rapid acquisition | The Contracting Education Academy

August 30, 2018 By AMK

OTAs: Preserving the authority

Other Transaction Authorities are the latest buzzwords in federal contracting, and for good reason.

OTAs have become critical to rapid prototyping in the defense realm, in some cases cutting off years from the time warfighters wait for new systems and capabilities.

OTAs are a business tool that let the government buy products and services using means other than those governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations. These authorities, initially conceived by NASA in the 1950s and later expanded to the Defense Department in 1994, have recently surged in use and popularity — and praise. However, they also elicit a fair amount of criticism and debate about their future.

Fairness during the award process, soundness of proposals and lack of public information throughout the course of the award are among issues detractors highlight on OTAs. If their supporters want to preserve this acquisition instrument, they must address these concerns.

They’re not small concerns.

Keep reading this article at: https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2018/08/03/insights-hawk-carlisle-ota.aspx

December 7, 2016 By AMK

In new ‘how-to’ guide, Pentagon’s innovation outpost urges rest of DoD to adopt rapid acquisition

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental thinks it’s learned a thing or two about rapid acquisition over the year since its initial standup, and sees no good reason why the rest of the Defense Department can’t use the same techniques it’s put in place to award new contracts in 60 days or less.

DIUx DIUx published a 99-page “how-to” guide on Wednesday, aiming to walk the rest of DoD’s sprawling acquisition community through the legal and practical aspects of the contracting practices it’s used to award $36 million in a dozen small contracts thus far, each focused on developing new prototypes for future military systems.

“For us to drive a real culture change, it’s not enough for DIUx itself to be successful — we need to build momentum,” Lauren Schmidt, DIUx’s pathways director, said at a forum hosted by the Center for a New American Security. “We wanted to pull all of this together to share our experiences in using these new legal authorities and deploying them to broaden our industrial base, so hopefully others can build on our experience and accelerate the acquisition process. We’re hoping we can really drive acquisition innovation across DoD.”

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/defense/2016/12/new-guide-pentagons-innovation-outpost-urges-rest-dod-adopt-rapid-acquisition/

July 8, 2016 By AMK

Don’t learn the wrong lessons from rapid acquisition

Our enthusiasm must be tempered by an understanding of the wartime circumstances that made it work and the downsides that were accepted.

Every time the Marine Corps sent me back to Operation Iraqi Freedom, new and better equipment awaited: radios, armored vehicles, electronic jammers to foil roadside bombs. It was clear that the rapid acquisition policies created or updated for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were sending high-performing, technical systems to the battlefield much faster than conventional acquisition could. They helped me do my infantryman’s job better, and helped our force adapt to evolving threats in months rather than years or decades.

Sensibly, policymakers are trying to figure out how rapid acquisition ideas could help the conventional acquisition system perform better. Early this year, the Pentagon enshrined rapid acquisition by including a dedicated section on it in the latest regulations governing acquisition. The Air Force recently announced that it is procuring its new B-21 bomber through its rapid capabilities office, and the Navy is setting up a similar office to speed up acquisitions.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2016/06/dont-learn-wrong-lessons-rapid-acquisition/129332

Other Transaction Authorities are the latest buzzwords in federal contracting, and for good reason.

Our enthusiasm must be tempered by an understanding of the wartime circumstances that made it work and the downsides that were accepted.

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