COLLABORATION & THE INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL BASE
The “Valley of Death” is a long and arduous acquisition process where vendors face multiple barriers in transitioning their technologies to programs of record.
12-month performance period. Each of the selected small businesses identified Army customers and interested technol- ogy integrators for the capabilities in their proposed solutions.
To participate, each selectee must have previously received an Army SBIR/STTR contract within the past four fiscal years, while not having yet received a second SBIR/STTR Phase II under the same project. Following these criteria, the pilot accepted a wide array of proposals from businesses capable of supporting the Army’s future force. However, it priori- tized solutions within specific technology ecosystems.
Areas of focus included climate and clean technology in the face of climate change; artificial intelligence and machine learn- ing resiliency; supply-chain logistics; immersive and wearables; and contested autonomy. Te Army selected ANDRO Computational LLC; Compound Eye Inc.; EM Photonics Inc.; R-Dex Systems Inc.; and Solvus Global LLC for their propos- als within these fields and their ability to support key efforts, including the Army Climate Strategy and the Army Digital Transformation Strategy.
NEXT STEPS Trough their selections in the base phase and the Army’s $75 million investment, recipients can receive Army SBIR CATA- LYST Enhancement Phase II contracts
of $7 million in Army SBIR funds, $3.5 million in funding from the Army tran- sition partner and another $3.5 million from the partnered technology integrator. Te result is total funding of $15 million for each small business based on a fund ratio of 2:1:1 over an additional 12- to 24-month performance period.
Upon conclusion of the program, these businesses’ solutions can potentially tran- sition to critical Army partners, such as the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Intel- ligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors’ Product Lead Tactical Space Superiori- ties and Project Director Sensors-Aerial Intelligence; PEO Ground Combat Systems and its Project Manager Main Battle Tank Systems; PEO Soldier’s Product Manager Individual Weap- ons; the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center, andDEVCOM Army Research Laboratory.
“Tis is the first SBIR program initiative designed to leverage untapped potential by heavily investing and building a shared risk structure between small businesses, Army transition partners and technology integrators,” said Matthew Willis, Ph.D., director of Army Prize Competitions and the Army Applied SBIR Program, within the Office of the ASA(ALT). “Trough this pilot—and drastic increase in Army funding—we can drive down risk while providing greater resources to
advance prototype development, testing and transition.”
ASA(ALT)’s pilot effort and selectees can help shape future iterations of the Army SBIR CATALYST Program, and the involvement of Army customers and integrators. Building on the feedback and experiences of small businesses, integra- tors and Army customers, the Army will further streamline the program to improve the success of small businesses and inte- grators, and its exposure to nontraditional vendors, via increased funding and an optimized potential pathway to crossing the Valley of Death.
CONCLUSION Tese collaborations with Army custom- ers and the defense industrial base can also catalyze and accelerate the rate of innova- tion while supporting existing mechanisms for technology transition. As the initia- tive grows, the Army SBIR CATALYST Program will complement ASA(ALT)’s existing SBIR/STTR contract efforts via additional opportunities and funding that support commercial industrial success— and through Army advancements capable of solving current and future challenges.
Willis will speak about the next iteration of the Army SBIR CATALYST Program at the October 2023 AUSA Annual Meet- ing and Exposition in Washington, as part of the Army Office of Small Business Programs seminars.
For more information, go to
https://www.armysbir.army.mil.
DANIEL SMOOT provides contract support to the U.S. Army SBIR, STTR and xTech programs for Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a B.S. in writing from Towson University.
https://asc.ar my.mil
25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136
