Space and Missile Systems Center’s Maj. Steven Pugh arrived at an industry conference held at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency recently to talk about the big pot of money he has to spend — $100 million over the next five years to be precise — on anything that could help the Air Force improve its spacecraft, launch or ground systems.
And the best thing about it is that contractors, academics, or whoever comes forth to compete for this money can ignore the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the dreaded FAR, and do an end run around its notorious red tape.
Those with good ideas can take the Air Force money — as long as there is a one-third cost share — and build prototypes without having to use Defense Department-approved accounting standards, adhere to the new cybersecurity rules, or comply with innumerable edicts that add to overhead.
This is all made possible by a once out-of-fashion contracting vehicle known as the “other transaction authority,” or OTA. The OTA has been around for decades. It was intended to allow nontraditional contractors or small businesses to build prototypes for the Defense Department, NASA and other agencies.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2018/3/30/the-magic-of-other-transaction-authorities
Long lead times and complex, overwrought requirements have made acquisition one of the main impediments to successful information technology procurements in the federal government, resulting in no shortage of handwringing over the rules included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation that govern most transactions. But there is another way, if program managers, contracting officials and agency lawyers are willing to take a chance.
Today more than ever, however, the federal government is making use of cutting-edge procedures and methods to attract commercial companies to government contracting and to encourage modernization and efficiency in procurements.
The contract caught many industry players by surprise, in part due to the $950 million value and partly because it was awarded without a traditional government procurement. This deal may be a harbinger for how the Defense Department plans to purchase certain technologies moving forward.
