DRIVING CHANGE IN DEFENSE ACQUISITION
commercial solutions opening process in 2016, which is based on other-transaction authority, to competitively prototype and acquire dual-use technology from nontraditional vendors faster than the traditional contract process, which can take more than 18 months. Te commercial solutions opening process satisfies the competitive requirements for other-transaction agreements while providing maximum flexibility in making initial and follow-on (i.e., scalable) award selections.
Furthermore, the commercial solutions opening intention- ally mirrors commercial acquisition methods, as opposed to traditional approaches under the Federal Acquisition Regula- tion (FAR), to quickly vet and select technologies that provide value to DOD.
TACTICAL VEHICLE HYBRIDIZATION: A CASE STUDY To kick off the search for viable, commercial hybridization solu- tions, DIU posted a solicitation to its website in April 2021. After 115 days and 23 vendor proposals submitted, DIU then issued a prototype other-transaction award to two nontraditional defense contractors—XL Fleet and Volta Power Systems. Six months later and with new funding, DIU awarded two additional prototype other-transaction agreements to nontraditional defense contrac- tors Blackburn Energy and Stealth Power. Not only did DIU exercise flexibility in contracting by issuing multiple awards in a seven-month span, but the awards are also currently meeting all of the technical requirements and all phased milestones. Te team estimates that these four solutions can yield approximately 20 percent fuel savings.
But what factors contributed to successfully awarding these prototype contracts? And what lessons can be gleaned for the broader DOD contracting community?
ONGOING AND FREQUENT COMMUNICATION Ongoing and frequent communication among DIU, PM Trans- portation Systems and the prospective vendors allowed DIU to issue timely prototype other-transaction agreements for the hybridization project. Specifically, consistent government-vendor syncs helped to ensure that revisions to the statement of work and the terms and conditions did not impact the award schedule.
Maintaining open lines of communication enabled the teams to anticipate potential issues and prevent or mitigate them. For example, early integration of legal and policy personnel can help to mitigate potential disagreements. Similarly, opening the line of communication between the DOD prototyping partner, PEO
70 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2022
OTHER-TRANSACTION STATUTES There are numerous misconceptions around the
other-transaction authority—one of them being that it is not a legal acquisition method. In fact, such transactions have been a statutorily authorized procurement tool since the 1960s. Today, other- transaction agreements come in many “flavors,” as
detailed below. DIU primarily awards prototype other- transaction agreements.
10 U.S.C. §4021: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT OTHER TRANSACTION
Basic, applied and advanced research projects. Spur development of advanced technologies that may
have commercial or military application (usually cost sharing).
10 U.S.C. §4022: PROTOTYPE OTHER TRANSACTION
Prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military
personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to
improvement of platforms, systems, components or materials in use by the armed forces.
10 U.S.C. §4022(F): PRODUCTION OTHER TRANSACTION
Allows for a noncompetitive, follow-on other trans- action to a prototype other-transaction agreement that was competitively awarded and successfully completed.
CS&CSS and the prospective vendors allows the team to antici- pate high-level interests (e.g., funding sources) and quickly make adjustments, especially if there is personnel turnover, to ensure a smooth execution. In the case of the hybridization commercial solutions opening, the DIU program manager set a manageable but fast-paced timeline. Te DIU program manager was involved in each step of the process, scheduling and attending meetings to keep things running smoothly.
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