STTR | The Contracting Education Academy

November 13, 2020 By cs

Army awards 10 prototyping contracts under small business pilot program

The U.S. Army is using a special topics pilot program to shorten the life cycle of military technology development.

The U.S. Army selected 10 projects addressing military technology gaps for prototyping under a small business pilot program meant to speed the development life cycle, according to a press release.

The awards were made using an Army Small Business Technology Transfer, or STTR, pilot program, according to the Nov. 5 announcement. The 10 projects from nine small businesses and partner research institutions were selected from a pool of 22 proposals.

Most of the projects address the Army’s network modernization priority and cover seven special topic areas including position navigation and timing, or PNT, without GPS, edge sensor processing, and interference and jamming of high frequency radios.

The prototyping is the second phase in a three-step pilot program for identifying and addressing warfighter technology gaps that requires small businesses to partner with research institutions like universities or nonprofits, according to the statement. The pilot is meant to get new technology solutions in the hands of warfighters faster, according to a broad agency announcement outlining the program.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/11/army-awards-10-prototyping-contracts-under-small-business-pilot-program/169898/

December 3, 2018 By AMK

Georgia Tech hosting event promoting ‘defense innovation’ to be held on Jan. 14th

Companies who believe that they have the next key discovery or the next great idea that could benefit the Department of Defense (DoD) are invited to participate in a Georgia Tech-hosted event on Monday, January 14, 2019.

On that date, Georgia Tech’s Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will host a day-long event designed to benefit innovative small businesses – with priority given to small technology companies that have the potential to directly enhance achievement of DoD’s mission.

Lisa R. Sanders, Director of Science and Technology for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), is a featured speaker at the Defense Innovation Conference. (More details here: https://gtpac.org/2018/12/17/special-operations-science-and-technology-director-is-speaking-at-jan-14-gtpac-event)

Registration is now open at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-the-next-defense-innovation-conference-tickets-53056770228 Advance registration is required for this event; on-site registration will not be allowed. The registration fee is $50.

By attending, companies will learn all about the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, the Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF), Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for prototype projects, and additional contracting vehicles aimed at attracting innovative companies to help the U.S. Department of Defense.

See promotional flyer here: Defense Innovation Conference – Jan. 14 2019 Event

Registration for the event is now open at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-the-next-defense-innovation-conference-tickets-53056770228

Full Agenda and Featured Speakers

An advance copy of the conference agenda is available here: Agenda – Defense Innovation Conference – 01.14.2019 – Final.

Biographical sketches of all the featured speakers is available here: Featured Speakers – Defense Innovation Conference 01.14.2019.

September 8, 2016 By AMK

The import of federal SBIR and STTR programs and why Congress should act quickly to reauthorize them

Despite bipartisan efforts, the future is uncertain for the by all accounts highly successful Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Authorization for the current programs expires September 30, 2017. Reauthorization efforts are underway, but it is not clear at this time when the House and Senate will consider the pending legislation necessary to ensure no lapse in the programs.

Congress’s failure to reauthorize these programs would be an unfortunate mistake.

SBIR STTR Legislation 2016 The SBIR program provides $2.5 billion a year in seed funding to companies with emerging technologies. Since program inception, more than 150,000 SBIR awards worth over $42 billion have been made. The companies receiving these funds may not yet have a prototype or the proof of concept required to receive other private sources of funding, making government support all the more important. The STTR program supports, among other things, innovative advances in health care, with the NIH providing about one-third of the annual STTR funding, which currently is approximately $220 million.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=522216

September 19, 2013 By AMK

Departments underspent on small business R&D commercialization

Several departments underspent on small business programs for the commercialization of research and development because they left out entire component agencies from the calculations used to fund the programs, the Government Accountability Office says.

Under two federal programs, agencies must spend a certain percentage of their outside research and development funding on small businesses R&D efforts that align with federal priorities.

But the Transportation Department, for instance, excluded the Federal Aviation Administration from its departmentwide calculation of outside R&D spending, GAO says in a report released Sept. 9. The Health and Human Services Department did the same with both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/departments-underspent-rd-commercialization/2013-09-10

January 22, 2013 By AMK

Contractors spoke, SBA listened: Rules for R&D funds altered

Contractors with outside investors can tap research funds set aside for small businesses, thanks to a new rule from the Small Business Administration, though an outcry from the small business community led to some restrictions.

First, some background. As reported in May, the SBA proposed allowing small businesses that are majority-owned by venture capital and private equity firms or hedge funds to particulate in two popular programs: the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the 1992 Small Business Technology Transfer Act. Those small business have not before qualified for these programs.

The Small Business Innovation Research program, or SBIR, was established to strengthen the role of small businesses in federally funded research and development. The Small Business Technology Transfer Act, knowns as STTR, requires federal agencies with R&D budgets of more than $1 billion per fiscal year to fund small businesses.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2012/12/firms-sound-off-on-new-rule-allowing.html?ana=&page=all

The U.S. Army is using a special topics pilot program to shorten the life cycle of military technology development.

Companies who believe that they have the next key discovery or the next great idea that could benefit the Department of Defense (DoD) are invited to participate in a Georgia Tech-hosted event on Monday, January 14, 2019.

Registration is now open at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-the-next-defense-innovation-conference-tickets-53056770228 Advance registration is required for this event; on-site registration will not be allowed. The registration fee is $50.

Full Agenda and Featured Speakers

Despite bipartisan efforts, the future is uncertain for the by all accounts highly successful Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Search this Website