USAID has long had Other Transaction Authority for awards that are not contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. These rare instruments are used primarily for non-traditional partners or research institutions needing more flexibility to engage with USAID than is provided in the FAR or 2 CFR 200. At this point, there is little guidance available within USAID on how they may use Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs). Their value in research and innovation, especially with the non-traditional, would have made them useful in implementing the recently announced $57 million investment in agriculture Innovations. Instead, the agricultural universities are harvesting their usual crop of funding through grants.
While OTAs appear to have been dropped from USAID’s toolbox, DoD is catching up with updated regulations and authorities to leverage OTA flexibility and speed with non-traditional partners, small businesses, and research institutions. The Piliero Mazza article provides details on what is possible with OTAs, including expanded use for pilot or prototype projects, sole-source follow-ons under certain circumstances, and clarifying regulations. While DoD may use OTAs to streamline engagement for innovative, time-sensitive opportunities, USAID will likely find itself needing to re-invent the wheel in attempting to use its own Other Transaction Authority.
Read more about DoD’s proposed use of OTAs here.
