WORKFORCE
applications were due that summer and figured the opportunity was a long shot. I now believe it has changed the direction of my career.”
DIU CAN DO Te Defense Innovation Unit was estab- lished in 2015 to harness the investment and speed of advances in manufactured technology so that the military can more rapidly deploy cutting-edge systems. Today, the unit has evolved into a proac- tive DOD organization that contracts with commercial companies to solve national security challenges across a variety of technology areas like future-generation wireless technology; artificial
intelli-
gence and autonomy; space technology; renewable energy generation and storage; advanced computing and software; and integrated sensing and cyber. According to DIU’s website, by “engaging directly within the venture capital and commercial technology innovation ecosystem, DIU’s streamlined process delivers prototypes to DOD partners, along with scalable reve- nue opportunities for commercial vendors, within 12 to 24 months.”
Part of that streamlined process is a
solidified commercial solutions opening (CSO)—or source selection—a competi- tive evaluation process to obtain solutions or new capabilities that fulfill require- ments, close capability gaps or provide potential technological advances.
Te use of the other-transaction author- ity through CSO maximizes competition and allows DIU to work at commercial speeds, while minimizing the opportunity costs of participating vendors. Other- transaction agreements are not subject to the traditional Federal Acquisition Regu- lation (FAR)—meaning, they are not subject to the established primary regu- lation for use by all executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services
TEAM ATTRIBUTES
Members of DIU’s Acquisition Directorate participated in the National Contract Management Association World Congress 23 annual training event for contract management, procurement and acquisition professionals. From left, Maj. Michael Gerbasi, Roshan M. Jessani, Phillip Lee, Cherissa Tamayori, Indy Toliver, April Davison, Christina Mokrane and Joshua Tuxhorn. (Photo by Devon Bistarkey, Defense Innovation Unit)
with appropriated funds. Because of this, other-transaction authorities provide flexibility to leverage commercial busi- ness practices and lower the barrier to entry, which encourages nontraditional defense contractors to do business with the government.
According to Cherissa Tamayori, the director of DIU’s Acquisition Directorate, since the private sector has options on who to work with, it is in DOD’s interest to be an attractive business partner. Otherwise, the department runs the risk of losing out on commercially developed, mission-crit- ical and even lifesaving technology. “Te commercial sector is really efficient when it comes to quickly producing and buying what it needs,” Tamayori said. “We at the Defense Innovation Unit have found the other-transaction authority to be the most
effective acquisition tool for mirroring the speed and flexibility found in the commer- cial sector.”
Using the CSO and other-transaction authority, DIU aims to move from prob- lem identification to prototype contract award in 60 to 90 days, whereas the tradi- tional DOD contracting process often takes more than 18 months. “ICAP is an interactive training effort designed to help scale the methodology that we use at DIU across the DOD—to bring critical tech- nology providers onto contract as quickly as possible,” she said.
BE THE BRIDGE DIU is the only DOD organization focused exclusively on fielding and scal- ing cutting-edge commercial technology across the U.S. military at commercial
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