Through literature reviews, interviews, and case studies, researchers reviewed recent U.S. Air Force experience in using other transactions for prototype projects (OTs), identifying lessons for acquisition professionals and improvements for use.

The Department of Defense (DOD) relies extensively on contractors to equip and support the U.S. military in peacetime and during military operations, obligating more than $300 billion on contracts in FY2013.

The federal government’s use of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements has exploded in recent years, thanks in large part to a surge in popularity within the Department of Defense (DoD). Rather than a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, OTAs are an acquisition approach that pursues innovation by enabling certain federal agencies to access goods and services outside of the traditional acquisition system. This CSIS report examines the notable trends in DoD OTA usage since the DoD's authority to enter into OTAs was expanded by the statuary changes in the FY 2015 and FY 2016 NDAAs. It seeks to provide insight into how the DoD is using OTAs to pursue innovation, how DoD spending under an OTA is organized, and to whom the majority of OTA obligations go.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

The authors analyze various approaches to speed acquisition of military capabilities and keep pace with evolving threats, assess these approaches' suitability for different conditions and acquisition types, and identify implementation issues.