in Program and Project Management. Civilian agency program and project managers seeking positions subject to DAWIA requirements must meet all agency specific training as required per each agency policy. Reciprocity will be determined by DoD on an individual basis.
