Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSAs), 10 USC 2679, were established through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 13) as formal public-public partnerships agreements between Army installations and their State or local governments for the provision, receipt, or sharing of installation support services.

NDAA FY 13, section 331, provided broad legislation for all military Services to enter into public-public partnerships for installation support services, excluding security guard and fire-fighting functions. These services may be sole sourced to State and local governments.

The Department of Defense (DoD) initially interpreted the legislation to require the use of the FAR for all IGSAs involving the provision of goods and services to the government, though the agreement could be sole sourced. Because municipalities have no or limited experience with the FAR, they were cautious about entering into contracts without detailed understanding of each clause. This slowed progress on IGSAs.

In response, NDAA FY 15, section 351 clarifies that IGSAs do not require the use of the FAR and leaves the determination of the best legal instrument to document the partnership up to each Service Secretary. It also includes the requirement while the IGSA can still be sole sourced, if either of the IGSA participants contracts for a service covered by the IGSA, that contract must be competitive. NDAA FY 15, section 351 has had a positive effect on the progress of IGSAs as use of simpler legal instruments expedited the partnership process. Because most State and local governments compete their contracts to ensure the best price, the additional requirement for competitive contracts has not proven to be a significant issue.