Innovation | The Contracting Education Academy

August 6, 2018 By cs

Acquisition professionals place little importance on innovation, survey finds

The federal government’s procurement professionals are bullish about improvements to federal acquisition, according to a recently released survey, but it definitely isn’t because they’re high on innovation.

Rather, the ninth biennial Acquisition Policy Survey, compiled by the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton Public Sector, found recurring challenges such as budget instability, hiring difficulties and onerous regulatory burdens were offset by improvements to the human quotient of the acquisition workforce.

The government sought to hire up acquisition professionals in recent years, and that talent is now more seasoned, skilled and “a little more experienced,” according to PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel Alan Chvotkin.

“Some optimism comes from having a better understanding of their job,” Chvotkin told reporters Wednesday.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/07/acquisition-professionals-place-little-importance-innovation-survey-finds/149879/

July 31, 2018 By cs

Navy’s new acquisition tool speeds up tech prototyping

A research and development collaboration management company has been awarded a contract to helm a technology prototype consortium as part of a new acquisition process employed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, in Charleston, South Carolina.

SPAWAR awarded an other transaction authority to Advanced Technology International, of Summerville, South Carolina, for consortium management for SPAWAR’s Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP).

Under the contract, Advanced Technology International will manage a group of defense contractors who will complete projects for the government that address SPAWAR technology needs, and the consortium will facilitate competition for projects. Topics will be open to competition beginning in August 2018, the SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic said.

The contract is worth $100 million over three years.

IWRP OTA is an acquisition tool that allows nontraditional industry partners to work with organizations across SPAWAR to prototype technology that supports naval information warfare capabilities. IWRP focuses on information technology areas such as cyberwarfare, cloud computing and data science.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.c4isrnet.com/home/2018/07/02/the-navys-new-acquisition-tool-speeds-up-tech-prototyping/

July 25, 2018 By cs

Congress can simplify commercial buying and increase government innovation

For decades Congress has demonstrated its deep interest in simplifying the federal government’s ability to buy commercial products and services. It recognized that to solve government’s most difficult problems, the government must have ready access to the innovative and rapidly evolving commercial marketplace.

But the government’s transactions in the commercial marketplace, which should be quick and easy, have gotten more complicated over the years, not less so. This is due in large part to the volume and complexity of government-unique contract terms and conditions.

Volume 1 of the Section 809 Panel report includes several recommendations for Congress’ consideration that will truly simplify contracts for commercial products and services. Among other strategies, Recommendation 2 makes the case for Congress retaining the authority to determine the applicability of new government-unique requirements that are well-intended but burdensome, rather than delegating that authority to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council or the Department of Defense.

In 1994, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act took important steps to make the government more commercial-like in its dealings in the commercial marketplace. FASA limited the applicability of many, but not all, procurement-related statutes in two ways. First, many statutes in effect at the time FASA was enacted were made inapplicable to commercial buying, significantly simplifying federal contract compliance and administrative burdens.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/07/17/congress-can-simplify-commercial-buying-and-increase-government-innovation/

July 16, 2018 By cs

Alternative acquisition approach offers promise

Small businesses often lead the pack in innovation and agility, but cumbersome acquisition processes can stall the way forward when working with government agencies.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) hopes to grease the skids between ingenuity and warfighters by offering a streamlined method for carrying out prototype projects and transitioning successes into follow-on production.

The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) methodology offers an alternative to the traditional rules outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) process. Congress officially implemented the OTA in 1994 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, Congress doubled the dollar thresholds of OTAs that required approvals. In addition, the definition of prototype was broadened to include an analysis, process improvement, hardware and software.

Scott Stewart, technical director, Procurement Services Directorate, DISA, understands that today’s innovators in revolutionary and disruptive technologies come from a sector of the economy that faces fewer restrictions in procurement regulations than those the federal government poses. As a result, DISA executes and enters into OTA agreements to leverage leading-edge technologies, while appreciating and accommodating the limitations of these market leaders, he explains.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.afcea.org/content/alternative-acquisition-approach-offers-promise

July 13, 2018 By cs

Other transaction authority: Protests and disputes

Ready or not — Federal agencies are increasingly utilizing Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to craft agreements that are not subject to traditional procurement laws and therefore should, in theory, allow the Government greater access to innovative solutions.

While the goal of OTA procedures may be to avoid bottlenecks inherent in procurement under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), in the end they may result in valuable contracts with the government. As with any such contracts, it is inevitable that disputes will arise during their formation and administration.

While there is very little precedent relating to protests of OTA awards or claims arising under OTA-awarded contracts, there are some fundamental principles and analogous decisions that suggest how this early history of OTA protests and claims may unfold. This article attempts to portray the current landscape for protests of OTA awards and contract claims arising during performance of an OTA agreement.

But, first, a bit of context.

Executive agencies derive authority to enter into traditional procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements from Congress. “OTA” is a rubric describing a set of statutes that explicitly grant certain agencies the authority to enter into agreements other than procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. Over the past roughly 60 years, Congress has granted varying degrees of OTA to various agencies, including NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD).

In theory, freedom from the burdens of traditional procurement laws and procedures should allow agencies to craft creative, customized agreements without the requirements and compliance burdens that can scare groundbreaking commercial companies away from the government contracting market. Of great interest to commercial companies, OTA awards are exempt from the Bayh-Dole Act and its associated patent and data rights regulations, allowing parties to an OTA agreement great flexibility in negotiating protection of intellectual property rights. As innovation is increasingly driven in the commercial sector by companies that are not reliant on federal funding, agencies are turning to OTA in order to attract companies that would not otherwise consider pursuing a traditional procurement opportunity.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=716090

The federal government’s procurement professionals are bullish about improvements to federal acquisition, according to a recently released survey, but it definitely isn’t because they’re high on innovation.

A research and development collaboration management company has been awarded a contract to helm a technology prototype consortium as part of a new acquisition process employed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, in Charleston, South Carolina.

Small businesses often lead the pack in innovation and agility, but cumbersome acquisition processes can stall the way forward when working with government agencies.

Ready or not — Federal agencies are increasingly utilizing Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to craft agreements that are not subject to traditional procurement laws and therefore should, in theory, allow the Government greater access to innovative solutions.

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