Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, has said the Defense Department plans to release this month a handbook on the use of “other transaction authority,†Inside Defense reported Thursday.“They are very, very important contracts to use, because you don’t always know exactly what your requirement is,” she said of OTAs during the annual Naval Submarine League symposium held Thursday in Arlington, Va.
“OTAs are used when you’re really experimenting and prototyping a little bit to find out exactly what the art of the possible is,†she added.
She noted that DoD wants to have the OTA handbook in place by Thanksgiving followed by courses to be offered at the Defense Acquisition University.
Lord added the Pentagon will also issue a policy on rapid prototyping and procurement in early 2019.
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