RAPIDLY ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY: As innovation expands in the tech world, the latest technology trends and developments will be vital for national security. (Photo by ThisIsEngineering, Pexels)
A competitive program links DOD and the tech world, ensuring service members have timely access to cutting-edge technology across the U.S. military at commercial speeds.
by Cheryl Marino
Cutting-edge technology is an essential enabler for organizations in today’s fast paced and digitally driven world, and it offers DOD the ability to gain a competitive advantage, enhance operational efficiency and unlock new growth possibilities. As the frontiers of innovation continue to expand in the tech world, the latest software and hardware trends and developments will be vital for national security; therefore, it is a DOD priority that service members have timely access to commercially available technology.
To keep pace with commercial product cycles and adopt commercial procurement best practices, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) have teamed up to develop and implement the Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program (ICAP)—designed for acquisition professionals motivated to become “the bridge” between DOD and the commercial tech world.
Through the ICAP, the DOD is encouraging broader use of agile acquisition methods by training a corps of professionals on DIU’s streamlined acquisition process. These professionals, in addition to understanding the dynamics between Silicon Valley tech and government procurement, would acquire knowledge of how other-transaction authority can be leveraged to cut regulatory burdens, simplify and expedite the acquisition process.
“Acquisition professionals, especially those in contracting, work in an increasingly complex environment. Creating opportunities like this where they can develop specialized skills and gain experience that they take back and share with others is one of the great strengths of this program,” said Jim Woolsey, president of Defense Acquisition University at the Defense Innovation Unit’s website.
Four contracting officers from across DOD—one from the Army, one from the Navy and two from the Air Force—were selected to participate in the program’s first cohort which launched in October 2022 as a twelve-month immersive program, with graduation in October 2023.
“I have never had more of a passion for my profession than I do now,” said ICAP Fellow, U.S. Army Maj. Michael Gerbasi, an agreements specialist in DIU acquisition, who previously served as deputy procurement chief for the Regional Contracting Center – Kuwait, 408th Contracting Support Brigade. “Being a part of this program has allowed to me to discover a whole community of practitioners in contracting, tech, venture capital and [Research and Development]. These folks, both in government and in industry, care about our country. They care about our defense and they care that our technological advantage on the battlefield continues.”
Gerbasi was halfway through his deployment to Kuwait, providing contracting support for exercises and base operations, when he applied and was selected for the ICAP program. He said although being a contingency contracting officer on the ground was a great experience, deep down he missed the challenges of systems contracting and the support to the Army program executive offices’ pursuit of far-reaching modernization priorities.
“I had heard of other transactions but there was, at the time, no clear path for me to ever execute them.” Gerbasi said he never heard of DIU until he stumbled across the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement (ODASA(P)) newsletter for Army contracting personnel and a list of open development opportunities. “For me, applying [for ICAP] meant embracing new learning opportunities. I applied on the last day applications were due that summer and figured the opportunity was a long shot. I now believe it has changed the direction of my career.”
EXCEPTIONAL SPOKESPEOPLE: ICAP Fellows U.S. Army Maj. Michael Gerbasi and U.S. Air Force Contracting Officer April Davison attended the National Contract Management Association World Congress 23 in Nashville, Tennessee, July 23–26, 2023. (Photo by Devon Bistarkey, Defense Innovation Unit)
DIU CAN DO
The Defense Innovation Unit was established 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 proactive DOD organization that contracts with commercial companies to solve national security challenges across a variety of technology areas like future-generation wireless technology; artificial intelligence and autonomy; space technology; renewable energy generation and storage; advanced computing and software; and integrated sensing and cyber. According 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 revenue 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 competitive evaluation process to obtain solutions or new capabilities that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps or provide potential technological advances.
The use of the other-transaction authority 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 Regulation (FAR)—meaning, they are not subject to the established primary regulation for use by all executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services with appropriated funds. Because of this, other-transaction authorities provide flexibility to leverage commercial business 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-critical and even life-saving technology. “The 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 commercial sector.”
Using the CSO and other-transaction authority, DIU aims to move from problem identification to prototype contract award in 60 to 90 days, whereas the traditional 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 technology providers onto contract as quickly as possible,” she said.
BE THE BRIDGE
DIU is the only DOD organization focused exclusively on fielding and scaling cutting-edge commercial technology across the U.S. military at commercial speeds, aligning with organizations across the DOD. It’s work to prototype and field dual-use capabilities that solve operational challenges makes DIU a gateway for DOD to leading technology companies across the country.
Acquisition professionals will be instrumental in acting as the bridge between DOD and the private sector to make sure companies are aware of the potential that exists in the federal marketplace and can find opportunities easily. The aim with the ICAP program, Tamayori said, is to help acquisition professionals learn to “speak commercial” and share this knowledge with their peers so that DOD can better acquire innovative commercial technologies. “The intent is that ICAP fellows, after graduation, will bring their new understanding of DIU’s CSO and the OT [other-transaction] authority to their home institutions, enabling them to implement similar processes for future commercial technology acquisitions.”
She said that ICAP fellows are required to develop an action plan for their home institution as part of their graduation from the program.
“[ICAP fellows] are already proving to be exceptional spokespeople for the CSO process and the OT authority—delivering briefings in front of their peers at the National Contract Management Association World Congress (held July 23-26 in Nashville, Tennessee), speaking at Defense Acquisition University OT learning events, and writing and contributing to articles to share what they have learned and how CSOs and OTs can help get new capabilities to the warfighter at speed.”
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)
WHAT MAKES IT IMMERSIVE?
All training is valuable, but immersive experiences take things up a notch. Through the Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program, fellows experience—or are “immersed” in—a combination of service-aligned DIU projects, focused interactions with commercial and nontraditional companies, and targeted training that leverages relevant other transaction virtual classroom training with on-the-job experience for hands-on application.
“Learning about OTs in a classroom was much different from gaining hands-on experience,” Gerbasi said. From day one, he was given portfolio assignments and an agreements officer to shadow. Then, the first 60 days were strictly observing, coupled with formal other-transaction training through DAU and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), onboarding and adjusting to culture. “The level of talent at DIU was incredible and most with industry and tech experience which brought an incredible perspective.”
Gerbasi said the agreements officer to whom he was assigned supported various projects for the cyber, energy and human systems portfolios. “By month three, I was tasked with negotiating OTs with four electric vehicle and battery manufacturers as part of the Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization [JABS] project, which was created to accelerate the adoption of [electric vehicle] batteries for DOD,” he said. “Once awarded, I jumped on opportunities to support post-award kick-off meetings which enabled me to interact with stakeholders and to view EV production lines and testing labs.” Over the next six months, Gerbasi said he helped support around 20 other transactions supporting pre-award and post-award actions.
Integrated into DIU’s daily work model, ICAP fellows gain experience with the CSO, combined with virtual classes on other-transaction agreements through DAU’s credentials program. Working alongside a unit contracting officer and project team, as well as commercial solution providers on a variety of projects, DOD acquisition personnel learn firsthand how to leverage the other-transaction authority, acquire novel commercial technologies, and be change agents through use of flexible acquisition methods within their organizations.
April Davison, U.S. Air Force veteran and contracting officer for the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) Contracting Directorate—and an ICAP fellow from the program’s first cohort—said what attracted her to the program was curiosity about DIU’s streamlined acquisitions process. She said she was “really excited to see how DIU utilized the CSO process for commercial Ots.”
“Before the ICAP program, I had only used the CSO process for FAR-based acquisitions. Whereas it was a more efficient acquisition process, the FAR still added several hurdles that extended the acquisition lead time,” she said. “Now I have another tool in my toolbox that I will be able to use and share with my organization.”
Davison currently serves as the CSO lead in support of the Department of the Air Force’s COVID-19 Task Force, so what she’s learned will be of great benefit to her role and career.
“The ICAP program gives a very immersive, hands-on opportunity for contracting professionals to see how CSOs can be done with maximum efficiency. It also provides targeted ‘classroom’ training in the form of DAU’s OT credential,” she said. “There is no scenario where an individual doesn’t come out on the other side a stronger, more capable contracting professional.”
FILL ‘ER UP WITH ELECTRICITY: Gerbasi was tasked with negotiating other-transaction agreements with four electric vehicle and battery manufacturers as part of the Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization (JABS) project. (Photo by Kendel Media, Pexels)
CONCLUSION
“Our fellows not only learned the ins and outs of DIU’s CSO and the OT authority, but they also stepped outside their comfort zones and opted to speak publicly about their experiences along the way, said Tamayori. “The learning curve, feedback and lessons learned we have gleaned from our fellows have demonstrated to us that this program is not only a value-add to DIU, but also to the institutions where they will be returning.”
Gerbasi said participating in ICAP has helped him gain insight into the dynamics of government procurement. “I have seen firsthand how CSOs and the OT authority can be leveraged to simplify the acquisition process, cut regulatory burdens and promote participation by nontraditional defense contractors, and I am thrilled that the program will continue for others.”
After ICAP graduation and upon his return to Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, Gerbasi said he’s excited to continue to champion other transactions and to share DIU’s source-selection model to accelerate commercial technology adoption.
Tamayori agrees that speed in acquisition is essential to keep pace with near-peer adversaries. “Having knowledgeable contracting professionals who are comfortable using flexible acquisition tools, like the CSO and the OT authority, will enable DOD to move at the speed necessary to equip warfighters—from all of the services—with the goods and services they need to keep us safe,” she said.
“The fellows from the inaugural cohort have demonstrated that this program can be a successful tool for scaling flexible acquisition methods. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, I am eager to continue this program into its second year and I am confident we will see positive ripple effects in the future.”
For more information about DIU and the ICAP program, go to https://www.diu.mil. To learn more about continuous learning points policy and guidance, go to https://www.dau.edu.
CHERYL MARINO provides contract support to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as a writer and editor for Network Runners, Inc., and Army AL&T magazine. She holds a B.A. in communications from Seton Hall University and has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience in both the government and private sectors. In addition to corporate communications, she is a feature writer and photojournalist for a biannual New Jersey travel magazine.
