Ms. Regina "Gina" Sims
Director, Defense SBIR/STTR Program

Ms. Regina “Gina” Sims is the Director of the Defense SBIR/STTR Program Office for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E). Ms. Sims is the principal point of contact for Congress, the Small Business Administration, Government Accountability Office, and interagency SBIR/STTR community representatives. Ms. Sims oversees and leads the SBIR/STTR Program to unify efforts, while conveying transparency and trust across DoD agencies and components within the program.

Prior to her role in OSD, Ms. Sims was the Department of Air Force (DAF) Specific Topic Branch Chief, a role she held in the AFWERX’s AFVentures Division. Ms. Sims facilitated the DAF’s SBIR/STTR life cycle, designed to rapidly and efficiently transition innovative technology to the Airmen and Guardian Warfighter communities. Ms. Sims was also responsible for an annual $400M portfolio’s planning and execution while managing the Specific Topic Branch within AFVentures’ day-to-day efforts , supporting a variety of mission partners.

Ms. Sims has been a DoD Civilian for 15 years, serving in several different acquisition program management roles within the DAF. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her two children and is an avid reader. She has an affinity for mentoring and coaching, dedicating time fostering creative thought and developing the next generation of civilian leaders.

Mr. Tylar Temple
Deputy Director, Defense SBIR/STTR Program

Mr. Temple currently serves as Deputy Director, Defense SBIR/STTR Program Office in OUSD(R&E). In this role, he leads Defense Small Business Innovation Portal (DSIP)’s development and maintenance, as well as develops SBIR/STTR due diligence policies and procedures across the Services and Components. He also supports the SBIR/STTR Program Office in various other capacities.

Previously, Mr. Temple served as the Program Manager for Army STTR, where he successfully executed the Army’s STTR budget, topic calls, proposal selections, award monitoring, and outreach initiatives.

With 15 years of civilian service, he has held numerous roles, including Technical Assistant to the Deputy Director at the Army Research Office, Program Manager for the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program within OUSD(R&E), and Component Execution Lead for the SMART Program. He has also served as the Program Manager for Technology Transfer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research & Technology), Operations Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology), and as an Electronic Warfare Analyst at the Army Materiel System Analysis Activity, now DEVCOM Data Analysis Center.

CONTACT US

Who We Are

MISSION

Drive the Department’s innovation leveraging U.S. small businesses and academia’s expertise, delivering innovative technology to the Warfighter, and growing the defense industrial base through commercialization.

VISION

Be recognized across the DoD enterprise as an impactful source of technological innovation. Continue to streamline pathways for small businesses to engage with the DoD, fostering a collaborative environment to transition and commercialize technologies that bolster national security and operational effectiveness.

GOALS

Stimulate technological innovation for DoD to maintain technological superiority and military readiness to deter U.S. adversaries’ military operations.
Increase private sector commercialization of federal R&D to increase competition, productivity, and economic growth.
Stimulate a partnership of ideas and technologies between innovative small businesses and research institutions (STTR).
Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR/STTR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides incentive to profit from its commercialization.
Including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, stimulates high-tech innovation, and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit to meet specific R&D needs.

Our History

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is responsible for policy development, planning, resource management, and program evaluation. The OSD includes the offices of top civilian defense decision-makers with regard to personnel, weapons acquisition, research, intelligence, and fiscal policy, as well as offices the Secretary establishes to assist in carrying out assigned responsibilities.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was established in 1982 to strengthen the role of innovative SBCs in Federally-funded research or research and development (R/R&D). Specific program purposes are to: (1) stimulate technological innovation; (2) use small business to meet Federal R/R&D needs; (3) foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged SBCs (SDBs), and by women-owned SBCs (WOSBs), in technological innovation; and, (4) increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal R/R&D, thereby increasing competition, productivity, and economic growth.

Established in 1992, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program expands public/private sector partnerships and stimulates ideas and technologies between innovative SBCs and non-profit Research Institutions. By providing awards to SBCs for cooperative R/R&D efforts through formal collaborations with Research Institutions, the STTR program assists the U.S. small business and research communities by supporting the commercialization of innovative technologies. STTR’s most important role is to bridge the gap between basic R&D and commercialization of resulting innovations.

PARTICIPATING COMPONENTS

Department of Army (Army)	Department of Navy (Navy)	Department of Air Force (Air Force)
Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD)	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)	Defense Health Agency (DHA)
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)	Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA)	Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)	United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)	Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)

Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)	Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)	Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)
Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)	Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)	The Joint Staff (TJS)
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)	Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO)	National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)