other transaction agreements | The Contracting Education Academy

February 11, 2021 By cs

A reminder of the key provisions of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act

Each year, Congress presents us in Title VIII of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a potpourri of procurement reforms, changes, and additions.

Some are effective immediately, while some are bound for rulemaking and regulation and surface years from enactment.

Some require analyses, reports, and studies which have no immediate impact but provide a roadmap that can and should be used by government contractors in their business planning.

Finally, some provisions of the NDAAs just wither away and have no impact whatsoever.

Nineteen days before the Trump Administration ended, the U.S. Senate followed the U.S. House of Representatives in overriding the President’s veto of the William (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) (FY2021 NDAA), making it law on January 1, 2021. As for its Title VIII, the FY2021 NDAA is no different from its predecessors in its procurement potpourri.

Here’s a tour of key provisions you oughta know.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/here-to-remind-you-of-the-key-2306320/

August 11, 2020 By cs

DHS seeks permanent flexible acquisition authorities

Temporary acquisition authorities that aid the Department of Homeland Security in getting innovative commercial technologies and goods in response to the COVID-19 crisis should be lasting tools in the department’s acquisition toolbox, the agency’s top acquisition official told a Senate panel.

The DHS other transaction authority (OTA) that allows the agency to conduct pilot projects outside of the traditional competitive bidding regulations expires at the end of each fiscal year.

Soraya Correa, the agency’s chief procurement officer, told lawmakers at a recent hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that she’d like permanent authorization for OTAs.

Similarly, the Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) expires at the end of 2022. Correa would like to see that become a permanent fixture of agency acquisition.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/07/29/rockwell-covid-acquisition-dhs.aspx

May 12, 2020 By cs

Cyber and other transaction agreements

Rapid acquisitions for prototypes and experimental technology will be subject to the Defense Department’s unified cybersecurity standard, according to Katie Arrington, DoD’s chief information security officer for acquisition.

Arrington said DoD’s upcoming implementation of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification will apply to other transaction agreements — a rapid contract mechanism frequently used to help develop and field prototypes.

“In an OTA, in the technical specs, they can actually call it out and say what they want,” said Arrington during an April 29 NextGov webinar on CMMC.

OTAs are meant to speed the government buying process and allow DoD to buy new capabilities faster by allowing officials to sidestep competitive bidding in certain cases. But there’s ample worry of potential overuse, which could invite congressional scrutiny.

Arrington’s comments come as DoD has begun pushing for the use of OTAs to find and execute on solutions that can help treat or prevent the spread of coronavirus. Ellen Lord, DoD’s acquisition chief, issued a memo in early April to ease the OTA process by delegating contracting authorities to heads of agencies and combatant commanders during the pandemic.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/04/30/cmmc-ota-cyber-williams.aspx

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/

April 20, 2020 By cs

Newest DoD industry guidance clarifies repayments, makes prototyping easier

As part of its ongoing effort to bolster the defense industrial base, the Pentagon has issued two new pieces of guidance — one focused on workers, and one focused on prototype contracts.

Overall, the department has now issued 17 different actions, ranging from basic guidance for industry to memos changing how the department pays contractors, since March 5.

In an April 6 memo, acquisition head Ellen Lord changed the rules for issuing prototype contracts through other transaction authorities.

OTAs are small contracts awarded to companies of any size, in theory targeted at nontraditional defense contractors, with the purpose of conducting research or prototype efforts on a specific project; they are not subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation rules. By comparison, SBIR contracts are targeted at small businesses in order to act as seed money for them to conduct research and development efforts; they are subject to the FAR rules.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/coronavirus/2020/04/09/newest-dod-industry-guidance-clarifies-repayments-makes-prototyping-easier/

February 19, 2020 By cs

A high-profile OTA program goes off the rails

It had to happen at some point. A high-profile, big-ticket Army program using an other transaction authority (OTA) agreement has turned into a fiasco.

One prototype of the Army SMET (squad multipurpose equipment transport) concept.

In December, the Army Contracting Command announced it was canceling and re-soliciting a contract issued in October to manufacture hundreds of robotic mules. This is bad news.

For critics of the Army’s acquisition system, it’s another example of the service’s poor record over the last 20 to 30 years of developing and fielding new weapon systems. While Army leadership say they are going to speed procurement of badly needed technology to take on “great powers” — this is a black mark and will certainly get the attention of Congress.

And the same goes for proponents of other transaction authority agreements — touted as a way to put new technology into the hands of warfighters faster by forgoing the traditional acquisition system.

The program in question is the squad multipurpose equipment transport, or SMET, the Army’s answer to helping dismounted troops lighten their loads. This so-called robotic mule has been on the service’s wish list dating back to the Future Combat Systems program, which was canceled in 2009.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/2/4/a-high-profile-ota-program-goes-off-the-rails

Each year, Congress presents us in Title VIII of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a potpourri of procurement reforms, changes, and additions.

Temporary acquisition authorities that aid the Department of Homeland Security in getting innovative commercial technologies and goods in response to the COVID-19 crisis should be lasting tools in the department’s acquisition toolbox, the agency’s top acquisition official told a Senate panel.

Rapid acquisitions for prototypes and experimental technology will be subject to the Defense Department’s unified cybersecurity standard, according to Katie Arrington, DoD’s chief information security officer for acquisition.

As part of its ongoing effort to bolster the defense industrial base, the Pentagon has issued two new pieces of guidance — one focused on workers, and one focused on prototype contracts.

It had to happen at some point. A high-profile, big-ticket Army program using an other transaction authority (OTA) agreement has turned into a fiasco.

Search this Website