Other Transaction Agreement (OTA)

A legal instrument (award) issued by the federal government that is not a contract, cooperative agreement or grant. There is no standard set of regulations or template for this award. The only defining characteristic would be the federal government’s identification of the award as an Other Transaction Agreement or OTA.

When we receive an OTA we must pay close attention to the terms and conditions in the agreement as they likely differ from what we are used to seeing in federal grants and contracts.

OTA is not a catch-all category for things that don’t fit elsewhere.

Other Transaction Authority is a project type on the eGC1 in SAGE.

To issue this other type of funding, the federal agency must either:

• Have explicit statutory authority to enter into an “other transaction” that is not a grant or contract, OR
• Issue the award based on statutory provisions that make the funding exempt from the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act

If the agency is utilizing Other Transaction Authority (OTA), it has the flexibility to develop award terms and conditions based on its objectives for the project. Some agencies will issue an Other Transaction Agreement that borrows terms and regulations from federal assistance, federal acquisition, or both, but other transactions are not automatically subject to either Uniform Guidance or the FAR.

Some agencies with the authority to use OTAs are NASA, the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Health and Human Services (including NIH), and Department of Energy (DOE).

Resources:

• Defense Acquisition University OT guide for DoD staff
• NIH Office of Acquisition Management:
  • “Other Transactions” (OT) Policy Guide pdf

See also:

• • Award
  • Knowledge Navigator: Other Transaction Authority