GAO-16-209 FEDERAL ACQUISITIONS Use of ‘Other Transaction’ Agreements Limited and Mostly for Research and Development Activities (Jan 2016)
GAO-16-209 FEDERAL ACQUISITIONS Use of ‘Other Transaction’ Agreements Limited and Mostly for Research and Development Ac
Summary
A Government Accountability Office report (GAO-16-209, January 2016), 'Federal Acquisitions: Use of ‘Other Transaction’ Agreements Limited and Mostly for Research and Development Activities,' to the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. It describes the 11 federal agencies authorized to use OT agreements (beginning with NASA in 1958), why agencies use them (flexibility to customize terms on IP and cost accounting for entities deterred by traditional mechanisms), and the types of activities they support, finding that 9 of 11 agencies used OTs mostly for RD&D, that DoD and DHS also used them for prototypes, and that OTs were a small share of most agencies' acquisition activity in FY2010-2014.