With the enactment of section 867, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2018, Congress directed that DOD shall “In the execution of…prototyping programs…establish a preference for using transactions other than” procurement contracts. The DOD Other Transactions Guide issued in November … Continued
Federal Government agencies enter into a wide variety of contractual relationships for various purposes under different regulatory regimes. In addition to procurement contracts covered by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and assistance instruments (grants and cooperative agreements), these include contracts … Continued
In the development of new capabilities, technological innovation and deploying these at the speed of relevance, the area in which the DoD can be truly most innovative is how it conducts business. Finding innovative companies and technologies is usually … Continued
SI’s managing partner, Christian Dunn, sits down with founder, Richard L. Dunn, to discuss Other Transactions. Are they just a tool in the toolbox or are they something entirely different? Video Transcript: CD: Defense leadership has been quoted … Continued
Does DoD’s medical community know that there is a quick reaction way to experiment, test, develop or evaluate and get into use new approaches needed in an emergency? Since the medical community is served by the same contracting and … Continued
Undersecretary of Defense (A&S) Ellen Lord recently came out with a statement focusing on “trusted investments” in innovative companies that have the potential to contribute to critical missions of interest to the Federal Government. Innovative … Continued
“OTAs are used when you’re really experimenting and prototyping… to find out exactly what the art of the possible is.” – Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense AT&L To adequately solve a problem, the problem must be understood. This … Continued
How the opportunity to save Billions of dollars is being squandered As mentioned in Part 3 of this series Congress presented DOD, which handed the task to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), a series of programs and what … Continued
Cries for acquisition reform can be heard in the speeches of senior Defense Department leaders and members of Congress. There is much wringing of hands over the slow pace and high cost of fielding defense systems. There are concerns that … Continued
In 2000, an amendment to Other Transaction for Prototype Authority (then section 845, currently section 2371b, title 10, U.S. Code) was included in NDAA 2001 that added what is now a sub-section (d). The amendment was intended to provide clarity … Continued