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December 2, 2019 By cs

Pentagon nearly doubles use of Other Transaction Authority purchases

The Defense Department is embracing the alternative procurement method but could use more oversight of the deals, a Government Accountability Office audit found.

The Pentagon upped its use of purchases through other transaction authority, or OTAs, significantly over the past fiscal year, nearly doubling both the number of total OTA contracts and total investment.

In fiscal 2017, the Defense Department issued 384 new awards, modifications or orders for OTA contracts totaling $2.1 billion in obligations. In 2018, the Defense Department contracted 618 OTA awards totaling $3.7 billion, according to a Government Accountability Office audit released this week.

Based on data from the Federal Procurement Data System, the audit indicates the Pentagon has more than tripled its use of OTA contracts since it received enhanced authorities from the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. In that year, Defense agencies issued only 248 OTA awards for approximately $1.4 billion.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/11/pentagon-nearly-doubles-use-other-transaction-authority-purchases/161504/

November 13, 2019 By cs

Failure is an option for DoD’s experimental agency, but how much?

Since 2015, millions of dollars have been invested in the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, the agency watched as some of its projects fell flat, and only about 23% the organization’s completed projects ended up in the hands of troops — but the thing is: DIU is completely fine with that.

DIU’s success statistics, delivered in a July report card to Congress, are the first long-term numbers to come out of the Defense Innovation Unit (formerly the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental) since its inception.

The metrics, which also address time-to-contract and other areas, highlight a vexing dichotomy currently playing out in the Defense landscape: How can the world’s largest military field state-of-the-art technologies faster to counter China and Russia without compromising oversight and opening the door for waste?

While successful DIU experiments ended up, or will end up, as technologies that will protect service members from drones and detect cyber vulnerabilities on DoD networks, 77% of completed prototypes DIU invested in failed to make it to contract or have yet to make it to contract. That leaves millions of taxpayer dollars on the table, which can sometimes be a hard sell for lawmakers. Congress remains at least marginally skeptical of the program built to convert private cutting edge technology for military use.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2019/10/special-report-failure-is-an-option-for-dods-experimental-agency-but-how-much/

August 13, 2019 By AMK

OTAs primed for growth

Increasingly the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security are looking to “other transaction authority” agreements to acquire emerging technologies.

Procurements made under OTA are exempt from many Federal Acquisition Regulation rules and are typically limited to research, prototypes and in certain cases follow-on production.

The authority dates back to the 1958 Space Act, passed in the wake of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik launch, but in recent years it has heated up as the military and DHS have tried to leverage the innovation of tech startups that haven’t typically looked to the federal market for growth.

According to contracting intelligence firm Deltek, OTA spending hit $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2018, up from $2.1 billion in 2017. Because of increased interest in OTA procurement, Deltek recently began breaking out OTA opportunities and spending as a separate category in its GovWin database.

Part of the reason for renewed interest in OTAs is the need to innovate on the defense side faster than our adversaries.

Keep reading this article at: https://defensesystems.com/articles/2019/08/05/otas-set-for-growth.aspx

August 12, 2019 By AMK

IRS doesn’t have an R&D shop, so it built a $7 million procurement vehicle instead

The ‘Pilot IRS’ program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.

The IRS — like all federal agencies — is under several mandates to incorporate new and emerging technologies to improve its day to day operations and its mission of administering the nation’s tax code.

But the IRS doesn’t have a research and development office nor special acquisition authorities such as other transaction authority or a commercial solutions opening program. The IRS doesn’t even have funds allocated for R&D.

Instead, a team in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer used parts 12 and 13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to create Pilot IRS, a phased, incremental funding procurement vehicle that will let the agency test new technologies on faster timelines without added risk. If a solution fails to meet expectations, it won’t proceed to the next phase of funding.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/08/irs-doesnt-have-rd-shop-so-it-built-7m-procurement-vehicle-instead/158952/

July 17, 2019 By AMK

Pentagon aims to expedite security clearance process with $75 million award

Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $75 million other transaction agreement on May 14 to continue modernization of the federal security clearance process, in particular with machine learning and related technology.

The Defense Security Service and Defense Information Systems Agency awarded the 24-month OTA, which covers improvements to National Background Investigation Services information technology.

Perspecta will help DSS — which will eventually be renamed the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency — expedite background investigations, adjudications, continuous vetting and insider-threat programs by creating a Security Enterprise Architecture and Data Services prototype.

When a new employee or transfer needs clearance, the prototype will use machine learning and natural language processing to pull from disparate data sources to fill out form information. Previously a full investigative package was prepared manually and handed over for adjudication.

Keep reading article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/security-clearances-perspecta-enterprise-solutions-ota/

The Defense Department is embracing the alternative procurement method but could use more oversight of the deals, a Government Accountability Office audit found.

Since 2015, millions of dollars have been invested in the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, the agency watched as some of its projects fell flat, and only about 23% the organization’s completed projects ended up in the hands of troops — but the thing is: DIU is completely fine with that.

Increasingly the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security are looking to “other transaction authority” agreements to acquire emerging technologies.

The ‘Pilot IRS’ program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.

Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $75 million other transaction agreement on May 14 to continue modernization of the federal security clearance process, in particular with machine learning and related technology.

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