Other Transactions

Other Transactions (OTs) are a unique type of legal instrument that are different from contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.

Other Transaction Authorities have been given to federal agencies by Congress to provide them with the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards and best practices into agency award instruments.

The reasons to use Other Transactions may be one or more of the following:

• Need for flexibility to negotiate terms and conditions appropriate for the specific program, requiring fluid implementation
• Science expected to be highly evolving, with requirements for additional aims or expertise added to, or removed from, the project throughout the term of execution
• Intellectual property rights
• Non-traditional research recipients
• Private/Federal Government partnerships

Applications for Other Transactions are required to be submitted through eRA’s ASSIST module. The application process has been streamlined to provide maximum flexibility for programs using this instrument.

eRA OT functionality incorporates this need for flexibility in other modules as well. eRA features for OTs include the following:

• Streamlined processes for setting programs up in the Funding Opportunity Announcement Module (FOAM)
• Objective review
• Delegation for program users
• Milestone tracking for terms and conditions of award
• Ability for applicants/awardees to submit additional materials, including for interim reporting
• Ability for internal staff to upload material across business areas in one folder
• Custom closeout processes

Resources

• Other Transactions webpage
• Instruction Guide for OTA Submissions via ASSIST -- 5/17/2018