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Other Transaction Authority (OTA) is the authority of a US Agency to use Other Transactions (OTs). Once the agency has OTA, it can establish an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA)

The two terms are often incorrectly used synonymously.

1. The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) is granted to be able to use Other Transactions and is generally considered for use in RTD&E contracts.

2. The US Agency with OTA then can then appoint a Government Contracting Office as an Agreement Officer

3. The Agreement Officer then creates an Open Transaction Agreement (OTA) as the basis to conduct business

4. OTAs are awarded in several ways¹⁾:

• One way is through a direct award process such as a Request for Proposal (RFP), a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), or through a follow-on to an existing OTA.
• A second mechanism is through a consortium-based OTA. A consortium is an association formed by multiple parties for the purpose of participating in a common activity or pooling resources to achieve a common goal. Consortium-based OTAs allow multiple companies (traditional defense contractors and NDCs) and academia to collaborate with government customers and to partner with each other to accelerate innovation.

The most important aspect of an OTA is the Other Transactions (OTs) provisions, which are a legally binding, streamlined acquisition process. Only Congressionally-designated Federal agencies can use to procure innovative technology (e.g., prototypes and other Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) projects) while avoiding burdensome processes normally associated with government contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency supplements, like the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). This makes OTA efforts more similar to the commercial sector contracts in that they offer a flexible and less regulated approach to connect government with industry for innovative solutions. ²⁾

The use of OTs and OTAs are specially designed for government departments and agencies to use and manage Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) Funding.

Table 1 provides a list of Federal Agencies with Congressional OTAs.

Note: The inclusion of non-DoD Agencies.

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The Object Management Group's CBDC WG recommends the US Federal Reserve continues to pursue P0011 and P0030 but as two separate issues. It is essential the Federal Reserve pursues a CBDC (i.e., P0011) and makes recommendations based on using Data, Information, Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom gathered during the RTD&E efforts (i.e., P0030). CBDC is a large problem with many moving parts, all of which require a lot of systems analysis, engineering, and simulation in order to ensure public confidence:

For a nation’s economy to function effectively, its citizens must have confidence in its money and payment services. The Federal Reserve, as the nation’s central bank, works to maintain the public’s confidence by fostering monetary stability, financial stability, and a safe and efficient payment system. from the Executive Summary provided in the Money, and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation White Paper

Pursuing a CBDC that is flawed could ultimately inflict more damage than it is worth.

After the Federal Reserve obtains OT Authority, the OMG's CBDC WG further recommends that an Other Transaction (OT) Consortium be established. An OT Consortium is a formal relationship between a government sponsor (i.e., Federal Reserve) and a collection of traditional and non-traditional vendors, non-profit organizations, and academia aligned to a technology domain area (i.e., cyber, space, undersea, propulsion) that are managed by a single entity, and focused on innovative solutions to government technology challenges that meet the intended scope and purpose of other transactions.

OT Consortium is based on the following OT Consortium Model:

Figure 1: The Existing OT Constoria Model

Generally, an OT Consortium has three components:

• Government Sponsor and Contracting Office
• Consortium Manager
• Consortium (i.e., Stakeholders)

Note: Sometimes, the government sponsors prefer to manage a consortium in-house rather than hire an industry Consortium Manager or Consortium Management Firm.

The Consortium Manager is awarded an OT agreement by the government (base OT agreement) and manages OTs awarded to its consortium member organizations (project OT agreements) under the base agreement. In the OMG Distributed Immutable Data Object Reference Architecture (DIDO-RA), this highest level (i.e., OT Consortium) is referred to as the Ecosphere which would roughly follow the steps outlined in Steps for Establishing an Ecosphere. Also see DIDO-RA on Legal Documents for a discussion of how Ecosphere, Ecosystem, and Domain are related. The overall intent is the Ecosphere has the responsibility to external entities (i.e., sponsors). The OT Consortia (i.e., Ecosphere) can create any number of Ecosystems and Domains as is needed. It is recommended that the Ecosystems create and are responsible for Domains that fall under their auspices; however, the Policy and Procedures (P&P) may require the Ecosphere's approval for creation.

Table 2 summarizes the relationship between the Ecosphere, Ecosystem, and Domains. Some P&P may require every Ecosystem and Domain to have its own sub-charter which a narrower scope than the Ecosphere. See OMG DIDO-RA, 3.2 Legal Documents

(§) Initially, a legal statement created by the founders of the organization that lays out the goals, missions, and officers for the organization

(†) Legal document reviewed by lawyers from all the participating parties

(‡) Some Policies and Procedures may be mandated by law (i.e., discrimination, ADA, Safety, etc. while others may be added by local governing boards and should be drafted/reviewed by lawyers of all participating parties

There are many existing examples of Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) that are already in existence within the US Government. Table 3 provides a detailed list originally painstakingly developed by Capture 2 Proposal ⁶⁾. There is an excellent article by Stephen Speciale⁷⁾

OTAs are binding agreements between Defense Department organizations and industry partners that are different than Federal Acquisition Regulation contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. While they are an innovative and flexible option that is not subject to all acquisition laws and regulations, they require vigorous program management.

The intent of OTAs is to leverage commercial technologies for military purposes, improve the nation’s industrial base and allow for more cost-effective and affordable solutions without extreme bureaucracy. Opportunities are available to traditional defense industry partners and nontraditional defense contractors, such as academia, non-profits, and other small businesses.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Since parties can negotiate and tailor many OTA elements, it is critical for all parties involved to complete sound planning efforts prior to execution. Also, because they promote “outside the box” business practices, risk management is not a choice, but the backbone of the effort from cradle to grave. Agencies should start planning with a clear needs statement or defined problem supporting a capability gap.