How to Buy Stuff Like DARPA Does - by Santi Ruiz

Government agency procurement processes are legendarily clunky. If an agency wants to acquire something, or ink a contract, it has to follow the Federal Acquisitions Regulation, or FAR. As a result, government contracting is far slower than private sector contracting. Federal contracts routinely go to the same narrow set of contractors, and run well over budget and schedule. But a few agencies manage to avoid this rigmarole entirely. Instead, they’ve pioneered the use of Other Transaction Authority, or OTA: which lets them sign flexible contracts. Among the regular users of OTA: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), largely responsible for the invention of the Internet, GPS, drones, and the personal computer. And SpaceX’s first deal with NASA was through OTA. Today, we talked to Rick Dunn, the man who brought Other Transaction Authority to DARPA. Before serving as DARPA’s first general counsel, he served at NASA, negotiating the Space Act Agreement involving the first

How to Buy Stuff Like DARPA Does "He was going to find his head chopped off" Santi Ruiz Feb 14, 2024 38 2 5 Share Government agency procurement processes are legendarily clunky. If an agency wants to acquire something, or ink a contract, it has to follow the Federal Acquisitions Regulation, or FAR . As a result, government contracting is far slower than private sector contracting. Federal contracts routinely go to the same narrow set of contractors, and run well over budget and schedule. But a few agencies manage to avoid this rigmarole entirely. Instead, they’ve pioneered the use of Other Tra

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