{
  "id": "USC-09",
  "category": "Acquisition research and education",
  "capability": "Build acquisition and technical expertise through research, education, and civilian training partnerships",
  "summary": "Maintain civilian-university acquisition research and demonstration activities, data and analytical capacity, and executive education; pair this with Defense Acquisition University partnerships and practical workforce training. A separate Defense Civilian Training Corps route supports accredited civilian-school units and governed financial assistance, service commitments, and graduate appointments.",
  "legal_basis": [
    {
      "citation": "10 U.S.C. §4142",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partV-subpartE-chap305-sec4142.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; read alongside the enacted amendments identified in this record."
    },
    {
      "citation": "10 U.S.C. §1746a",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partII-chap87-subchapIV-sec1746a.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; read alongside the enacted amendments identified in this record."
    },
    {
      "citation": "10 U.S.C. §2200g",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partIII-chap113-sec2200g.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately."
    },
    {
      "citation": "10 U.S.C. §2200h",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partIII-chap113-sec2200h.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately."
    },
    {
      "citation": "10 U.S.C. §2200i",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partIII-chap113-sec2200i.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately."
    },
    {
      "citation": "P.L. 119-60, §823",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ60/html/PLAW-119publ60.htm",
      "kind": "statute",
      "note": "Enacted December 18, 2025, adds §2200h(b) hiring authority terminating December 31, 2029."
    }
  ],
  "authority_holder": "Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials",
  "actor_chain": {
    "planner": [
      "Relevant DoD mission or program sponsor"
    ],
    "resource_owner": [
      "Sponsoring component budget owner and comptroller; available funding not verified"
    ],
    "approver": [
      "Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials; transaction-specific delegation must be confirmed"
    ],
    "executor": [
      "Authorized component contracting, agreements, or personnel office; assignment is illustrative"
    ],
    "partners": [
      "Program counsel, fiscal officials, and eligible external counterpart as applicable"
    ]
  },
  "actor_sources": [
    {
      "title": "Extramural acquisition innovation and research activities; Acquisition workforce educational partnerships — statutory holder and execution conditions",
      "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title10/html/USCODE-2024-title10-subtitleA-partV-subpartE-chap305-sec4142.htm"
    }
  ],
  "requirements": [
    "Section 4142 includes an acquisition research organization in a civilian university not owned or operated by the Federal Government.",
    "Keep research, pilot demonstrations, data access, and executive education within §4142(c), and DAU partnership activities within §1746a.",
    "Any workforce-development account use is subject to available appropriations.",
    "DCTC participation, financial assistance, and return service are governed by criteria the Secretary establishes under §§2200g–2200i; this is distinct from the §4142 research organization and DAU partnerships.",
    "Amended §2200h(b) permits the head of a partnering DoD element to appoint a program member for one year and, for successful graduates, renew term appointments or make the specified permanent appointments. Graduate positions under paragraph (2) are GS-9 or equivalent for which qualified; the authority may cover no more than 60 graduates per calendar year.",
    "The §2200h(b) hiring authority terminates December 31, 2029. Workforce-development-account basic-pay support is limited to term appointments and four years per person, without eliminating other compensation authority."
  ],
  "limits": [
    "A pilot of acquisition practices is not authority to waive otherwise applicable procurement statutes.",
    "Organizational and education duties are distinguished from any separately executed award instrument."
  ],
  "funding": [
    "Sections 4142(d) and 1746a(d) permit use of the specified defense acquisition workforce account, subject to appropriations.",
    "DCTC term-appointment basic pay follows amended §2200h(b)(3) and the acquisition workforce account provisions; no individual award or appointment verified."
  ],
  "coordination_path": "Mission sponsor → relevant program or personnel lead → counsel and fiscal review → official holding the required authority → eligible counterpart. Named functions are routing guidance, not verified individual delegations.",
  "availability": "Express statutory pathway identified in the USC scrub. Current implementation, public intake, appropriations, available balances, and transaction-specific delegations were not independently verified.",
  "confidence": "High on the cited statutory text and express conditions; operational availability is unverified.",
  "currentness": "Reviewed 2026-10-05 against official GovInfo 2024 Code text and a targeted P.L. 119-60 enacted-amendment search. OLRC direct pages were intermittently under maintenance. This is not an exhaustive certification of legislation after that baseline, funding, implementation, or individual delegation.",
  "family": "Workforce and expertise",
  "supplement": "usc-review-2026-10-05",
  "last_reviewed": "2026-10-05",
  "implementation_caution": "Statutory-source review only. A current implementing program, open intake, available funds and individual delegation were not verified.",
  "usc_review_notes": [
    "Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified."
  ],
  "mechanisms": [
    "Cooperation & exchanges"
  ],
  "goal_ids": [
    "develop-technology"
  ],
  "office_links": [
    {
      "office_id": "secretary-deputy-secretary",
      "role": "approver",
      "label": "Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials; transaction-specific delegation must be confirmed"
    },
    {
      "office_id": "usd-acquisition-sustainment",
      "role": "approver",
      "label": "Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials; transaction-specific delegation must be confirmed"
    }
  ],
  "family_slug": "workforce-and-expertise",
  "instrument_groups": [
    "Other statutory tools"
  ],
  "executor_route": {
    "id": "execution-usc-09",
    "name": "Authorized component contracting, agreements, or personnel office; assignment is illustrative",
    "label": "Authorized component contracting, agreements, or personnel office; assignment is illustrative",
    "url": "/offices/execution/usc-09/",
    "basis": "Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office."
  },
  "program_context": [],
  "program_research": null,
  "checks": [
    {
      "key": "legal",
      "label": "Legal basis",
      "state": "Sources linked",
      "detail": "Legal sources and instrument limits are recorded."
    },
    {
      "key": "eligibility",
      "label": "Requirements",
      "state": "Gates recorded",
      "detail": "Read the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action."
    },
    {
      "key": "funds",
      "label": "Public funding",
      "state": "Rules recorded",
      "detail": "Sections 4142(d) and 1746a(d) permit use of the specified defense acquisition workforce account, subject to appropriations. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.",
      "url": "/capabilities/usc-09/#funding"
    },
    {
      "key": "delegation",
      "label": "Assigned roles",
      "state": "Roles recorded",
      "detail": "Public sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.",
      "url": "/capabilities/usc-09/#roles"
    },
    {
      "key": "execution",
      "label": "Engagement",
      "state": "Program unverified",
      "detail": "Added in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.",
      "url": "/sources/usc/"
    }
  ],
  "hard_limit": "A pilot of acquisition practices is not authority to waive otherwise applicable procurement statutes."
}