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August 17, 2018 By cs

Pentagon’s startup outreach office no longer an experiment

Diving into long-term relationships can be scary, but the Defense Department said it’s ready to go to commit to its startup outreach program.

Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), the office charged with bringing Silicon Valley tech to the Pentagon, will now be known as Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

The name change reflects military leaders’ “commitment to the importance of its mission” and signifies the permanence of the group within the country’s defense apparatus, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

“DIUx has generated meaningful outcomes for the department and is a proven, valuable asset,” Shanahan wrote in a memo to agency leaders. “Though DIU will continue to experiment with new ways of delivering capability to the warfighter, the organization itself is no longer an experiment.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/08/pentagons-startup-outreach-office-no-longer-experiment/150408/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, advanced technology, advanced technology development, Defense Innovation Unit, Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, DIU, DIUx, DoD, FAR, federal regulations, innovation, NDAA, other transactions, Pentagon, procurement reform, streamlined acquisition process, technology

August 10, 2018 By cs

Death knell for using LPTA for services and other acquisition highlights in the NDAA

Every year the Defense Authorization bill is filled with golden nuggets of little noticed provisions that make a big impact on the federal acquisition community.

This year they range from a strong focus on making it easier for agencies to buy commercial items to mixed messages around the use of other transaction agreements to the ever increasing concerns about too many bid protests.

This is, by far, not a comprehensive list, but several that most federal and contractor employees interested in acquisition should know about.

The House passed the NDAA on July 26. The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week. House and Senate conferees agreed to the bill on July 23, clearing the way to passage.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2018/07/the-death-knell-for-using-lpta-for-services-and-other-acquisition-highlights-in-the-ndaa/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, DIUx, DoD, GSA, GWAC, lowest price technically acceptable, LPTA, micropurchase, NDAA, OTA, other transaction authority

July 24, 2018 By cs

How a new contracting tool is shaking up federal procurement

The Government Accountability Office recently upheld a first of its kind protest of a contract awarded under the non-traditional contracting methodology known as other transaction authority.

The protest and GAO’s decision have stirred debate over the future of OTAs and their potential to fundamentally disrupt federal acquisition.

First, some background. OTAs enable certain federal agencies, most prominently the Defense Department, to enter into commercial contracts outside the constraints of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Historically, OTAs have been used to engage commercial companies during the research and development of new technologies without burdening them with requirements and costs associated with the FAR, which can be a major disincentive for companies to work with the government.

But the attractiveness of OTAs was often limited by the fact that once a selected technology entered final development and production — in other words, was ready for market —  the FAR came back into play, thus obviating some of the very benefits the initial OTA was intended to provide. Advocates have long argued that extending the authority through full production or deployment (known as “production authority”) was the key to their success and to enabling the government’s access to the full range of emerging capabilities.  Two years ago, Congress decided to do just that, at least for Defense.  And that decision has, in turn, been instrumental in the dramatic spike in OTA activity since.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2018/07/how-new-contracting-tool-shaking-federal-procurement/149797/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: DIUx, DoD, FAR, GAO, OTA, other transaction authority, U.S. Transportation Command

July 5, 2018 By cs

DoD seeks streamlined procurements of innovative technologies: OTAs and commercial solutions pilot program

The Department of Defense (DoD) has once again emphasized its willingness to engage with commercial companies and other non-traditional contractors to try to expedite and simplify its procurement of innovative technologies.

In particular, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) indicated that it plans to enter directly into Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements, and DoD issued a class deviation for a commercial solutions opening (CSO) pilot program.

These developments, in connection with the continued promotion of OTA agreements by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental organization (DIUx), provide commercial companies with additional incentives to enter into creative collaborations with the U.S. Government.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2018/07/dod-seeks-streamlined-procurements-of-innovative-technologies-other-transaction-agreements-and-the-commercial-solutions-opening-pilot-program/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: DISA, DIUx, DoD, innovation, OTA, other transaction agreements, other transaction authority, streamlined acquisition process

June 26, 2018 By cs

How a contractor’s bid protest was a surprise boost for procurement innovation

Late last month, the Government Accountability Office overturned a $950 billion contract award to a small Virginia firm to provide cloud services for the Defense Department.

The deal was unusual not just for the extraordinarily high price tag, but for how it was handled. Instead of following traditional, competitive procurement rules, officials used something called a “production other transaction agreement” crafted by the Pentagon’s innovation outpost, the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx). This essentially allowed the department to make the award based on the success of a prototype developed by REAN Cloud, thus bypassing the government’s expensive and time-consuming traditional procurement process. It was a bold move, and to many observers, it offered a far more efficient way to purchase technology — where traditional procurements can take years to play out, OTAs can be conducted in a matter of months.

Not surprisingly, some traditional federal contractors weren’t happy. One of them, Oracle America, filed a protest with GAO, and the watchdog agreed with the company that the Pentagon’s use of other transaction authority was improper. GAO’s decision was a blow to many officials desperate to reform the government’s antiquated procurement practices.

But it shouldn’t be.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2018/06/how-contractors-bid-protest-was-surprise-boost-procurement-innovation/149151

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: advanced components and prototypes, advanced technology, award protest, DIUx, DoD, GAO, OTA, other transaction authority, Pentagon, protest

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