DHS needs to take further actions to improve management of its special acquisition authority which gives it flexibility to engage with entities that don’t typically do business with the federal government but are risky and fall outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation, GAO has said.
The department’s Science and Technology Directorate has used its special acquisition authority to enter into 58 "other transaction" agreements in the past eight years, and use of the agreements – special vehicles used for research and development or prototype projects – is falling due to uncertainty about continuing authority to enter into them, according to GAO-12-557.
It said that while DHS has made progress in addressing challenges on their use that gaps remain in information and reporting.
For example, the department does not consistently document the rationale for entering into other transaction agreements despite guidance requiring it do so, and DHS does not collect information on the circumstances that permit the use of other transaction authority throughout the life of the agreement, GAO said.
DHS agreed with recommendations to develop an action plan with specific time frames to improve data collection and congressional reporting, ensure full implementation of guidance regarding documentation, and establish a policy for reviewing the circumstances that permit the use of other transaction authority.