Other Transaction Agreement collaboration management: an ATI core competency

OT authority gives Government the flexibility needed to develop agreements tailored to a particular transaction. Many procurement statutes and regulations—including the FAR and DFARs (the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement)—do not apply to OTs.  In fact, a number of studies show that freedom from many contracting regulations have significant advantages. This flexibility means that by using an OTA, both Government and industry benefit from:

• True “enterprise partnerships” between Government and the industry-academia consortium, where maximum collaboration and dialogue take place throughout the acquisition cycle;
• Innovation through the participation of “nontraditional” defense contractors and academic institutions;
• Faster contracting through long-term agreements between industry and Government that establish baseline terms and conditions (with the flexibility for negotiated modifications on a project-by-project basis).

OTA vs. FAR Process

By allowing the Government and the industry consortium to share contracting and technical responsibilities, OTAs offer faster contracting than traditional FAR-based acquisitions.

• “One stop shopping” with a Consortium Management Firm (CMF) that handles contracting, payments, cost analyses, negotiations, IP issues, and all the other mundane tasks needed to enable exciting prototype work;
• Open communication between Government and industry that helps Government learn about industry capabilities and helps industry understand Government needs;
• Incentives that encourage nontraditional technology suppliers to participate in OTs casts a wide net for capturing ideas and innovations from industry;
• Collaboration between Government, industry, and academia to address a broad range of complex defense, civilian, and commercial challenges.

The OT authority consortium enterprise is good government in action—the competition it promotes between large, traditional R&D providers, academic institutions, and small and nontraditional suppliers drives innovation across the entire US economy.

ATI’s core competency is building and managing OTA collaborations.

ATI combines the flexibility of the OT model with the power of collaboration.

As an objective, third party Consortium Management Firm, ATI recruits, organizes, and leads OT authority consortia, overcoming traditional barriers to teaming, such as geographical and organizational divides and intellectual property issues. Using a collaborative approach that can be applied to any set of complex challenges, we lead diverse industry and academic organizations to develop groundbreaking technology solutions. Through collaboration, we help team members—often competitors—reach consensus, establish priorities, and produce technology solutions that benefit Government, industry, and ultimately the Nation.

ATI currently manages 12 OT authority consortia, including the longest-standing one, the largest one (as measured by membership, project awards, and annual funding throughput), and the only one specifically chartered to attract private sector funding for the government sponsor’s research priorities. Our current R&D portfolio represents a broad array of technology areas, including shipbuilding and ship repair, advanced materials, medical technologies, electromagnetic spectrum capabilities, space technologies, and rapid prototyping.

For more than two decades, ATI-led collaborations have delivered valuable technologies and process improvements to the DoD, federal agencies, and industry.  We pioneered and perfected the art of collaboration management.