The One - Two Acquisition Punch

While much attention has been placed lately on rapid acquisition of new technology through the Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) little light has been shed on it's complementing set of technology development tools located in the Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 35.

The principle difference between the FAR Part 35 tools such as traditional R&D contracts solicited via Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) and the OTA is that the traditional FAR programs are for developing technologies using traditional government contracting terms and conditions and the OTA is for fielding prototypes of existing (generally commercial but not always) technology using more commercial terms and conditions.

The OTA has been praised as a fast and simple process to get emerging technology to the warfighters - and it is. But here is an alternate approach worthy of consideration to those situations where an OTA won't work because the technology does not exist.

Agencies can use the existing FAR Part 35 Research and Development authorities to issue short term contracts to one or more contractors to develop new technologies for emerging needs. FAR Part 35 authorities can be used in a number of ways to expedite technology development using a number of authorities specifically tailorable to the situation.

The prime mechanism is the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). Using this device agencies can solicit for White Papers from industry describing existing technologies or planned research in a specific area that would be applicable (or adaptable) to the government's needs. The BAA process can be pretty fast since the first step is for the contractor to submit a page limited (usually in the range of 5 to 10 pages but seldom more than 20) document called a White Paper describing the proposed research and establishing a top level budget.

Evaluation of White Papers under FAR Part 35 is less formal than the FAR Part 15 source selection process. Promising White Papers are selected by a team of technical professionals and generally result in a Request for Proposal. Since the White Paper laid most of the groundwork for the project the proposal process is again page limited and may simply consist of a more detailed cost proposal and a short cover document containing a contractor statement of work to insert into the contract. R&D proposal evaluation "... should contain evaluation factors to be used to determine the most technically competent..." and generally favors the best technical solution(s) proposed.

A variant on this process is the R&D IDIQ contract. These (typically multiple award) IDIQs are contracts that are in-place with research oriented contractors and educational institutions that can be used to award task orders for technology development in short order. Generally the IDIQ is placed with several contractors who respond to a BAA asking them to submit White Papers or Proposals for a 5-year multiple award IDIQ contract. Awardees are then solicited under the "fair opportunity" provisions of FAR Part 16 when an agency need arises. Since the competition is limited to those holding an award of the overarching IDIQ, selection is generally fast and awards under 10 Million are usually not protestable.

Once the technology is developed the next step is to move it out of the laboratory and into the field. Here the OTA is a possible vehicle but there remains an ace up the sleeve of the traditional FAR approach that can be used: the Logical Follow-on contract. Referring to FAR 6.302-1(2)(ii) "Supplies may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof ..."

The follow-on allows a non-competitive award of a contract to the original source (the contractor who developed the technology) to continue development and prototyping or production of new systems in those circumstances where "...Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; or Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements." This provision allows an express lane (if properly justified and authorized by the agency) to progress seamlessly from developing the technology to fielding a prototype or limited production run of systems and is clearly envisioned by the FAR as it states in FAR 35.006(e) "... Projects having production requirements as a follow-on to R&D efforts normally should progress from cost-reimbursement contracts to fixed-price contracts as designs become more firmly established, risks are reduced, and production tooling, equipment, and processes are developed and proven."

So in essence government acquisition professionals have two tools at their disposal offering a one-two punch to addressing agency needs for new technology. The limiting factor is selecting the right tool for the job and then using the proper authority to fulfill agency requirements. While some may claim the traditional FAR Part 35 approach is slow(er) I contend - based on 30 plus years in the field - that the traditional approach can be "fast tracked" when the need arises. The true limiting factor is the knowledge of the CO as to the tools available to them and overcoming the bureaucratic obstacles that often get thrown in their path by risk adverse superiors. But I'll save that topic for another day!

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