MAKING INNOVATION HAPPEN
in both large organizations and in many cases by the military because it’s disruptive.”
In fact, “most innovations today come from small businesses,” Gansler said, citing the 2015 findings of a committee he chaired of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medi- cine. Te Committee on Capitalizing on Science, Technology and Innovation, which reviewed the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer pro- grams at DOD, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Founda- tion, concluded that SBIR remains the single largest innovation program for small business. (See Figure 2, Page 62.)
ENHANCING THE NETWORK
To improve operations in the field, CERDEC looks at the interoperability and efficiency of communication capabilities for expeditionary forces and troops on the move, including hardware convergence, network simplicity and cellular and intra-Solider wireless capabilities. Interoperability is a key focus for U.S. military research, engineering and prototyping efforts to expand or enhance existing capabilities. (U.S. Army photo by Kelly White, CERDEC)
technologies and processes developed by U.S. industry and allies and, in some cases, by U.S. industry for allied nations, Gansler said, citing the United Kingdom’s adaptation of global com- mercial logistical systems to improve its military supply chains. Even innovations in processes can prove to be disruptive, he said.
DISRUPTIVE VS. INCREMENTAL Yet disruptive technologies, by definition, are not initially wel- comed by large institutions like the big defense contractors or the DOD acquisition system, Gansler noted.
Drawing a sharp distinction between large and small companies, he observed that large corporations have a strong tendency to dis- courage disruptive innovation in favor of incremental innovation that is consistent with what they’re accustomed to producing.
“Tat’s why so many innovations come from small business,” Gansler said, “because people are trying to build a business.” It’s the difference between making “a little bit better widget each time” and asking, “Why do we need widgets?” and replacing them with something completely new and different.
“Tat kind of [disruptive] innovation is what makes a big dif- ference in warfare, and certainly it makes a big difference commercially. It may start up a whole new industry,” Gansler said. “Tat’s got to be encouraged, and it’s actually discouraged
64 Army AL&T Magazine July-September 2016
“When was the last time the Army or [DOD] really built a new platform? You can pretty much trace when we started running into problems to when we ‘won' the Cold War and we stopped building things.”
Another institution that has proven resistant to innovation and change is Congress, Gansler said. Te Code of Federal Regu- lations, which controls what the government can buy, and by what means and method, “is now up to 186,000 pages,” with over 2,000 pages added every year. It is full of regulations that slow down the application of effective, affordable commer- cial equipment to military systems and significantly raise the prices, Gansler said. Congress needs to review all 186,000 pages, drop the obsolete ones, and revise those that are expensive and unneeded; it’s considering a step in that direction, he said.
NEW TALENT, NEW IDEAS At the Innovation Summit, Welby noted that regaining supe- riority by creating strategic challenges for adversaries is going to require more talent, with a greater diversity of expertise, coupled with a faster response to innovative possibilities. Te idea is to “open the aperture,” as he put it, to expand on the talents of over 113,000 scientists and engineers working for DOD by engaging in new ways with academia and industry,
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