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Public-Private Partnerships

Plain-language definitions of every Public-Private Partnerships term that shows up in government contracting work.


Public-Private PartnershipsAAF

Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF)

The Adaptive Acquisition Framework is DoD's modern acquisition policy that provides six tailored pathways for defense programs to select the acquisition approach best suited to their needs.

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Public-Private PartnershipsGPO

Group Purchasing Organization (GPO)

A Group Purchasing Organization aggregates the purchasing power of multiple entities to negotiate discounted pricing from vendors, widely used in healthcare and education procurement.

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Public-Private PartnershipsIAA

Interagency Agreement (IAA)

An Interagency Agreement is a formal arrangement between two federal agencies allowing one to provide goods, services, or funding to the other outside of standard commercial procurement channels.

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Public-Private PartnershipsMTA

Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA)

The Middle Tier of Acquisition is a DoD acquisition pathway for programs that can be rapidly prototyped or fielded within five years, bypassing traditional MDAP oversight requirements.

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Public-Private PartnershipsPPP

Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

A Public-Private Partnership is a collaborative arrangement between a government agency and a private company to deliver public infrastructure or services, sharing risk and investment.

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Public-Private Partnerships

Rapid Prototyping

Rapid Prototyping is a DoD acquisition strategy that quickly demonstrates a new capability in an operational environment to compress the time from concept to fielded system.

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Public-Private Partnerships

Software Acquisition Pathway

The Software Acquisition Pathway is a DoD AAF acquisition pathway for software-intensive systems that emphasizes Agile development, continuous delivery, and government access to source code.

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Public-Private PartnershipsUON

Urgent Operational Need (UON)

A UON is a DoD process for rapidly fielding a capability to address an urgent threat or gap that cannot wait for normal acquisition timelines, often using accelerated contracting authority.

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