Dan Chenok

(Contributors:  Adam Gilbride, Associate Partner, IBM United Kingdom and Matt Warshaw, Director, US Government Centers, IBM)

The term “Other Transaction Authority” (OTA) stems from statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms. While OTAs have been around in NASA since 1958 and within the Department of Defense since 1989, they have experienced significant growth in recent years following expansion under the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Governments and societies continue to face the unforeseen and unprecedented challenges of responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of the last 18 months have pointed to the importance of well-managed actions at the local, national, and cross-border levels.

Blog Co-Author: Tom Suder, Founder & President, Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC)

“Over the past two to five years we’ve really seen a migration of artificial intelligence from the lab out into operations.”

This blog is co-authored by Tim Paydos, Vice President & General Manager, Government Industry, Global Markets, IBM

In a post-pandemic world, homeland security and border control agencies are being tasked with transforming how they respond and operate in a highly digitalized environment, while ensuring safety and prosperity of citizens and country. Critical challenges that agencies face include increasing volume of incidents and emergencies, overly complex trade processes, and threats to borders and customs.  Governments can leverage data, AI, and other emerging technologies to address these challenges.

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published starting in early 2022.  Short summaries of each report follow:

In the more than six decades since “Other Transactions Authority” (OTA) was authorized, OTAs have become a vital part of the Department of Defense (DOD) research process, and are now increasingly used by other agencies seeking to drive innovation through their programs and services. OTAs follow statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms.

The greater prevalence of OTAs has raised a number of questions about their use, including: 

Margie Graves comes to the IBM Center for The Business of Government after a successful career with leading technology-focused organizations and initiatives in government, industry, and the non-profit sector.

Federal agencies routinely issue guidance documents to announce policy statements and to clarify the meaning of existing statutes and regulations. Over time, guidance documents have become a principal agency policy instrument.