They're essentially an internal dev/consulting shop and they needed to approach it from this stand point or they'll continue to be underwater. Every contract that IBM or Accenture, et al wins, 18F should have made the sale that they'll be there guarding the hen house as the project progresses - easy sale and easy project staffing. Branch off from there and take down small dev jobs to build mass and it'll snowball from there if managed properly.

Leadership heads need to roll, ranks thinned, and they need to focus on the mission.