WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.589 Welcome everyone to today's joint 00:02.589 --> 00:04.811 innovation webinar , um , hosted by the 00:04.811 --> 00:07.000 Kentucky Apex Accelerator and the 00:07.000 --> 00:08.833 Kentucky Science and Engineering 00:08.833 --> 00:11.111 Foundation . It is the top of the hour , 00:11.119 --> 00:13.063 so we're going to go ahead and get 00:13.063 --> 00:15.286 started . Thank you so much for joining 00:15.286 --> 00:17.341 us today . We're excited to have you 00:17.341 --> 00:19.230 here , and we expect to have some 00:19.230 --> 00:21.341 additional folks trickle in as well . 00:21.341 --> 00:23.341 Um , this webinar's topic is on the 00:23.341 --> 00:26.379 Department of Defense SBIR STTR program 00:26.379 --> 00:28.601 and an introduction to that . Um , it's 00:28.601 --> 00:30.850 gonna be led by John McCany of the 00:30.850 --> 00:33.490 Defense SBI or STTR office , and we're 00:33.490 --> 00:35.657 thankful to have him here today . Um , 00:35.729 --> 00:37.840 so we're gonna get started just going 00:37.840 --> 00:39.951 over a couple of housekeeping items . 00:42.169 --> 00:44.330 So , um , just so everyone here is 00:44.330 --> 00:47.209 aware , we will be recording this 00:47.209 --> 00:49.431 webinar . It's being recorded now , and 00:49.431 --> 00:51.431 a copy of the recording , the slide 00:51.431 --> 00:53.431 deck , and other resources that are 00:53.431 --> 00:55.431 shared throughout this presentation 00:55.431 --> 00:57.653 will be sent out to all attendees . You 00:57.653 --> 00:59.709 will get a copy of these materials , 00:59.709 --> 01:01.931 and we thank the BOD SBIR STTR team for 01:01.931 --> 01:03.931 their cooperation with us recording 01:03.931 --> 01:06.209 this and sharing it with our attendees . 01:06.209 --> 01:09.129 All attendees have been muted , and um 01:09.129 --> 01:11.050 so we actually have a Q&A feature 01:11.050 --> 01:12.994 dedicated for you guys to drop any 01:12.994 --> 01:15.410 questions that you have , um , and we 01:15.410 --> 01:17.577 will take time to address those at the 01:17.577 --> 01:19.799 end of the presentation , and depending 01:19.799 --> 01:21.688 on the time they may be addressed 01:21.688 --> 01:23.466 throughout , but we will have a 01:23.466 --> 01:25.466 Dedicated Q&A session at the end of 01:25.466 --> 01:27.299 this presentation to answer your 01:27.299 --> 01:29.466 questions about this topic . So please 01:29.466 --> 01:31.521 be sure to utilize that . We do also 01:31.521 --> 01:33.688 have anonymous questions enabled , and 01:33.688 --> 01:35.910 so you can drop those in um anonymously 01:35.910 --> 01:37.799 or um share your name and contact 01:37.799 --> 01:40.029 information if you'd like . And closed 01:40.029 --> 01:42.230 captioning has been activated for your 01:42.230 --> 01:44.709 use . You can turn that on individually 01:44.709 --> 01:48.080 as you'd like . Now , because this is a 01:48.080 --> 01:50.830 co-hosted webinar , and some folks are 01:50.830 --> 01:53.163 familiar with Kentucky Apex Accelerator , 01:53.163 --> 01:55.919 some folks are familiar with KCEF , and 01:55.919 --> 01:57.975 we're going to take just a couple of 01:57.975 --> 01:59.919 minutes at the top of this hour to 01:59.919 --> 02:01.919 introduce both of our programs . So 02:01.919 --> 02:04.030 folks who are coming in from one side 02:04.030 --> 02:06.030 or the other will be able to get to 02:06.030 --> 02:05.639 know what both of our programs do and 02:05.639 --> 02:07.919 the services that we offer to Kentucky 02:07.919 --> 02:10.429 businesses . So , I'm going to get 02:10.429 --> 02:12.485 started with a quick introduction to 02:12.485 --> 02:14.651 the Kentucky Apex Accelerator , that's 02:14.651 --> 02:16.929 my program , the team that I work with . 02:17.509 --> 02:21.199 And we are actually a statewide program 02:21.199 --> 02:24.449 covering all 120 counties here in 02:24.449 --> 02:26.970 Kentucky . We have several regional 02:26.970 --> 02:29.137 offices where we have a staff presence 02:29.137 --> 02:30.914 and are available for in-person 02:30.914 --> 02:32.720 meetings . We also do a lot of 02:33.050 --> 02:34.939 traveling for client meetings and 02:34.939 --> 02:36.994 virtual meetings as well , so we are 02:36.994 --> 02:38.883 accessible no matter where you're 02:38.883 --> 02:41.970 located in our state . And this is our 02:41.970 --> 02:44.570 team . My name is Annalee O'Brien . I'm 02:44.570 --> 02:46.681 the senior communications coordinator 02:46.681 --> 02:48.903 here at the Kentucky Apex Accelerator . 02:48.903 --> 02:50.459 I work out of our Lexington 02:50.459 --> 02:52.403 headquarters and offer support and 02:52.403 --> 02:54.403 logistics services to our statewide 02:54.403 --> 02:56.850 program . Also in Lexington is Nancy 02:56.850 --> 02:59.649 Brown . She is our program's executive 02:59.649 --> 03:01.509 director and oversees all of our 03:01.509 --> 03:04.110 operations across the state . Eric Bird 03:04.110 --> 03:06.277 is our senior procurement consultant , 03:06.277 --> 03:08.550 and he covers eastern Kentucky , our 03:08.550 --> 03:10.439 London , Pikeville , and Somerset 03:10.439 --> 03:13.110 offices , and Sean Rogers is here in 03:13.110 --> 03:15.270 Lexington with me and Nancy , and she 03:15.270 --> 03:17.326 covers our central Kentucky region , 03:17.326 --> 03:19.492 Fayette County , including surrounding 03:19.492 --> 03:21.603 counties . Lynn Lewis is based out of 03:21.603 --> 03:23.381 our Covington office and serves 03:23.381 --> 03:25.869 northern Kentucky . Doug Brent is our 03:25.869 --> 03:27.990 Louisville Metro consultant and works 03:27.990 --> 03:30.669 with clients in Jefferson County , and 03:30.669 --> 03:33.669 JC Watkins is our Western Kentucky 03:33.669 --> 03:35.836 procurement consultant serving Bowling 03:35.836 --> 03:37.836 Green , Radcliffe , Fort Knox , and 03:37.836 --> 03:40.389 providing support to the western parts 03:40.389 --> 03:43.029 of our state as well . So , um , no 03:43.029 --> 03:45.029 matter where you're located , we do 03:45.029 --> 03:47.140 have a team member who's dedicated to 03:47.140 --> 03:49.362 support you and um we'd be happy to get 03:49.362 --> 03:51.473 in touch with you about um how we can 03:51.473 --> 03:54.059 best serve your business . So what we 03:54.059 --> 03:56.020 do is we offer free government 03:56.020 --> 03:58.020 contracting assistance for Kentucky 03:58.449 --> 04:00.616 Kentucky businesses , and this looks a 04:00.616 --> 04:02.727 lot of different ways . We're focused 04:02.727 --> 04:04.838 on one on one consulting , um , a lot 04:04.838 --> 04:06.949 of support strategies and services to 04:06.949 --> 04:08.838 equip your company for success in 04:08.838 --> 04:10.782 government contracting . And we do 04:10.782 --> 04:12.893 offer virtual trainings like this one 04:12.893 --> 04:15.060 throughout the year . We have webinars 04:15.060 --> 04:17.380 almost every Thursday and uh once a 04:17.380 --> 04:19.579 month live Q&A as well , that's more 04:19.579 --> 04:21.700 interactive . So we have all of those 04:21.700 --> 04:23.756 available on our website to review . 04:24.260 --> 04:27.070 And this is just a glimpse at some of 04:27.070 --> 04:29.292 the many things we do , we really offer 04:29.292 --> 04:31.670 for um comprehensive support for 04:31.670 --> 04:33.726 government contracting , whether you 04:33.726 --> 04:35.781 are just exploring what does it look 04:35.781 --> 04:37.781 like to be a contractor all the way 04:37.781 --> 04:39.670 through , maybe you have a lot of 04:39.670 --> 04:41.781 success in government contracting and 04:41.781 --> 04:44.059 are looking to expand your market , um , 04:44.059 --> 04:46.281 or more aggressively pursue proposals . 04:46.281 --> 04:45.750 We also assist with small business . 04:45.890 --> 04:48.350 certifications , and we do assist um 04:48.350 --> 04:50.959 throughout the grant process for um 04:50.959 --> 04:53.109 SBIR or STTR as well , specifically 04:53.109 --> 04:55.331 with registrations and SAM to make sure 04:55.331 --> 04:57.498 you're eligible to pursue those . So , 04:57.498 --> 05:00.269 um , we have a role to play in the SBIR 05:00.269 --> 05:03.260 STTR world and in helping companies get 05:03.260 --> 05:05.482 connected with innovation opportunities 05:05.510 --> 05:08.690 within the defense industrial base . So , 05:08.700 --> 05:10.922 um , all of these slides will go out to 05:10.922 --> 05:13.089 you guys . You can review more of what 05:13.089 --> 05:14.978 we do , but we do have um contact 05:14.978 --> 05:14.579 information here . We'd love to get 05:14.579 --> 05:16.579 connected with you . If you haven't 05:16.579 --> 05:18.690 connected with one of our consultants 05:18.690 --> 05:20.801 or worked with our team before , we'd 05:20.801 --> 05:22.968 be happy to help make that happen . So 05:22.968 --> 05:25.190 thanks for your time , and I'm going to 05:25.190 --> 05:27.412 um turn it over to the Kentucky Science 05:27.412 --> 05:29.523 and Engineering Foundation , um , and 05:29.523 --> 05:31.746 I'll run the slides for you guys . Just 05:31.746 --> 05:31.540 let me know when you want to advance . 05:33.500 --> 05:35.667 Hi , thank you so much , Annie Lee . I 05:35.667 --> 05:37.778 really appreciate that . Uh , my name 05:37.778 --> 05:39.667 is Elana Morgan and I work at the 05:39.667 --> 05:41.500 Kentucky Science and Engineering 05:41.500 --> 05:43.833 Foundation as an impact strategist , um , 05:43.833 --> 05:45.611 and we have some of our contact 05:45.611 --> 05:47.667 information on the , on the slide if 05:47.667 --> 05:49.778 you are interested in , um , reaching 05:49.778 --> 05:51.944 out to us . If we want to go ahead and 05:51.944 --> 05:54.167 go to the next slide , I will introduce 05:54.167 --> 05:56.278 the team . So this is , um , the team 05:56.278 --> 05:58.611 at KCF . We have our executive director , 05:58.611 --> 06:00.778 Maria Larovo . Um , and then we have 3 06:00.778 --> 06:02.944 associate directors . The first one is 06:02.944 --> 06:04.889 Kaylee , and um she focuses on the 06:04.889 --> 06:07.167 human factor . Our second one is Ellie , 06:07.269 --> 06:09.470 um , Derbyshire , and she focuses on 06:09.470 --> 06:11.470 the environment and materials , and 06:11.470 --> 06:13.950 then we have Ellie . Um , sorry , Emily 06:13.950 --> 06:16.220 Clements , um , we mix those names up a 06:16.220 --> 06:18.059 lot with the East , um , who's 06:18.059 --> 06:19.892 associate director of Health and 06:19.892 --> 06:22.279 Biosciences . We also do have two new 06:22.279 --> 06:24.612 members who aren't listed on this slide , 06:24.612 --> 06:26.890 but I will give them a quick shout out , 06:26.890 --> 06:29.057 um , Aidan Hammadi and Hunter Bronja , 06:29.057 --> 06:31.001 who are brought on as our software 06:31.001 --> 06:33.223 engineers for one of our other projects 06:33.223 --> 06:35.570 that we work on . And I'm gonna pass it 06:35.570 --> 06:38.140 over to Ellie to go ahead and describe 06:38.140 --> 06:40.362 some of the services and things that we 06:40.362 --> 06:43.880 provide . OK , 06:44.399 --> 06:46.621 um , basically our mission is to grow , 06:46.621 --> 06:48.510 as it says here , grow Kentucky's 06:48.510 --> 06:50.732 scientific and engineering excellence , 06:50.732 --> 06:52.899 uh , through investments in people and 06:52.899 --> 06:55.010 technologies . Um , what this means 06:55.010 --> 06:57.177 effectively is that we are promoting , 06:57.177 --> 06:59.709 uh , R&D , uh , for startups and 06:59.709 --> 07:03.290 innovators . The broad goal is to build 07:03.290 --> 07:04.846 a pipeline of new ideas and 07:04.846 --> 07:06.790 technologies to , you know , drive 07:06.790 --> 07:08.957 economic growth , uh , in Kentucky and 07:08.957 --> 07:11.123 really try and put us at the forefront 07:11.123 --> 07:13.123 of what's happening , uh , with new 07:13.123 --> 07:15.649 technologies in the nation . Um , Alana , 07:15.690 --> 07:17.579 I'm not sure . I haven't seen the 07:17.579 --> 07:19.801 slides , so I don't know if I should go 07:19.801 --> 07:22.079 on or not , but I can ad hoc from here , 07:22.079 --> 07:25.839 um . There we go . Thank you . 07:26.239 --> 07:28.690 Uh , so specifically what we do is we 07:28.690 --> 07:31.850 do help with a lot of SBIR . Um , today 07:31.850 --> 07:34.529 there's a , you know , this DOD webinar 07:34.529 --> 07:37.079 which we are not experts in DOD , so we 07:37.079 --> 07:39.135 do like to , you know , reach out to 07:39.135 --> 07:41.329 our partners to help us with uh 07:42.290 --> 07:45.410 specific DOD SBIR building . Uh , we 07:45.410 --> 07:48.290 hold lots of , uh , SBIR labs and 07:48.290 --> 07:50.609 office hours . We have an ongoing 07:50.609 --> 07:52.529 series once a month , that's for 07:52.529 --> 07:55.600 writing 101 , and we do offer a micro 07:55.600 --> 07:58.519 award , uh , pitch competition , which 07:58.519 --> 08:02.170 is giving you up to 5K a year to help 08:02.170 --> 08:04.279 with . Uh , 08:05.570 --> 08:08.279 Planning or creating a really strong 08:08.279 --> 08:10.359 proposal to really try and get that 08:10.359 --> 08:12.989 federal funding . Um , we also do 08:12.989 --> 08:15.320 review your proposals . Um , we give a 08:15.320 --> 08:17.630 lot of feedback . Our team has a lot of 08:17.910 --> 08:21.829 um practical experience with SBIR 08:21.829 --> 08:24.051 and we try and keep you up to date with 08:24.051 --> 08:26.162 all of the changes that are happening 08:26.162 --> 08:28.162 and then as agent agency priorities 08:28.162 --> 08:30.385 shift , we try and focus on those too . 08:30.640 --> 08:34.049 Um , so if you are interested in Um , 08:34.059 --> 08:36.570 any SBIR , let us know , and of course , 08:36.729 --> 08:39.619 you know , we will do our best to help 08:39.619 --> 08:41.841 you ourselves or find you the resources 08:41.841 --> 08:45.369 that you need , uh . For a successful 08:45.369 --> 08:46.679 outcome with SBIR . 08:49.080 --> 08:51.840 Thank you . So , and again , if you 08:51.840 --> 08:54.062 want to contact us , easiest way to get 08:54.062 --> 08:56.062 a hold of any member of the team is 08:56.062 --> 08:59.280 SBIR at KSTC.com . Uh , I believe our 08:59.280 --> 09:01.799 individual emails you can , um , you 09:01.799 --> 09:03.910 know , book with us on our website if 09:03.910 --> 09:06.021 you want to have a one on one meeting 09:06.021 --> 09:08.021 or an introduction or anything like 09:08.021 --> 09:10.243 that , more than happy to talk to you . 09:10.243 --> 09:12.521 Uh , we answer questions big and small , 09:12.521 --> 09:15.359 so just , you know , please welcome , 09:15.650 --> 09:17.983 please feel free to come and talk to us . 09:17.983 --> 09:20.150 It's nice to meet people I haven't met 09:20.150 --> 09:23.940 before , so thank you . Thank you so 09:23.940 --> 09:27.419 much , KF team . Um , and for those who 09:27.419 --> 09:29.419 may have just joined us in the last 09:29.419 --> 09:31.580 couple of minutes , um , this is a 09:31.580 --> 09:34.630 joint innovation webinar on DOD , SBIR 09:34.630 --> 09:37.419 STTR hosted by the Kentucky Apex 09:37.419 --> 09:40.179 Accelerator and KCEF . Um , I'll be 09:40.179 --> 09:42.330 dropping a couple of um website 09:42.330 --> 09:44.497 resource links um over the information 09:44.497 --> 09:46.663 we just covered into the chat in a few 09:46.663 --> 09:48.663 moments , and you'll also get these 09:48.663 --> 09:50.719 slides . Um , but I'm now pleased to 09:50.719 --> 09:52.941 introduce you to today's speaker , John 09:52.941 --> 09:55.070 McCannie , who is the director of the 09:55.070 --> 09:59.020 OSD Transitions SBIR STTR Technology 09:59.020 --> 10:02.549 program , or OTST within um the Defense 10:02.549 --> 10:05.909 SBIR STTR office , and we're so excited 10:05.909 --> 10:07.965 to have John join us today and share 10:07.965 --> 10:11.932 his He is the director for 10:11.932 --> 10:14.210 the Office of the Secretary of Defense , 10:14.413 --> 10:16.469 Transition Small Business Innovation 10:16.469 --> 10:18.524 Research , Small Business Technology 10:18.524 --> 10:20.763 Transfer Technologies program . That is 10:20.763 --> 10:23.283 a mouthful , but um it shows the level 10:23.283 --> 10:25.505 of expertise that he's bringing to this 10:25.505 --> 10:27.616 conversation . He oversees technology 10:27.616 --> 10:29.672 transition . Acceleration within the 10:29.672 --> 10:31.906 Department of Defense , SBIR STTR 10:31.906 --> 10:33.846 program , placing emphasis on 10:33.846 --> 10:36.075 innovation , commercial , and dual use 10:36.075 --> 10:38.335 capabilities . He ensures components 10:38.335 --> 10:40.335 develop and transition technologies 10:40.335 --> 10:42.557 efficiently and at scale , with a focus 10:42.557 --> 10:44.557 on rapidly transitioning warfighter 10:44.557 --> 10:46.557 priority critical capabilities that 10:46.557 --> 10:48.335 align with the national defense 10:48.335 --> 10:50.279 strategy . Mr . McCanie previously 10:50.279 --> 10:53.570 served as Air Force Works Chief of 10:53.570 --> 10:55.681 Innovation Contracting Branch , where 10:55.681 --> 10:58.080 he led subcontracting outreach and 10:58.080 --> 11:00.280 education and innovation activities , 11:00.530 --> 11:03.849 such as SBIR STTR phase 3 , and the 11:03.849 --> 11:06.729 development , or sorry , um , and the 11:06.729 --> 11:08.729 Department of Air Force strategic 11:08.729 --> 11:10.650 funding increase tactical funding 11:10.650 --> 11:13.330 increase programs . Mr . McKay has also 11:13.330 --> 11:16.119 worked with the DAF specific topic team 11:16.119 --> 11:18.450 and mission partner contracting offices 11:18.450 --> 11:21.250 to rapidly execute a $400 million 11:21.250 --> 11:23.880 annual portfolio accelerated to 11:24.010 --> 11:25.849 selection to award timing and 11:25.849 --> 11:28.280 streamline DAF contracting processes . 11:28.890 --> 11:31.929 Previously , he was the Aftworks open 11:31.929 --> 11:34.690 topic SBIR STTR contracting sprints 11:34.690 --> 11:36.890 lead and spearheaded execution of over 11:36.890 --> 11:39.460 5000 contracts totaling more than $2 11:39.460 --> 11:42.489 billion . And he has wide experience um 11:42.489 --> 11:45.250 that goes on in this realm and is 11:45.250 --> 11:48.010 coming to us and really speaking from a 11:48.010 --> 11:50.130 wealth of personal knowledge in this 11:50.130 --> 11:53.140 topic . Mr . McCani holds a Bachelor of 11:53.140 --> 11:55.196 Arts in Government and Politics from 11:55.196 --> 11:57.251 Utica College of Syracuse University 11:57.340 --> 11:58.840 and a Master's in Business 11:58.840 --> 12:00.896 Administration Technology Management 12:00.896 --> 12:02.896 from SUNY Institute of Technology . 12:02.896 --> 12:05.062 Outside of work , he is an avid reader 12:05.062 --> 12:07.173 and spends leisure time with his wife 12:07.173 --> 12:09.284 and children . I heard there may be a 12:09.284 --> 12:11.173 water park on the agenda for this 12:11.173 --> 12:13.062 weekend with his kids . So , uh , 12:13.062 --> 12:15.284 without further ado , please join me in 12:15.284 --> 12:17.507 welcoming John McCanney , and I'm going 12:17.507 --> 12:19.673 to hand it over to his team for um the 12:19.673 --> 12:21.979 rest of this presentation . Well , uh 12:21.979 --> 12:24.146 thank you so much , Annalee . I really 12:24.146 --> 12:26.368 appreciate that introduction . You just 12:26.368 --> 12:28.590 made me sound a lot cooler and a lot uh 12:28.590 --> 12:30.590 more important and impactful than I 12:30.590 --> 12:32.646 than I really feel like I am , but I 12:32.646 --> 12:34.646 think as the , as Chad's working on 12:34.646 --> 12:36.812 bringing the slides up , really all of 12:36.812 --> 12:36.460 that experience and what I've been 12:36.460 --> 12:38.580 doing , um , you know , here in this 12:38.580 --> 12:40.900 office and then in my prior roles , uh , 12:40.909 --> 12:43.099 in both Aftworks and , and , and 12:43.099 --> 12:45.377 greater Air the Air Force Research Lab . 12:45.609 --> 12:47.720 It's really just been centered around 12:47.720 --> 12:49.831 the SBIR and the STTR programs . Uh , 12:49.960 --> 12:52.127 I'm extremely passionate . I love this 12:52.127 --> 12:54.840 program , uh , myself and , uh , Gina 12:54.840 --> 12:56.673 Sims , who's the director of the 12:56.673 --> 12:58.960 program , we live this program , we 12:58.960 --> 13:00.627 breathe this program , we are 13:00.627 --> 13:02.880 constantly trying to figure out what we 13:02.880 --> 13:04.991 can do to tweak it , make it better , 13:04.991 --> 13:07.158 uh , right for the entire department . 13:07.229 --> 13:09.900 I think I saw in the chat , um , chat 13:09.900 --> 13:12.178 through the acronym DAFF down in there . 13:12.178 --> 13:14.233 So DAFF is the Department of the Air 13:14.233 --> 13:16.178 Force . Um , we're gonna have some 13:16.178 --> 13:18.011 other things coming up . I think 13:18.011 --> 13:20.011 there'll be another uh graphic with 13:20.011 --> 13:21.733 some acronyms . So this is the 13:21.733 --> 13:23.900 government , this is the Department of 13:23.900 --> 13:26.067 Defense . We use acronyms a lot . Um , 13:26.067 --> 13:28.289 so please , if you have questions about 13:28.289 --> 13:30.567 that or you're , you , you hear me say , 13:30.567 --> 13:30.080 hey , it sounds like an acronym and , 13:30.090 --> 13:32.201 and you're not sure what it is , just 13:32.201 --> 13:34.423 throw it in the Q&A . Um , we'll try to 13:34.423 --> 13:36.590 definitely build some time in here for 13:36.590 --> 13:38.479 Q&A as well , um , as we're going 13:38.479 --> 13:40.757 through it . But again , I , with that , 13:40.757 --> 13:42.812 I , I'd say let's just jump right in 13:42.812 --> 13:42.570 and we'll talk a little bit more about 13:42.570 --> 13:45.070 the the program . Uh , go ahead to the 13:45.070 --> 13:46.070 next slide . 13:54.809 --> 13:57.031 Like oh there we go . All right , so we 13:57.031 --> 13:59.198 should caveat before we get in and and 13:59.198 --> 14:01.365 sort of talk about the program summary 14:01.365 --> 14:01.210 and the ins and outs and how we do 14:01.210 --> 14:03.266 things , I should caveat , I want to 14:03.266 --> 14:05.543 caveat for the folks on the call today , 14:05.543 --> 14:07.969 that the discussion today is really 14:07.969 --> 14:10.169 going to be centered around the SBIR 14:10.169 --> 14:12.729 and STTR program from the Department of 14:12.729 --> 14:15.909 Defense perspective . Uh , there are 11 14:15.909 --> 14:19.000 agencies that participate in the SBIR 14:19.000 --> 14:20.889 program , and I think it's 5 that 14:20.889 --> 14:23.056 participate in the STTR program across 14:23.056 --> 14:25.333 the entirety of the federal government . 14:25.440 --> 14:27.359 Uh , most of them are non-defense 14:27.359 --> 14:29.415 agencies , so they bring a different 14:29.415 --> 14:31.799 flavor , a different sort of level of 14:31.799 --> 14:33.910 discussion . So , so what you'll hear 14:33.910 --> 14:36.021 today and the things we'll talk about 14:36.021 --> 14:38.243 today , please just understand and keep 14:38.243 --> 14:40.132 in mind that it's coming from the 14:40.132 --> 14:42.243 perspective of the DOD . Uh , the DOD 14:42.243 --> 14:44.690 has a mission to , as it's in the name , 14:44.869 --> 14:46.940 defend the nation . Uh , so we are 14:46.940 --> 14:48.496 looking at capabilities and 14:48.496 --> 14:50.496 technologies . You're going to hear 14:50.496 --> 14:52.662 these terms a lot that are for our war 14:52.662 --> 14:54.829 fighter , focused on the Department of 14:54.829 --> 14:57.051 Defense , excuse me , the Department of 14:57.051 --> 14:59.380 Defense mission . That's , that's the 14:59.380 --> 15:01.530 lens that we uh view the program 15:01.530 --> 15:03.697 through it and then that's sort of the 15:03.697 --> 15:05.808 uh lens on the , on the back end that 15:05.808 --> 15:07.808 we operate the program through . So 15:07.808 --> 15:10.030 Supercenter program on the whole , it's 15:10.030 --> 15:12.086 a congressionally authorized program 15:12.086 --> 15:14.369 focused exclusively on small businesses 15:14.710 --> 15:16.766 to promote scientific excellence and 15:16.766 --> 15:19.500 technological innovation . It is a it 15:19.500 --> 15:21.200 is a program that is again , 15:21.469 --> 15:25.150 exclusively 100% focused on small 15:25.150 --> 15:27.094 businesses , um , and we'll talk a 15:27.094 --> 15:29.150 little bit more about what defines a 15:29.150 --> 15:30.983 small business and some of those 15:30.983 --> 15:33.039 eligibility requirements as we go on 15:33.039 --> 15:36.770 with this briefing . So , Chad , I , I 15:36.770 --> 15:38.770 just lost the slides for a minute . 15:38.770 --> 15:40.714 There they are . All right , sorry 15:40.714 --> 15:42.548 about that . Uh , so some of our 15:42.548 --> 15:42.400 authorities , you can see it here , if 15:42.400 --> 15:44.400 you're really interested in reading 15:44.400 --> 15:46.289 legislative authorities , I would 15:46.289 --> 15:48.400 encourage you to go read these . Uh , 15:48.400 --> 15:50.770 15 USC code or US code 638 and 15 US 15:50.770 --> 15:54.289 code 632 , uh , really codify the 15:54.289 --> 15:57.570 SBIR and STTR program into law . And 15:57.570 --> 15:59.737 then the Small Business Administration 15:59.737 --> 16:02.530 or SBA , uh , they're the administrator 16:02.530 --> 16:04.479 for the program across the entire 16:04.479 --> 16:07.359 federal government . So every few years , 16:07.419 --> 16:09.940 the SBAA publishes the Siberitter 16:09.940 --> 16:12.130 Policy Directive , what we sometimes 16:12.130 --> 16:14.570 refer to as the PD , and what that 16:14.570 --> 16:16.737 really does is it takes all of the law 16:16.737 --> 16:18.570 and statute that's in the , the 16:18.570 --> 16:20.737 authorities that you see here , and it 16:20.737 --> 16:22.570 codifies it and sort of a policy 16:22.570 --> 16:24.809 document or a program document . So you 16:24.809 --> 16:27.400 can read what's in the US code . And 16:27.400 --> 16:29.344 then you can go read what's in the 16:29.344 --> 16:31.011 policy directive and start to 16:31.011 --> 16:33.067 understand it a little bit more . So 16:33.067 --> 16:35.250 it'll talk about uh some of the the 16:35.250 --> 16:37.479 specifics on , uh , for example , the 16:37.479 --> 16:39.423 three phases of the program , what 16:39.423 --> 16:41.201 those mean . When we talk about 16:41.201 --> 16:43.257 commercialization , it'll talk about 16:43.257 --> 16:45.257 commercialization and and what that 16:45.257 --> 16:47.479 means from the perspective of the Small 16:47.479 --> 16:49.257 Business administration uh that 16:49.257 --> 16:51.423 administers the program on the whole . 16:51.799 --> 16:53.521 Goals of the program stimulate 16:53.521 --> 16:55.632 technological innovation , so the DOD 16:55.632 --> 16:57.855 maintains our technological superiority 16:57.855 --> 16:59.855 in our military readiness . Again , 16:59.909 --> 17:01.710 that is our goal from the DOD's 17:01.710 --> 17:03.809 perspective . We are focused on 17:03.809 --> 17:05.939 technologies , capabilities , 17:06.150 --> 17:08.550 innovation that promotes our military 17:08.550 --> 17:10.717 readiness and our lethality in defense 17:10.717 --> 17:12.883 of the nation . That is how we operate 17:12.883 --> 17:14.994 the program . That's what keeps us up 17:14.994 --> 17:16.883 at night , is thinking about what 17:16.883 --> 17:19.229 capabilities do we know we have that we 17:19.229 --> 17:21.451 that we know we need , excuse me , that 17:21.451 --> 17:23.562 we currently don't have , and how can 17:23.562 --> 17:26.750 we leverage the SBIR program and SDTR 17:26.750 --> 17:29.058 program in theory to sort of Uh , go , 17:29.239 --> 17:31.198 go find those , uh , go find the 17:31.198 --> 17:33.448 solutions to those needs to fill those 17:33.448 --> 17:35.849 technology gaps . Um , and also second 17:35.849 --> 17:37.905 bullet here , increasing our private 17:37.905 --> 17:39.905 sector commercialization of federal 17:39.905 --> 17:41.960 research and development to increase 17:41.960 --> 17:43.793 competition , productivity , and 17:43.793 --> 17:46.016 economic growth , right ? At the end of 17:46.016 --> 17:48.071 the day , the program exists to find 17:48.071 --> 17:50.238 capabilities for the DOD and a massive 17:50.238 --> 17:52.460 byproduct of that , and something we're 17:52.460 --> 17:54.127 really proud of is that we're 17:54.127 --> 17:56.016 constantly developing our defense 17:56.016 --> 17:58.182 industrial base , or the DIB , as it's 17:58.182 --> 18:00.293 often referred to . Uh , and bringing 18:00.410 --> 18:02.369 hundreds and thousands of small 18:02.369 --> 18:05.010 businesses into that dip and into our 18:05.010 --> 18:07.930 sort of innovation ecosystem , so you 18:07.930 --> 18:10.489 all can be uh providers to the federal 18:10.489 --> 18:12.711 government and , and really help us all 18:12.711 --> 18:15.050 in this collective effort . Let's go to 18:15.050 --> 18:18.979 the next slide , please . All 18:18.979 --> 18:21.257 right . So the DOD's defense portfolio . 18:21.257 --> 18:23.479 So when we talk about the DOD , uh , so 18:23.479 --> 18:25.701 my job and , and Ms . Sim's job here at 18:25.701 --> 18:28.140 the , at the OSD level is we have 18:28.140 --> 18:30.979 overall programmatic uh responsibility 18:30.979 --> 18:33.146 for the entire DOD's program , right ? 18:33.146 --> 18:35.257 And this includes all of our services 18:35.257 --> 18:37.368 and our components . Uh , you'll hear 18:37.368 --> 18:39.479 that terminology probably a lot today 18:39.479 --> 18:41.535 as well . We talk about our services 18:41.535 --> 18:43.257 and components , we mean those 18:43.257 --> 18:45.146 organizations that fall under the 18:45.146 --> 18:47.359 umbrella of the larger DOD . So , as 18:47.359 --> 18:49.160 you can see here , we have 12 18:49.160 --> 18:51.382 components that make up the entirety of 18:51.382 --> 18:53.219 our portfolio . Uh , it's worth 18:53.219 --> 18:55.330 probably going around and making sure 18:55.330 --> 18:57.140 everybody understands who these 18:57.959 --> 19:00.030 organizations are . Right , so Chad 19:00.030 --> 19:02.086 already got ahead of this , uh , and 19:02.086 --> 19:03.974 put in the chat , the DAFF is the 19:03.974 --> 19:05.974 Department of the Air Force . It is 19:05.974 --> 19:08.197 really important to understand that the 19:08.197 --> 19:10.329 Department of the Air Force includes 19:10.579 --> 19:12.746 The Space Force . So the space force , 19:12.746 --> 19:14.968 when we talk about them , they're not a 19:14.968 --> 19:16.746 separate entity , they're not a 19:16.746 --> 19:18.912 separate component . Space Force falls 19:18.912 --> 19:21.023 under the umbrella of the DAFF or the 19:21.023 --> 19:23.319 Department of the Air Force . DON is 19:23.319 --> 19:25.430 Department of the Navy . We also have 19:25.430 --> 19:28.040 the army . We also at the OSD level , 19:28.160 --> 19:30.430 we have our own SBIR and SDTR budget . 19:30.599 --> 19:33.500 So we fund topics . Uh , throughout the 19:33.500 --> 19:35.611 year , we have a transition program , 19:35.611 --> 19:37.000 that's one of my primary 19:37.000 --> 19:39.167 responsibilities is to run that , that 19:39.167 --> 19:42.000 SBIRSDTR transition program . We have 19:42.000 --> 19:44.000 our own budget , so we're , we're a 19:44.000 --> 19:46.167 component to ourselves in this sense . 19:46.167 --> 19:48.339 Uh , CBD is Cambio and defense . We 19:48.339 --> 19:50.400 also have DARPA , the Defense 19:50.400 --> 19:52.979 Microelectronic Agency , the Defense 19:52.979 --> 19:55.099 Threat Reduction Agency , Defense 19:55.099 --> 19:57.260 Logistics Agency , Defense Health 19:57.260 --> 19:59.739 Agency , Missile Defense Agency , and 19:59.739 --> 20:02.489 SOCOM . All of these components make up 20:02.489 --> 20:05.010 the entirety of our our portfolio , our 20:05.010 --> 20:07.232 DOD budget , and you can see that right 20:07.232 --> 20:09.232 there in the middle that our annual 20:09.232 --> 20:11.569 budget across these 12 components is 20:11.569 --> 20:14.609 about $3.1 billion a year . Uh , that 20:14.609 --> 20:17.839 number is dictated by the overall 20:17.839 --> 20:21.189 DOD's extramural RDTNE budget . 20:21.849 --> 20:24.489 So whatever Congress authorizes in 20:24.489 --> 20:27.250 terms of extramural RDTNE for the 20:27.250 --> 20:29.680 department . There you go , Chad . I'm 20:29.680 --> 20:31.791 having a wave because my lights going 20:31.791 --> 20:34.530 off , um . We have an inside joke . 20:34.640 --> 20:36.640 Chad really likes it when my lights 20:36.640 --> 20:38.751 kick off uh in the office here . Um , 20:39.040 --> 20:41.160 they take the extramural RDT&E budget 20:41.160 --> 20:43.327 for the department , and they take the 20:43.327 --> 20:45.049 money off the top , and that's 20:45.049 --> 20:47.880 allocated exclusively for SBIR and STTR . 20:48.250 --> 20:50.439 Legally , those dollars cannot be used 20:50.439 --> 20:52.680 for anything else other than this 20:52.680 --> 20:56.219 program . Right , so it's a very uh uh 20:56.540 --> 20:59.660 outstanding way to ensure that a chunk 20:59.660 --> 21:01.979 of the budget every single year , as 21:01.979 --> 21:04.035 long as the program is is authorized 21:04.035 --> 21:06.035 through Congress , uh , goes to the 21:06.035 --> 21:08.780 SBIR and STTR program , right , and 21:08.780 --> 21:10.947 served to help our our components meet 21:10.947 --> 21:12.447 their needs . Next slide . 21:17.680 --> 21:19.680 So the program phases right in some 21:19.680 --> 21:21.847 eligibility matters . There's a lot of 21:21.847 --> 21:23.847 really good information on here . I 21:23.847 --> 21:25.958 think I'll start , like to start with 21:25.958 --> 21:25.709 the eligibility , cause a lot of times 21:25.709 --> 21:27.765 we get asked questions , I'm a small 21:27.765 --> 21:30.000 business , how do I know uh if I'm 21:30.000 --> 21:32.119 going to be eligible for the SBIR and 21:32.119 --> 21:35.709 the STTR program ? So , to be to 21:35.709 --> 21:37.876 qualify as a small business , you must 21:37.876 --> 21:40.869 be a for-profit with 500 employees or 21:40.869 --> 21:43.329 less . Uh , if you're familiar with 21:43.329 --> 21:45.440 government contracting and government 21:45.440 --> 21:47.329 acquisition , uh , you might know 21:47.329 --> 21:49.385 things like Nakes codes , uh , which 21:49.385 --> 21:51.162 define different small business 21:51.162 --> 21:53.440 thresholds . Sometimes it's 500 , 1000 , 21:53.489 --> 21:55.900 1500 , sometimes it may be based on 21:55.900 --> 21:59.680 revenue . For purposes of SBIR and STTR 22:00.209 --> 22:02.487 that standard is 500 employees or less . 22:02.609 --> 22:04.720 There's no revenue standard , there's 22:04.720 --> 22:06.720 nothing else . Uh , you must , your 22:06.720 --> 22:08.942 company must be located and operated in 22:08.942 --> 22:11.053 the United States . This is a program 22:11.053 --> 22:14.010 that is focused exclusively on not only 22:14.010 --> 22:16.310 small businesses , but small businesses 22:16.310 --> 22:18.589 that are owned , operated , and doing 22:18.589 --> 22:20.910 work in the United States . Uh , we are 22:20.910 --> 22:23.229 not focused on Uh , any large 22:23.229 --> 22:25.670 businesses , obviously , nor are we 22:25.670 --> 22:27.726 focused on small businesses that are 22:27.726 --> 22:29.949 located overseas . The purpose is not 22:29.949 --> 22:32.150 to go out and find technologies that 22:32.150 --> 22:34.206 are developed in foreign nations and 22:34.206 --> 22:36.530 onshore them . It is purely to 22:36.530 --> 22:39.310 capitalize on US small businesses that 22:39.310 --> 22:42.260 have innovation innovative ideas . And 22:42.260 --> 22:44.482 then from an ownership perspective , US 22:44.482 --> 22:47.900 citizens have to own at least 51% of 22:47.900 --> 22:50.619 your company . These are , these are 22:50.619 --> 22:52.841 absolutely hard and fast requirements . 22:53.010 --> 22:55.232 Uh , these are things that are in law , 22:55.232 --> 22:58.280 so I mentioned 15 USC 638 . All of that 22:58.280 --> 23:01.430 is in inline statute in the US code . 23:01.839 --> 23:04.061 The program is structured in 3 phases , 23:04.199 --> 23:06.670 uh , so phase 1 , phase 2 , phase 3 . 23:06.839 --> 23:08.783 There's also a phase 2 enhancement 23:08.783 --> 23:10.950 piece which you can see in here . Uh , 23:10.950 --> 23:12.895 we'll touch on that a little bit . 23:12.895 --> 23:15.061 Phase one is right up front , it's all 23:15.061 --> 23:17.283 focused around feasibility . Uh , I'm a 23:17.283 --> 23:19.506 small business . I've got an innovative 23:19.506 --> 23:21.728 capability . Uh , is it even feasible , 23:21.728 --> 23:23.950 right ? Or I think I have an innovative 23:23.950 --> 23:26.117 capability . Is it feasible ? So a lot 23:26.117 --> 23:28.228 of times your phase ones are gonna be 23:28.228 --> 23:30.283 the shorter contracts , generally in 23:30.283 --> 23:32.506 this 3 to 12 month range as you can see 23:32.506 --> 23:34.506 here . And often the deliverable is 23:34.506 --> 23:33.979 going to be a white paper at the end . 23:34.140 --> 23:36.251 It's gonna be , hey , we went through 23:36.251 --> 23:38.473 this process , we tried this out , uh , 23:38.473 --> 23:40.696 and yes , it is , it is actually doable 23:40.696 --> 23:42.696 or no it is not . Uh , we obviously 23:42.696 --> 23:44.862 hope that most of these results uh and 23:44.862 --> 23:46.640 yeses , uh , but it's all about 23:46.640 --> 23:48.989 feasibility . Phase two , bigger 23:48.989 --> 23:50.920 contract , longer contract , more 23:50.920 --> 23:53.780 focused on that actual uh research and 23:53.780 --> 23:55.724 development , the prototyping of a 23:55.724 --> 23:58.199 capability . Uh , this stage is often 23:58.199 --> 24:00.439 referred to as the proto prototype 24:00.439 --> 24:02.839 stage . Um , very often at the end of 24:02.839 --> 24:05.359 an SBIR phase 2 contract , uh , there's 24:05.359 --> 24:07.581 going to be a tangible prototype that's 24:07.581 --> 24:09.692 going to be , that would be developed 24:09.692 --> 24:11.692 and delivered , uh , as part of the 24:11.692 --> 24:13.915 research . Within the notion within the 24:13.915 --> 24:15.692 phase of phase two , we do have 24:15.692 --> 24:17.803 authority for what is known as direct 24:17.803 --> 24:20.410 to phase two , commonly referred to as 24:20.410 --> 24:23.699 D2P2s or sometimes DP2s , depending on 24:23.699 --> 24:26.410 who you talk to . A direct to phase 2 24:26.410 --> 24:28.577 is a topic , and we'll talk more about 24:28.577 --> 24:30.859 solicitations and topics in a bit . Uh , 24:30.900 --> 24:33.540 but it is a topic that is essentially 24:33.540 --> 24:35.484 skips the phase one . It skips the 24:35.484 --> 24:37.780 feasibility phase , uh , and is 24:37.780 --> 24:40.500 searching for capabilities , uh , that 24:40.500 --> 24:42.611 are already at that phase two level . 24:42.611 --> 24:44.556 Essentially , you don't need to go 24:44.556 --> 24:46.667 through a feasibility study phase for 24:46.667 --> 24:48.556 this particular capability . It's 24:48.556 --> 24:50.667 already . It been done , it's already 24:50.667 --> 24:52.722 been shown , and now you're going to 24:52.722 --> 24:54.778 develop it , prototype it , uh , and 24:54.778 --> 24:57.425 adapt it for a DOD use . So , so again , 24:57.545 --> 24:59.385 as , as we talk about topics and 24:59.385 --> 25:01.625 solicitations , understand that the DOD 25:01.625 --> 25:04.125 does have the authority to issue these 25:04.125 --> 25:05.847 directive phase two topics and 25:05.847 --> 25:08.650 solicitations . Uh , and then phase 3 , 25:08.819 --> 25:10.819 that's the ultimate success story . 25:10.819 --> 25:12.763 That's ideally where every company 25:12.763 --> 25:15.020 would end up is getting SBIR and STTR 25:15.020 --> 25:17.209 phase 3 contracts . We have an entire 25:17.209 --> 25:19.209 slide at the end where we're really 25:19.209 --> 25:21.320 talk about phase 3 in detail a little 25:21.320 --> 25:23.376 bit more , so I won't spend too much 25:23.376 --> 25:25.598 time on that right now . Uh , couple of 25:25.598 --> 25:27.431 distinct differences between the 25:27.431 --> 25:29.487 programs , right ? Very often , uh , 25:29.487 --> 25:31.820 folks will ask questions and say , well , 25:31.820 --> 25:33.931 why do you have two programs ? What's 25:33.931 --> 25:36.265 the difference between the two programs ? 25:36.265 --> 25:35.839 The biggest one , as you can see right 25:35.839 --> 25:38.880 under uh the SDTR there in bold , is 25:38.880 --> 25:40.920 that under an STTR topic , under an 25:40.920 --> 25:43.810 SDTR solicitation , you as the small 25:43.810 --> 25:46.479 business must partner with the US 25:46.479 --> 25:48.890 research institution . Research 25:48.890 --> 25:51.099 institution uh is defined in US code . 25:51.660 --> 25:54.599 Think college , think university , uh , 25:54.630 --> 25:56.650 FFRDCs are eligible . There's some 25:56.650 --> 25:58.483 other types of entities that are 25:58.483 --> 26:00.483 eligible , but generally speaking , 26:00.483 --> 26:02.261 it's going to be you as a small 26:02.261 --> 26:04.449 business , partnering with academia as 26:04.449 --> 26:07.589 part of your project . I say must 26:07.589 --> 26:10.380 because it is in statue . In order to 26:10.380 --> 26:13.119 be awarded a a contract through the 26:13.119 --> 26:16.199 STTR program , you have to be partnered 26:16.199 --> 26:18.319 with that research institute . If you 26:18.319 --> 26:20.652 don't have a research institute partner , 26:20.652 --> 26:22.652 you will not be eligible . Uh , you 26:22.652 --> 26:24.652 could have the best solution , uh , 26:24.652 --> 26:26.875 known to mankind , it would not be able 26:26.875 --> 26:29.160 to be funded through the STTR program . 26:29.780 --> 26:31.947 Uh , and then within that STTR program 26:31.947 --> 26:34.113 again you can kind of see here there's 26:34.113 --> 26:36.280 some requirements for how much work on 26:36.280 --> 26:38.719 an on a project basis or an award basis , 26:39.069 --> 26:41.069 uh , you have to do . So you as the 26:41.069 --> 26:43.236 small business have to be doing 40% of 26:43.236 --> 26:45.458 the work . The research institution has 26:45.458 --> 26:47.625 to be doing at least 30% of the work . 26:47.625 --> 26:49.958 So you can't just bring them in and say , 26:49.958 --> 26:51.958 hey , I'm gonna give you $1 to , to 26:51.958 --> 26:54.069 kind of help me out here , uh , to be 26:54.069 --> 26:56.180 basically on my program team so I can 26:56.180 --> 26:58.347 get this award . They actually have to 26:58.347 --> 27:00.458 be a fundamental part of your project 27:00.458 --> 27:02.625 program team doing at least 30% of the 27:02.625 --> 27:05.469 work . And then 40 + 30 is 70 , right ? 27:05.510 --> 27:07.989 That doesn't add up to 100 . Uh , that 27:07.989 --> 27:10.780 remaining 30% is sort of the area that 27:10.790 --> 27:13.012 that you have the ability to flex . You 27:13.012 --> 27:15.380 can have , uh , you as a small business , 27:15.390 --> 27:19.060 doing more than 40 , right ? 70 and 30 , 27:19.150 --> 27:21.150 you could be doing 60 and the RI is 27:21.150 --> 27:24.420 doing 40 , you have that flexibility uh 27:24.729 --> 27:27.449 to Yeah , when you submit the proposal 27:27.449 --> 27:29.560 to sort of show that breakout and say 27:29.560 --> 27:31.727 this is what we would need uh in order 27:31.727 --> 27:33.838 to be able to do this project the way 27:33.838 --> 27:37.239 we're proposing it . So that's , that's 27:37.239 --> 27:39.183 the primary difference between the 27:39.183 --> 27:41.069 Silver andit program is that 27:41.069 --> 27:43.236 requirement under STTR to be partnered 27:43.236 --> 27:47.050 with a research institution . Next 27:47.050 --> 27:48.050 slide , please . 27:52.099 --> 27:54.155 So our program life cycle . How does 27:54.155 --> 27:56.377 this whole thing work ? We talked about 27:56.377 --> 27:56.140 the phases , we talked about 27:56.140 --> 27:59.010 eligibility . How does the SBIR program 27:59.010 --> 28:01.579 actually work in the DOD ? So it all 28:01.579 --> 28:03.746 starts with topic development . Uh , I 28:03.746 --> 28:05.968 mentioned uh that slide that had our 12 28:05.968 --> 28:07.912 components . All of us have all of 28:07.912 --> 28:09.690 these components have different 28:09.690 --> 28:11.912 problems , have different , uh , things 28:11.912 --> 28:13.968 that they're looking for . They will 28:13.968 --> 28:15.968 write topics . That highlight those 28:15.968 --> 28:17.857 challenges , that highlight those 28:17.857 --> 28:19.746 problems , and are , are meant to 28:19.746 --> 28:21.801 notify industry and notify the small 28:21.801 --> 28:24.040 businesses of what those are and what 28:24.040 --> 28:26.151 kind of solutions they're looking for 28:26.160 --> 28:28.920 uh to fill those gaps . Right ? So 28:28.920 --> 28:31.000 really it's an identification of our 28:31.000 --> 28:33.079 war fighter needs , um , right , and 28:33.079 --> 28:35.079 the things that we're trying to get 28:35.079 --> 28:36.979 after . Our topics will either be 28:36.979 --> 28:39.939 written as what we call open topics or 28:39.939 --> 28:41.550 specific , or excuse me , or 28:41.550 --> 28:43.979 conventional topics . Uh , you may also 28:43.979 --> 28:46.660 hear occasionally conventional topics 28:46.660 --> 28:49.020 referred to as specific topics , so 28:49.020 --> 28:51.187 just understand that those are one and 28:51.187 --> 28:53.409 the same . Uh , open topics are exactly 28:53.409 --> 28:55.520 what they sound like . Uh , they will 28:55.520 --> 28:57.742 be a topic that is , is really , really 28:57.742 --> 28:59.964 broad . Uh , right ? For example , some 28:59.964 --> 29:02.187 of our , uh , components will literally 29:02.187 --> 29:04.187 write open topics that , that don't 29:04.187 --> 29:07.310 identify a particular tech area or uh a 29:07.310 --> 29:09.477 capability that they're looking for at 29:09.477 --> 29:11.532 all , and they'll say , bring us any 29:11.532 --> 29:13.866 ideas that could help us as a component , 29:13.949 --> 29:16.640 right ? Let's use the Air Force . If 29:16.640 --> 29:18.807 you think you have an , you're a small 29:18.807 --> 29:20.696 business and you think you have a 29:20.696 --> 29:22.862 capability and innovation uh idea that 29:22.862 --> 29:25.084 could help the Air Force , tell us what 29:25.084 --> 29:27.084 it is . That could go under an open 29:27.084 --> 29:29.140 topic . A conventional or a specific 29:29.140 --> 29:31.140 topic is gonna be a little bit more 29:31.140 --> 29:33.473 scoped around a particular area , right , 29:33.473 --> 29:35.640 kind of again , keeping the example of 29:35.640 --> 29:37.973 the Air Force , uh , maybe they're , uh , 29:37.973 --> 29:39.918 have a directed energy platform or 29:39.918 --> 29:42.029 capability that they're looking for , 29:42.029 --> 29:45.109 uh , new ways to do some process , um , 29:45.579 --> 29:47.859 associated with a directed energy 29:47.859 --> 29:49.859 platform , right ? They may write a 29:49.859 --> 29:51.859 topic that says , Here's what our 29:51.859 --> 29:53.915 directed energy platform is . Here's 29:53.915 --> 29:56.137 what we're looking for in that . Here's 29:56.137 --> 29:58.303 our challenges . Help us by developing 29:58.303 --> 30:00.290 proposals with solutions for that 30:00.290 --> 30:02.810 problem . Um , so again , open topics 30:02.810 --> 30:04.969 and conventional topics , we have all 30:04.969 --> 30:07.136 of them going on constantly , uh , but 30:07.136 --> 30:09.302 they're looking for different things . 30:09.380 --> 30:11.269 All of those topics that are then 30:11.269 --> 30:12.936 developed and selected by the 30:12.936 --> 30:14.602 components , they go into our 30:14.602 --> 30:16.769 solicitation . Right ? So every , uh , 30:16.769 --> 30:18.936 we've got a slide here in a bit on our 30:18.936 --> 30:21.047 solicitation with our schedule , uh , 30:21.047 --> 30:22.991 but just from the top level , uh , 30:22.991 --> 30:25.158 we've got , we issue our solicitations 30:25.158 --> 30:27.269 in two forms , uh , right now , so we 30:27.269 --> 30:29.380 have a broad agency announcement or a 30:29.380 --> 30:31.047 BAA , and then we also have a 30:31.047 --> 30:33.269 commercial solutions opening or a CSL . 30:33.269 --> 30:35.436 Um , kind of fundamental differences , 30:35.436 --> 30:37.491 there , there's a few , um , kind of 30:37.491 --> 30:39.713 our big emphasis when we talk about the 30:39.713 --> 30:41.936 CSO , uh , and the commercial solutions 30:41.936 --> 30:44.158 opening right is that it's a little bit 30:44.158 --> 30:45.880 more focused on those dual use 30:45.880 --> 30:48.047 capabilities . When we talk about dual 30:48.047 --> 30:50.158 use capabilities , uh , we're talking 30:50.158 --> 30:52.880 about technology and innovation that 30:52.880 --> 30:55.390 has both a commercial purpose , uh , 30:55.400 --> 30:57.011 right , or let's let's say a 30:57.011 --> 30:58.959 non-defense purpose and a defense 30:58.959 --> 31:01.260 purpose . Um , right , so , uh , for 31:01.260 --> 31:03.560 example , the software capability , uh , 31:03.569 --> 31:06.089 that maybe deals with , uh , some sort 31:06.089 --> 31:07.969 of , uh , document , document 31:07.969 --> 31:10.247 organization , uh , schematics , right ? 31:10.247 --> 31:12.191 That could be utilized anywhere in 31:12.191 --> 31:14.413 business , right ? It could be utilized 31:14.413 --> 31:16.469 in professional sports . It can also 31:16.469 --> 31:18.780 obviously be utilized by the DOD . Uh , 31:18.900 --> 31:20.956 so , solicitations are posted , they 31:20.956 --> 31:23.180 all have topics . What's next ? You all 31:23.180 --> 31:25.219 as small businesses are gonna put 31:25.219 --> 31:27.650 together your amazing ideas and submit 31:27.900 --> 31:29.567 uh your proposals through our 31:29.567 --> 31:32.369 centralized portal called DSIP DSIC , 31:32.500 --> 31:35.349 the Defense DSIP , excuse me , the 31:35.349 --> 31:38.290 Defense Supereter Innovation portal . 31:38.540 --> 31:42.180 Uh , if you are submitting any uh 31:42.180 --> 31:44.410 proposal , whether it be phase one or 31:44.410 --> 31:46.219 phase two , you are going to be 31:46.219 --> 31:48.441 submitting your proposal through DSIP . 31:48.750 --> 31:51.083 Now phase 3 , that's a different animal . 31:51.083 --> 31:53.306 Phase 3 proposals , because they're not 31:53.306 --> 31:55.472 funded with actual siR money , they're 31:55.472 --> 31:57.694 not submitted through DSIP . We'll talk 31:57.694 --> 31:59.583 a little bit about that more in a 31:59.583 --> 32:01.361 future slide . So proposals are 32:01.361 --> 32:03.739 submitted , evaluate a topic of 32:03.739 --> 32:05.795 solicitation eventually closes , and 32:05.795 --> 32:07.572 all of those proposals that are 32:07.572 --> 32:09.795 submitted are going to get evaluated by 32:09.795 --> 32:12.949 the component or the agency uh who owns 32:12.949 --> 32:15.209 the topic . Uh , they're going to 32:15.209 --> 32:16.876 evaluate them based on stated 32:16.876 --> 32:19.660 evaluation criteria , and then the best 32:19.949 --> 32:22.030 uh proposals , the most highly rated 32:22.030 --> 32:24.030 proposals are going to get funded . 32:24.569 --> 32:26.513 Right , so you'll get if you're if 32:26.513 --> 32:28.680 you're one of those , you're gonna get 32:28.680 --> 32:28.439 a selection notice . It's gonna say , 32:29.089 --> 32:31.145 congratulations , you submitted this 32:31.145 --> 32:33.200 proposal , it was evaluated , it was 32:33.200 --> 32:35.200 selected , and now the intent is to 32:35.200 --> 32:37.849 press forward and optimally award you a 32:37.849 --> 32:40.071 contract . I'm gonna take a quick pause 32:40.071 --> 32:42.071 here because I do want to emphasize 32:42.089 --> 32:44.949 within the DOD . In the DOD Sisitter 32:44.949 --> 32:48.839 program , we award all of our sitter uh 32:48.839 --> 32:51.839 proposals as contracts . We do not 32:51.839 --> 32:53.719 award grants . We do not award 32:53.719 --> 32:56.079 cooperative agreements . Uh we award 32:56.079 --> 32:58.989 all of our efforts as actual , uh , 32:59.079 --> 33:02.079 either far-based contracts or non-arbas 33:02.079 --> 33:04.190 other transactions , which are a form 33:04.190 --> 33:07.729 of contracts . Um , and then , uh , 33:07.859 --> 33:09.470 let's go to the next slide . 33:12.829 --> 33:14.996 Right , so I mentioned DSIP . Here's a 33:14.996 --> 33:16.940 little bit more information on our 33:16.940 --> 33:19.162 portal . We're really proud of the DSIP 33:19.162 --> 33:21.273 portal . Uh , it's come a really long 33:21.273 --> 33:23.273 ways . Uh , it's , it's , I think , 33:23.273 --> 33:25.329 very user friendly . We get a lot of 33:25.329 --> 33:27.440 compliments actually when we're out , 33:27.440 --> 33:29.662 uh , doing events from small businesses 33:29.662 --> 33:29.439 and they , you know , they'll say 33:29.439 --> 33:31.495 things like , hey , there's a lot of 33:31.495 --> 33:33.979 really difficult uh portals and tools 33:33.979 --> 33:36.090 within the government . We get that , 33:36.090 --> 33:38.146 uh , DSIP is one of the nicer ones , 33:38.146 --> 33:40.257 right ? So it's actually kind of nice 33:40.257 --> 33:42.560 to hear that occasionally , um . So 33:42.560 --> 33:44.671 again , I mentioned it's our official 33:44.671 --> 33:46.727 proposal submission website . If you 33:46.727 --> 33:48.893 are submitting a phase 1 , a phase 2 , 33:48.893 --> 33:51.004 a directive phase 2 , or what we call 33:51.004 --> 33:53.171 sequential phase 2 proposals to any of 33:53.171 --> 33:55.569 our services or components , it has to 33:55.569 --> 33:58.969 go through DSIP . So if you are a , for 33:58.969 --> 34:01.191 example , if you're a phase one company 34:01.191 --> 34:03.979 and uh let's say you're working with 34:03.979 --> 34:06.146 SOCOM , this is not to pick on SOCOM . 34:06.146 --> 34:08.312 I'm legitimately just using them as an 34:08.312 --> 34:10.129 example , uh , and the SOCOM 34:10.129 --> 34:12.240 contracting officer sends you a phase 34:12.240 --> 34:14.290 two RFP request for proposal , and 34:14.290 --> 34:16.401 they're like , just send the proposal 34:16.401 --> 34:18.734 to us , don't send it through DSIP , uh , 34:18.734 --> 34:20.957 you can do that , it's not gonna work . 34:21.209 --> 34:23.153 All of the phase one and phase two 34:23.153 --> 34:25.320 proposals have to be submitted through 34:25.320 --> 34:27.159 DSIP . Couple other really great 34:27.159 --> 34:29.103 features with DSIP there's a topic 34:29.103 --> 34:31.326 search , right ? So you , if you've got 34:31.326 --> 34:33.492 an idea and you're and you're like , I 34:33.492 --> 34:35.548 work in a particular space , you can 34:35.548 --> 34:37.548 search to see if there's any topics 34:37.548 --> 34:39.548 either current or past . Current or 34:39.548 --> 34:41.715 archive topics are all there as well , 34:41.715 --> 34:44.159 uh , that might be aligned with what 34:44.159 --> 34:46.437 you do as an innovative small business . 34:46.919 --> 34:50.239 Um , again , can you When you identify 34:50.239 --> 34:52.800 these archived or older topics , are 34:52.800 --> 34:54.856 you able to submit proposals against 34:54.856 --> 34:56.856 them ? You're not . The topics have 34:56.856 --> 34:59.078 already closed , the solicitations have 34:59.078 --> 35:01.244 already closed , but it does help give 35:01.244 --> 35:03.959 you an idea of who in the DOD sort of 35:03.959 --> 35:06.669 innovation ecosystem might be looking 35:07.360 --> 35:10.080 for solutions that might be or excuse 35:10.080 --> 35:12.320 me , might be looking for innovation uh 35:12.320 --> 35:14.320 that you have solutions or you have 35:14.320 --> 35:16.320 capabilities for . And then there's 35:16.320 --> 35:18.989 also our topic Q&A . Yes , Chad , it's 35:18.989 --> 35:21.211 your hand raised . Yeah , um , we had a 35:21.211 --> 35:23.211 question in the uh in the chat . It 35:23.211 --> 35:26.189 just said from the prior prior slides . 35:26.610 --> 35:28.832 Can you share with us who the actors or 35:28.832 --> 35:31.054 the main points of contacts are at each 35:31.054 --> 35:33.221 stage ? For example , who collects the 35:33.221 --> 35:35.277 innovative ideas and from whom , who 35:35.277 --> 35:37.221 issues the contract , so on and so 35:37.221 --> 35:39.388 forth . Sorry , I didn't wanna get too 35:39.388 --> 35:41.721 far out . No , that's , that's a really , 35:41.721 --> 35:43.610 really good question , right ? So 35:43.610 --> 35:45.909 overall , we at the OSD are responsible 35:45.909 --> 35:48.000 for all of it , right ? It is an OSD 35:48.000 --> 35:50.429 solicitation , and then all of our 35:50.429 --> 35:52.540 components when they have topics that 35:52.540 --> 35:54.818 go in on our , on our release schedule , 35:54.818 --> 35:57.040 which we'll show you here in a minute . 35:57.040 --> 35:59.209 Um , they all are then responsible for 35:59.209 --> 36:01.580 their own . So , for example , if you 36:01.949 --> 36:05.870 are responding to an army sponsored 36:05.870 --> 36:08.959 topic . You will have army 36:09.669 --> 36:11.336 subject matter experts , army 36:11.336 --> 36:13.780 evaluators that will be evaluating and 36:13.780 --> 36:15.947 reviewing the proposal , and then most 36:15.947 --> 36:17.590 likely you will have an army 36:17.590 --> 36:19.812 contracting office that will be issuing 36:19.812 --> 36:22.709 your award . So , the evaluation and 36:22.709 --> 36:24.653 contracting award process varies a 36:24.653 --> 36:27.110 little bit dependent on which component 36:27.110 --> 36:30.419 owns and operates it . Um , I , I hope 36:30.419 --> 36:32.750 that answers the question , um . 36:33.139 --> 36:35.250 There's a little bit of an it depends 36:35.250 --> 36:37.417 in there , but generally speaking , if 36:37.417 --> 36:39.639 you're trying to understand the kind of 36:39.639 --> 36:41.806 conceptual makeup of this , understand 36:41.806 --> 36:44.028 that if you're work , it really depends 36:44.028 --> 36:46.306 on which component you're working with , 36:46.306 --> 36:48.528 that's gonna determine who's doing your 36:48.528 --> 36:50.361 evaluations , who's making those 36:50.361 --> 36:52.528 selections , and then ultimately who's 36:52.528 --> 36:54.528 awarding the contracts at the end . 36:55.610 --> 36:59.040 Let's go to the next slide . Right , so 36:59.040 --> 37:00.873 here's our remaining fiscal year 37:00.873 --> 37:03.590 schedule . It is winding down fast , um , 37:03.909 --> 37:06.076 so you might be asking like real quick 37:06.076 --> 37:08.076 like , hey , what are these release 37:08.076 --> 37:10.187 numbers here on the left ? We'll talk 37:10.187 --> 37:12.409 about that on the next slide , uh , but 37:12.409 --> 37:14.631 you can see right here , we have topics 37:14.631 --> 37:14.320 right now that are in a stage called 37:14.320 --> 37:16.830 pre-release . Uh , those topics will 37:16.830 --> 37:19.899 open formally . Uh , in less than 2 37:19.899 --> 37:21.843 weeks now , and then about a month 37:21.843 --> 37:23.955 later , and that's typically the time 37:23.955 --> 37:26.139 that these topics are open for , uh , 37:26.179 --> 37:27.846 those topics will close , the 37:27.846 --> 37:30.012 solicitation that release will close . 37:30.060 --> 37:32.116 If you don't get your proposal in by 37:32.116 --> 37:34.060 the , the due date on that or that 37:34.060 --> 37:36.171 closing date , you're not going to be 37:36.171 --> 37:38.227 eligible . Uh , so probably should , 37:38.227 --> 37:40.338 probably don't say this enough , uh , 37:40.338 --> 37:42.227 but when you're looking or you're 37:42.227 --> 37:44.449 interested in a topic , you really need 37:44.449 --> 37:46.504 to focus on that solicitation , open 37:46.504 --> 37:48.530 and close date , uh , because the 37:48.530 --> 37:50.709 program is not legally allowed to 37:50.709 --> 37:52.709 accept proposals that are submitted 37:52.709 --> 37:55.639 after the closing date . So we put 37:55.639 --> 37:57.639 those open and close dates right up 37:57.639 --> 37:59.639 front , uh , in our solicitations , 37:59.639 --> 38:01.806 they're bolded , they're highlighted , 38:01.806 --> 38:03.972 but we're , we're very clear , uh , to 38:03.972 --> 38:06.083 our , to our industry partners say if 38:06.083 --> 38:07.972 you're interested . Here's how to 38:07.972 --> 38:10.028 submit , and here's when you need to 38:10.028 --> 38:12.306 submit by . Let's go to the next slide . 38:17.709 --> 38:19.931 All right , whole bunch of dates here . 38:19.931 --> 38:22.209 You don't need to focus on all of them , 38:22.209 --> 38:23.931 um , right ? This is our FY 26 38:23.931 --> 38:26.042 solicitation schedule . So if we kind 38:26.042 --> 38:28.209 of keep ourselves in the middle in the 38:28.209 --> 38:30.750 green section , what you see here is we , 38:30.899 --> 38:33.360 the DOD operate what we call a monthly 38:33.360 --> 38:35.416 release schedule . So what does that 38:35.416 --> 38:38.020 mean to you ? That means that every 38:38.020 --> 38:40.340 month , first Wednesday of the month , 38:40.379 --> 38:42.379 we call it the first Wednesday , we 38:42.379 --> 38:44.419 will have topics that are gonna get 38:44.419 --> 38:46.580 posted into our , into a pre-release 38:46.580 --> 38:49.520 stage . Does that mean that every one 38:49.520 --> 38:51.639 of our 12 components are gonna post 38:51.639 --> 38:54.310 topics every single month ? It does not . 38:54.479 --> 38:56.540 But what it does mean is that there 38:56.540 --> 38:58.760 will be components every month who are 38:58.760 --> 39:01.040 going to post topics . We work really 39:01.040 --> 39:03.399 hard with all of our component offices 39:03.399 --> 39:05.510 to understand their schedule and what 39:05.510 --> 39:07.780 they're looking at , and every month , 39:08.040 --> 39:09.984 there will be topics that are in , 39:10.280 --> 39:12.280 right ? So , on our last slide , we 39:12.280 --> 39:14.502 talked about that release 11 cycle . So 39:14.502 --> 39:16.669 release 11 is in pre pre-release right 39:16.669 --> 39:18.836 now . I don't want to get this wrong , 39:18.836 --> 39:20.947 but I'm quite certain that the army . 39:21.729 --> 39:25.020 The Air Force , the Navy , DARPA . 39:25.830 --> 39:27.886 And I think there's one other of our 39:27.886 --> 39:30.052 components . I believe there's 5 total 39:30.052 --> 39:32.274 components right now . All of them have 39:32.274 --> 39:34.497 topics that are in that release 11 . So 39:34.497 --> 39:36.719 you might look around or you might know 39:36.719 --> 39:38.886 that , um , you know , missile defense 39:38.886 --> 39:41.108 agency , you're like , hey , I've got I 39:41.108 --> 39:43.052 I've got capabilities and I really 39:43.052 --> 39:44.886 think it aligns really well with 39:44.886 --> 39:46.774 missile defense agency . So maybe 39:46.774 --> 39:48.774 Missile Defense Agency doesn't have 39:48.774 --> 39:50.886 topics in Release 11 . But release 12 39:50.886 --> 39:53.070 is coming a month later , right ? So , 39:53.159 --> 39:55.360 so , you know , jot this down first 39:55.360 --> 39:57.471 Wednesday of every month . You can go 39:57.471 --> 39:59.693 to DSI and you can see all of those new 39:59.693 --> 40:01.971 topics that are in pre-release . Right , 40:01.971 --> 40:03.971 and what and read them and start to 40:03.971 --> 40:05.804 understand what those respective 40:05.804 --> 40:07.916 components are looking for , uh , and 40:07.916 --> 40:10.193 know that in a couple weeks after that , 40:10.193 --> 40:12.249 they'll , the topics will officially 40:12.249 --> 40:14.304 open for submissions . So , really , 40:14.304 --> 40:15.971 really beneficial piece about 40:15.971 --> 40:18.193 pre-release as well . I should probably 40:18.193 --> 40:20.304 talk about this for a minute . During 40:20.304 --> 40:22.416 pre-release , if you're reviewing the 40:22.416 --> 40:24.582 topics and you have questions about it 40:24.582 --> 40:24.300 or , you know , maybe you don't know 40:24.300 --> 40:26.356 what an acronym means , uh , right , 40:26.356 --> 40:28.244 and it's embedded in there or you 40:28.244 --> 40:30.411 really want to understand , hey , what 40:30.411 --> 40:32.244 does this component mean by this 40:32.244 --> 40:34.467 particular , you know , uh , you know , 40:34.467 --> 40:36.689 statement that they have in the topic . 40:36.689 --> 40:38.911 During the pre-release stage , so prior 40:38.911 --> 40:40.911 to the topic formally opening , you 40:40.911 --> 40:43.179 actually have the ability to ask 40:43.179 --> 40:45.659 questions about the topic to the topic 40:45.659 --> 40:48.260 author , and an actual person , we call 40:48.260 --> 40:50.371 them the teapot , the technical point 40:50.371 --> 40:53.530 of contact , and actual representative 40:53.780 --> 40:56.179 for that component for the topic will 40:56.179 --> 40:59.429 answer your questions . Right ? So 40:59.429 --> 41:02.030 that's a really huge benefit that you 41:02.030 --> 41:04.197 have . It's this time where you've got 41:04.197 --> 41:06.197 the ability to actually communicate 41:06.197 --> 41:08.419 with the teapot , who's gonna be one of 41:08.419 --> 41:10.530 the key drivers of that topic and the 41:10.530 --> 41:12.530 evaluation process and the ultimate 41:12.530 --> 41:14.752 selections are made . Uh , and the idea 41:14.752 --> 41:17.149 is , as small businesses , sometimes 41:17.149 --> 41:18.982 these topics are complicated and 41:18.982 --> 41:21.093 they're difficult to understand , and 41:21.093 --> 41:23.316 we want you to be able to ask questions 41:23.316 --> 41:25.482 about those topics , so that hopefully 41:25.482 --> 41:27.260 you don't spend a bunch of time 41:27.260 --> 41:29.205 operating under assumptions . Uh , 41:29.205 --> 41:31.038 right , or operating and putting 41:31.038 --> 41:33.260 together a proposal that doesn't really 41:33.260 --> 41:35.316 meet the intent of the topic because 41:35.316 --> 41:37.593 you misunderstood something . So again , 41:37.800 --> 41:40.022 pre-release , really great . You've got 41:40.022 --> 41:42.189 the ability to talk to the teapot . As 41:42.189 --> 41:44.300 soon as you're out of pre-release and 41:44.300 --> 41:45.800 that topic opens up , that 41:45.800 --> 41:47.911 communication shuts down . So there's 41:47.911 --> 41:50.022 no avenue at that point to be able to 41:50.022 --> 41:52.189 ask additional questions . You can ask 41:52.189 --> 41:54.133 questions . You they just won't be 41:54.133 --> 41:57.110 answered . Yes , Chad . So we got 41:57.110 --> 41:59.479 another question in the in the uh Q&A . 41:59.510 --> 42:01.732 It says , I know , I know you said that 42:01.732 --> 42:03.899 not every agency would have a topic uh 42:03.899 --> 42:05.788 every release , but are there any 42:05.788 --> 42:08.070 agencies that do have a topic every 42:08.070 --> 42:10.530 release date or at the very least close , 42:10.590 --> 42:12.257 close to every release date ? 42:14.530 --> 42:17.540 I , I definitely don't want to say that 42:17.540 --> 42:20.129 there is That there are any of our 42:20.129 --> 42:22.240 components do it every single month , 42:22.240 --> 42:24.462 right ? Cause then I'm gonna say that , 42:24.462 --> 42:26.685 and then next release they're not gonna 42:26.685 --> 42:28.796 do , they're not gonna have one . all 42:28.796 --> 42:30.962 of those top , all of those components 42:30.962 --> 42:33.018 have varying SBIR and STTR budgets , 42:33.018 --> 42:35.351 right ? So we mentioned the 3.1 billion . 42:35.351 --> 42:37.573 That's not it , we don't equal , that's 42:37.573 --> 42:39.740 not peanut butter spread amongst those 42:39.740 --> 42:41.962 12 equally . Uh , for example , the Air 42:41.962 --> 42:44.073 Force has by far the largest budget . 42:44.073 --> 42:46.610 Um , right , Organizations like DLA and 42:46.610 --> 42:49.330 DMEA , much smaller budget overall 42:49.330 --> 42:51.441 budgets , they've got a lot smaller , 42:51.649 --> 42:53.760 uh , SBIR budgets that are associated 42:53.760 --> 42:56.090 with it . So the smaller ones certainly 42:56.090 --> 42:58.201 are not going to have topics in every 42:58.201 --> 43:00.929 release , uh , your services , so the 43:00.929 --> 43:03.419 Air Force , the army , the navy , uh , 43:04.179 --> 43:06.300 I , I wouldn't say that you , that I 43:06.300 --> 43:08.300 would guarantee that they will have 43:08.300 --> 43:10.300 topics , all 12 releases , but they 43:10.300 --> 43:12.411 will have topics in the vast majority 43:12.411 --> 43:13.411 of the releases . 43:17.239 --> 43:19.350 And we've got another question here , 43:19.350 --> 43:22.790 John . Um , so , uh , how do we as 43:22.790 --> 43:25.219 small business concerns prepare ahead 43:25.219 --> 43:27.590 of a topic release to connect with the 43:27.590 --> 43:29.909 component or components that might be 43:29.909 --> 43:32.076 interested in our innovations , i.e. , 43:32.189 --> 43:34.590 how do we do customer uh discovery with 43:34.590 --> 43:37.070 the DOD to be better prepared to 43:37.070 --> 43:40.909 respond to the topics ? There is no 43:40.909 --> 43:43.020 simple answer to that . The answer is 43:43.020 --> 43:45.242 there are a variety of ways , right ? I 43:45.242 --> 43:47.353 would encourage you to work with your 43:47.353 --> 43:49.520 Apex accelerators , right ? And any of 43:49.520 --> 43:51.742 your other uh organizations , either at 43:51.742 --> 43:53.742 the the state or either through the 43:53.742 --> 43:55.965 state or through the federal government 43:55.965 --> 43:58.131 that are familiar uh with programs not 43:58.131 --> 44:00.131 only like SBIR and STTR but all the 44:00.131 --> 44:02.131 other programs , right ? You've got 44:02.131 --> 44:04.242 your DOD's Office of Small Business , 44:04.242 --> 44:06.465 uh , the OS , the OSPP , uh , they do a 44:06.465 --> 44:08.870 lot of really great work . Um , in 44:08.870 --> 44:11.709 terms of Understanding what the 44:11.709 --> 44:13.820 department is interested in . We talk 44:13.820 --> 44:16.042 about this a lot , and I , I think this 44:16.042 --> 44:18.042 is kind of core to this question as 44:18.042 --> 44:20.209 well as , as a company , like , how do 44:20.209 --> 44:20.179 I know what the DOD is interested in ? 44:21.139 --> 44:23.083 Right , or at the at the component 44:23.083 --> 44:25.028 level , how do I know what the Air 44:25.028 --> 44:27.083 Force is interested in ? Or how do I 44:27.083 --> 44:29.306 know what the missile defense agency is 44:29.306 --> 44:31.306 interested in . So there's a lot of 44:31.306 --> 44:33.472 ways to do that as well . From a DOD's 44:33.472 --> 44:35.580 perspective , I always say , pay 44:35.580 --> 44:37.560 attention to the DOD's critical 44:37.560 --> 44:40.020 technology areas , the CTA's , right ? 44:40.100 --> 44:42.659 The critical technology areas uh are 44:42.659 --> 44:45.060 published every few years by the DOD 44:45.060 --> 44:48.379 and they are essentially the uh true 44:48.379 --> 44:51.909 north . Uh , your kind of flight fall . 44:51.989 --> 44:54.070 This is what the department is 44:54.070 --> 44:55.792 interested in from a strategic 44:55.792 --> 44:58.110 priorities perspective , right ? So 44:58.110 --> 45:01.389 right now , uh , what are the DOD CTAs 45:01.389 --> 45:03.699 we are interested in things like , uh , 45:03.709 --> 45:06.229 trusted AI and autonomy , obviously , 45:06.750 --> 45:09.340 space technologies , microelectronics , 45:09.399 --> 45:12.389 biotechnology , uh , integrated sensing 45:12.389 --> 45:16.139 and cyber , um . Advanced materials in 45:16.139 --> 45:18.417 manufacturing , right ? The , you know , 45:18.417 --> 45:21.260 quantum sciences , uh , these are the 45:21.260 --> 45:23.093 areas of research , the areas of 45:23.093 --> 45:25.316 innovation that the department is hyper 45:25.316 --> 45:27.538 focused on , uh , in , in order to kind 45:27.538 --> 45:29.704 of promote the defense of the nation . 45:29.704 --> 45:31.927 And then again at the component level , 45:31.927 --> 45:33.871 uh , generally speaking , you'll , 45:33.871 --> 45:35.982 you'll also have strategic priorities 45:35.982 --> 45:38.149 that kind of dovetail out of those DOD 45:38.149 --> 45:41.939 CTAs . Uh , so for example , the Navy's 45:41.939 --> 45:45.280 chief technology officer or CTO . Just 45:45.280 --> 45:48.110 recently released a 3 or 4 page memo 45:48.320 --> 45:51.239 that outlined the Navy's strategic 45:51.239 --> 45:52.795 priorities when it comes to 45:52.795 --> 45:54.961 capabilities and innovation . And what 45:54.961 --> 45:57.128 it basically said was , hey , listen , 45:57.128 --> 45:59.479 DOD on the whole , critical technology 45:59.479 --> 46:03.409 areas . We navy , part of DOD , this is 46:03.409 --> 46:05.770 what we're interested in . Right ? So 46:05.770 --> 46:07.770 they basically took it to that next 46:07.770 --> 46:10.050 level , with the idea being , they're 46:10.050 --> 46:12.106 not only telling everybody that that 46:12.106 --> 46:14.106 works in or around the navy , hey , 46:14.106 --> 46:16.217 these are the capabilities that we're 46:16.217 --> 46:18.328 interested in uh for both the current 46:18.328 --> 46:20.328 fight and the future fight , but we 46:20.328 --> 46:22.383 really , from the perspective of the 46:22.383 --> 46:24.439 defense industrial base , we need to 46:24.439 --> 46:24.330 make sure industry understands what 46:24.330 --> 46:27.320 we're looking for as well . Right , so 46:27.320 --> 46:30.159 that's just another great avenue , um . 46:30.919 --> 46:33.030 What you can also do is , is a lot of 46:33.030 --> 46:35.989 the uh PEO offices , the PEOs , they 46:35.989 --> 46:37.822 have information on what they're 46:37.822 --> 46:40.045 looking at , the capabilities that they 46:40.045 --> 46:42.156 operate , and what they think they're 46:42.156 --> 46:44.378 gonna need in the future . There's just 46:44.378 --> 46:46.600 so many ways that you all as , as small 46:46.600 --> 46:48.489 businesses and and folks that are 46:48.489 --> 46:50.600 hopefully either , uh , if you're not 46:50.600 --> 46:52.711 part of the defense industrial base , 46:52.711 --> 46:54.822 hopefully maybe you will be someday , 46:54.822 --> 46:57.045 uh , you can go out and learn about the 46:57.045 --> 46:58.989 department , uh , and see what the 46:58.989 --> 47:01.156 things are that we need . You can also 47:01.156 --> 47:03.030 uh read things like the National 47:03.030 --> 47:06.100 Defense strategy , right , the NDS , um , 47:06.110 --> 47:08.989 you can read the NDAA , right ? If 47:08.989 --> 47:11.270 you're really keen on reading 47:11.270 --> 47:13.603 legislation , like read into the budget , 47:13.603 --> 47:15.659 right ? The budget is gonna tell you 47:15.659 --> 47:17.214 this is what uh Congress is 47:17.214 --> 47:19.103 appropriating uh for the programs 47:19.103 --> 47:21.326 across the department , right ? And you 47:21.326 --> 47:23.548 can kind of see from there , you know , 47:23.548 --> 47:25.714 follow the money , see where the money 47:25.714 --> 47:27.826 is going . That's really a a telltale 47:27.826 --> 47:29.548 sign of what the department is 47:29.548 --> 47:31.492 interested in . Uh , is what we're 47:31.492 --> 47:33.714 going to be going and investing dollars 47:33.714 --> 47:35.714 then . So there's a lot of really , 47:35.714 --> 47:37.770 really good ways , most of which are 47:37.770 --> 47:39.881 available for you uh to read and then 47:39.881 --> 47:42.048 publicly consume , uh , and so you can 47:42.048 --> 47:44.159 see what the department is interested 47:44.159 --> 47:43.939 in terms of technologies and 47:43.939 --> 47:46.949 capabilities . Let's go to the next 47:46.949 --> 47:50.590 slide . All right , so kind of 47:50.590 --> 47:52.646 pivoting away from the solicitations 47:52.646 --> 47:54.701 and the topics , right ? It's really 47:54.701 --> 47:56.868 important that we talk about phase 3 . 47:56.868 --> 47:58.868 The idea behind the SBIR program is 47:58.868 --> 48:00.923 obviously to do things like bring in 48:00.923 --> 48:03.034 new entrants , develop capabilities , 48:03.034 --> 48:05.090 um , right ? We want to develop them 48:05.090 --> 48:07.201 through the program through our phase 48:07.201 --> 48:09.312 ones and our phase 2s that are funded 48:09.312 --> 48:11.423 with RDTNE funds . And then optimally 48:11.423 --> 48:13.646 in a perfect world , we're gonna see an 48:13.646 --> 48:15.868 explosion of of phase 3 contracts , and 48:15.868 --> 48:17.979 you're gonna sit here and go , John , 48:17.979 --> 48:20.090 what's a phase 3 ? Phase 3 can be any 48:20.090 --> 48:22.780 type of work . Any work that derives 48:22.780 --> 48:25.989 from extends , or completes your prior 48:25.989 --> 48:28.860 S SBIR and STTR funding agreements , 48:28.979 --> 48:31.689 meaning your contracts . Uh , can be 48:31.689 --> 48:34.409 qualified as a phase 3 . It can be for 48:34.409 --> 48:36.330 production , it can be for actual 48:36.330 --> 48:38.552 product buys , it can be for services , 48:38.552 --> 48:40.663 it can be for additional research and 48:40.663 --> 48:42.969 development . Any work that derives 48:42.969 --> 48:45.560 from , extends , or completes your 48:45.560 --> 48:48.409 prior SBIR funded work qualifies as a 48:48.409 --> 48:52.209 phase 3 . Why is a phase 3 so valuable ? 48:52.530 --> 48:54.752 Right ? You can see here the third line 48:54.752 --> 48:56.474 down , the phase 1 and phase 2 48:56.474 --> 48:58.697 competitions that you've gone through , 48:58.697 --> 49:00.808 that competitive process where you're 49:00.808 --> 49:02.752 sending that proposal in and going 49:02.752 --> 49:04.919 through DSIP and getting evaluated and 49:04.919 --> 49:07.030 getting selected . That satisfies the 49:07.030 --> 49:09.252 competition requirements . So now , the 49:09.252 --> 49:11.308 government organizations , the folks 49:11.308 --> 49:13.474 you're working with across the federal 49:13.474 --> 49:15.308 government that want what you're 49:15.308 --> 49:17.197 selling , they have a sole source 49:17.197 --> 49:19.252 justification authority to work with 49:19.252 --> 49:21.141 you directly . They don't have to 49:21.141 --> 49:23.363 compete the requirement . You're at a , 49:23.363 --> 49:25.586 you're at a conference , you talk to an 49:25.586 --> 49:27.697 individual from a requirements office 49:27.697 --> 49:29.808 or someone works in a PAO , you pitch 49:29.808 --> 49:32.030 what you do , they love it . They say , 49:32.030 --> 49:34.197 I have a requirement for that , I have 49:34.197 --> 49:36.197 money for that . I gotta go through 49:36.197 --> 49:38.252 this competitive process . No , they 49:38.252 --> 49:40.363 don't . If you're , if you're an SBIR 49:40.363 --> 49:42.530 company and that particular capability 49:42.530 --> 49:44.697 uh and what they're looking to do , if 49:44.697 --> 49:46.919 they can say it derives from extends or 49:46.919 --> 49:49.141 completes that capability . They have a 49:49.141 --> 49:51.252 sole source authority . It is still a 49:51.252 --> 49:53.800 siR contract or an SDTR contract , a 49:53.800 --> 49:56.229 phase 3 award that is that , so your 49:56.229 --> 49:58.399 data rights are still protected uh 49:58.399 --> 50:00.510 through the SBIR data rights clause . 50:00.510 --> 50:03.760 The only real limitation on phase 3 is 50:03.760 --> 50:06.560 that we can't fund siR phase 3s with 50:06.560 --> 50:09.979 our sier sitter RDTNE funds . So that 50:09.979 --> 50:12.419 $3.1 billion that I talked about in the 50:12.419 --> 50:14.419 beginning , that money is for phase 50:14.419 --> 50:16.419 ones , phase twos , direct to phase 50:16.419 --> 50:18.641 twos , phase two sequentials , and some 50:18.641 --> 50:21.129 of our transition program , RDTNE work . 50:21.340 --> 50:23.229 When you get to the phase three , 50:23.229 --> 50:25.396 that's when your customer takes over . 50:25.396 --> 50:27.618 That's when your sponsor organization , 50:27.618 --> 50:29.451 your end user , um , that's when 50:29.451 --> 50:31.451 they're coming in and saying , love 50:31.451 --> 50:33.729 what was developed , love this company , 50:33.729 --> 50:36.062 have a need for it , uh , got the money , 50:36.062 --> 50:38.284 we want to put them on phase 3 awards . 50:38.560 --> 50:40.616 Uh , there's also , you can see here 50:40.616 --> 50:42.782 this is the , I call this the no limit 50:42.782 --> 50:44.782 line . Phase 3 acquisitions have no 50:44.782 --> 50:46.893 limit on the number , meaning you can 50:46.893 --> 50:50.489 get 1 phase 32 phase 3s , 10 50:50.489 --> 50:53.090 phase 3s , an organization can continue 50:53.090 --> 50:55.312 to work with you , uh , or you can have 50:55.449 --> 50:57.616 phase 3s with multiple organizations . 50:57.616 --> 50:59.727 There's no limit on the number , uh , 50:59.727 --> 51:01.671 there's no limit on the duration , 51:01.671 --> 51:03.671 right ? So they can be any length , 51:03.671 --> 51:05.616 they can be , you know , a 6 month 51:05.616 --> 51:07.838 project , 5 year project , uh , there's 51:07.838 --> 51:10.005 no limit on the type , so any contract 51:10.005 --> 51:12.250 type , um , and there's no limit on the 51:12.250 --> 51:15.449 dollar value . Right , so again , the 51:15.449 --> 51:17.560 no limit side . There's also no limit 51:17.560 --> 51:19.969 on the time that may elapse between the 51:19.969 --> 51:22.191 phase one or phase two award . So let's 51:22.191 --> 51:25.169 say it's it's August 2025 , you finish 51:25.169 --> 51:27.929 up your phase two , you've got a PEO 51:27.929 --> 51:29.929 who's really , really interested in 51:29.929 --> 51:32.096 your capability , uh , but they're not 51:32.096 --> 51:34.207 gonna have actually any money to fund 51:34.207 --> 51:36.207 that capability for another 68 , 10 51:36.207 --> 51:38.429 months , uh , but they want to line you 51:38.429 --> 51:41.570 up , that's fine . If you do not have 51:41.570 --> 51:43.770 to go directly from that phase 2 into 51:43.770 --> 51:47.370 the phase 3 . I use this , the 6 to 10 51:47.370 --> 51:49.481 month range right now . Uh , it could 51:49.481 --> 51:52.909 be 5 years . It could be in theory , um , 51:52.919 --> 51:55.439 35 years , and you might laugh and say , 51:55.469 --> 51:57.525 John , there's there's definitely no 51:57.525 --> 52:00.060 examples uh where a company has ever 52:00.510 --> 52:02.750 had 35 years lapse between their phase 52:02.750 --> 52:04.750 two and then eventually receiving a 52:04.750 --> 52:06.979 phase 3 award . And I will tell you all 52:07.469 --> 52:09.959 right now that that is a real example . 52:10.149 --> 52:13.989 Uh , I am keenly aware of a situation 52:13.989 --> 52:16.267 perfectly legitimate , perfectly legal , 52:16.267 --> 52:18.322 where a company received their phase 52:18.322 --> 52:20.649 two award . In 1986 . 52:21.850 --> 52:25.199 1986 , uh , didn't have any other work 52:25.199 --> 52:27.255 with the with the DOD or the federal 52:27.255 --> 52:29.366 government between then , and then in 52:29.366 --> 52:31.850 2021 , uh , an Air Force organization 52:31.850 --> 52:33.961 found this company through some trade 52:33.961 --> 52:36.183 show activity and and basically said we 52:36.183 --> 52:38.250 have a need for that right now , and 52:38.250 --> 52:40.929 awarded them an SBIR phase 335 years 52:40.929 --> 52:44.729 later . Uh , so just this is , this is 52:44.729 --> 52:47.209 just one example of how powerful the 52:47.209 --> 52:49.153 SBIR program can be and really how 52:49.153 --> 52:52.570 flexible , uh , it can be in terms of 52:52.570 --> 52:54.969 how it's applied . All right , so we 52:54.969 --> 52:57.136 are running low on time . Let's run to 52:57.136 --> 52:59.302 the next slide . I think we got one or 52:59.302 --> 53:01.525 two slides here . Next steps , Anna Lee 53:01.525 --> 53:03.636 already hit on this earlier , right ? 53:03.636 --> 53:05.747 If you're not already on SA.gov , get 53:05.747 --> 53:07.858 registered on SA.gov . Get registered 53:07.858 --> 53:09.969 on DSIP , uh , in order to be able to 53:09.969 --> 53:12.136 submit , submit the proposals , you do 53:12.136 --> 53:14.191 have to register . Um , follow us on 53:14.191 --> 53:16.302 LinkedIn , follow us on the socials . 53:16.302 --> 53:18.302 Um , our , our team is really great 53:18.302 --> 53:20.525 about making sure we're getting current 53:20.525 --> 53:22.802 information out . I think the acronyms , 53:22.802 --> 53:24.691 uh , slide was posted in the chat 53:24.691 --> 53:26.580 earlier that came out , um , just 53:26.580 --> 53:28.525 within the last like week or two , 53:28.959 --> 53:31.292 engage with your free resources , right ? 53:31.292 --> 53:33.515 Your Apex accelerators and all of these 53:33.515 --> 53:35.848 organizations that are here to help you . 53:35.848 --> 53:37.959 Uh , cyber.gov lab to market , that's 53:37.959 --> 53:39.959 an SBA site . You can kind of go up 53:39.959 --> 53:41.903 there and see what's going on . We 53:41.903 --> 53:43.681 mentioned uh engaging with your 53:43.681 --> 53:45.737 components , right ? Monitoring DSIP 53:45.737 --> 53:47.570 for the topics , contacting your 53:47.570 --> 53:50.010 teapots , uh , during that pre-release 53:50.010 --> 53:52.370 stage . Um , there's actually a video 53:52.370 --> 53:54.648 that our team posted just this morning , 53:54.659 --> 53:57.010 uh , it's me , they didn't talk to me 53:57.010 --> 53:59.121 about it first , so I was joking with 53:59.121 --> 54:01.121 them , I was yelling at it . I said 54:01.121 --> 54:03.177 it's . But it's good video , right ? 54:03.177 --> 54:05.343 And what it really shows is how within 54:05.343 --> 54:07.510 a pre-release stage , how you look and 54:07.510 --> 54:09.719 find that topic or that teapot so that 54:09.719 --> 54:11.941 you can actually ask the Q&A . Yeah , I 54:11.941 --> 54:14.108 was literally just posted this morning 54:14.108 --> 54:16.052 by our team , uh , and it's just a 54:16.052 --> 54:18.163 video where I actually go through the 54:18.163 --> 54:20.219 process and and show folks how to do 54:20.219 --> 54:21.997 that . Um , and then choose and 54:21.997 --> 54:24.052 understand maybe what your execution 54:24.052 --> 54:26.163 path is . What way do you think , you 54:26.163 --> 54:28.108 think you fit within the DODs SBIR 54:28.108 --> 54:28.070 program , right , which way is gonna 54:28.070 --> 54:30.110 make sense , right ? Am I a company 54:30.110 --> 54:32.469 who's got strong relationships with 54:32.469 --> 54:34.469 academia and maybe would be able to 54:34.469 --> 54:37.429 partner up under an STTR ? Um , do I 54:37.429 --> 54:39.540 have something that doesn't seem like 54:39.540 --> 54:41.429 it's really being brought to bear 54:41.429 --> 54:43.596 through the conventional topic process 54:43.596 --> 54:45.596 and maybe it's worth , uh , kind of 54:45.596 --> 54:47.707 going after , uh , an award under one 54:47.707 --> 54:50.209 of these open topics . Um , do I need 54:50.209 --> 54:52.431 to prove the feasibility of something , 54:52.431 --> 54:54.542 or have I already done it ? Do I have 54:54.542 --> 54:56.876 existing work , uh , in the non-defense , 54:57.060 --> 54:59.282 uh , sort of sector that I could use to 54:59.282 --> 55:01.116 justify my feasibility and , and 55:01.116 --> 55:03.060 potentially submit under direct to 55:03.060 --> 55:05.171 phase two . There's lots of different 55:05.171 --> 55:07.282 avenues to be successful through this 55:07.282 --> 55:09.338 program , uh , and every company and 55:09.338 --> 55:11.116 every kind of process and , and 55:11.116 --> 55:13.004 innovation strategy is unique and 55:13.004 --> 55:14.893 independent , uh , and , and this 55:14.893 --> 55:16.838 program allows there to be those , 55:16.838 --> 55:19.171 those different . Uh , kind of pathways . 55:19.171 --> 55:21.449 So understand who you are as a company , 55:21.449 --> 55:23.449 what you're trying to do , and then 55:23.449 --> 55:25.560 figure out where that fits within the 55:25.560 --> 55:27.671 DOD's process and and and map out a a 55:27.671 --> 55:30.389 good path . Next slide , which I think 55:30.389 --> 55:32.469 is our last . There's all of our 55:32.469 --> 55:34.691 socials . All right , I got you . I , I 55:34.691 --> 55:36.691 mentioned we're here , we're , uh , 55:36.691 --> 55:38.858 we're everywhere . There's no shortage 55:38.858 --> 55:41.136 of ways to get in contact with us . Um , 55:41.136 --> 55:43.080 we're always posting information . 55:43.080 --> 55:44.913 There's great information on our 55:44.913 --> 55:46.913 website about the programs we run . 55:46.913 --> 55:48.858 Obviously , I'm gonna footsto DSIP 55:48.858 --> 55:51.025 again as well here . Go to DSIP , read 55:51.025 --> 55:53.025 our solicitations , you can see the 55:53.025 --> 55:55.136 topics , um , right again during that 55:55.136 --> 55:57.358 pre-release stage , you've actually got 55:57.358 --> 55:59.525 the ability to chat with the teapots . 55:59.525 --> 56:01.802 So , I will pause there . Rose , we're , 56:01.802 --> 56:03.913 we're , we're running short on time , 56:03.913 --> 56:03.629 uh , but I think we do have time for a 56:03.629 --> 56:05.962 couple of questions if there's anything . 56:05.962 --> 56:08.073 Um , Chad , did we , did we cover the 56:08.073 --> 56:10.018 chat ? Uh , and if we did , we , I 56:10.018 --> 56:12.073 think we got a couple of minutes for 56:12.073 --> 56:14.296 folks to , to raise their hand and come 56:14.296 --> 56:14.070 off mute if they've got anything or use 56:14.070 --> 56:16.739 the Q and A . Yes , John , we , uh , uh , 56:16.750 --> 56:18.861 we , the chat's been covered , but we 56:18.861 --> 56:20.972 did have a question that the Kentucky 56:20.972 --> 56:23.028 Apex accelerator actually answered , 56:23.028 --> 56:25.194 but I'd like to present it to get your 56:25.194 --> 56:27.194 take on it . Uh , someone asked , I 56:27.194 --> 56:29.194 submitted my first , uh , direct to 56:29.194 --> 56:31.417 phase two sier . This is the first time 56:31.417 --> 56:33.472 they've ever done this they said I'm 56:33.472 --> 56:35.472 gonna make it a general should they 56:35.472 --> 56:38.000 talk to their um or or send it through 56:38.000 --> 56:40.320 their Apex accelerator to grade the 56:40.320 --> 56:42.431 submission before the window closes . 56:43.689 --> 56:45.745 So in other words , I don't have , I 56:45.745 --> 56:48.078 don't have an official response on that , 56:48.078 --> 56:50.078 but I would say like this is one of 56:50.078 --> 56:51.911 those areas there where the apex 56:51.911 --> 56:53.911 accelerators exist to help you with 56:53.911 --> 56:55.967 that . So , I mean , I , I , without 56:55.967 --> 56:58.133 unders without being fully immersed in 56:58.133 --> 57:00.133 the grading process , I would say I 57:00.133 --> 57:02.411 don't think it would hurt , um , right ? 57:02.411 --> 57:04.522 Because they're gonna be able to look 57:04.522 --> 57:06.633 at that and help really help you as a 57:06.633 --> 57:06.300 small business assess whether the 57:06.300 --> 57:08.467 whether they whether they view that as 57:08.467 --> 57:12.290 viable or not , um . I know I've I've 57:12.290 --> 57:14.401 had numerous conversations with folks 57:14.401 --> 57:16.623 over the years and they say , hey , I , 57:16.623 --> 57:19.169 there's this topic , it says this , I 57:19.169 --> 57:21.439 do this , do you think that works , 57:21.570 --> 57:23.403 right ? Do you think that's what 57:23.403 --> 57:25.570 they're looking for ? Um , right , and 57:25.570 --> 57:27.681 really the , the best thing you could 57:27.681 --> 57:29.903 do there again I'm gonna emphasize this 57:29.903 --> 57:32.070 pre-release stage is you can ask those 57:32.070 --> 57:34.126 questions , uh , during that stage , 57:34.126 --> 57:36.237 right , and say , hey , you're asking 57:36.237 --> 57:38.570 for this , this is what my company does . 57:38.570 --> 57:40.681 Does that make sense or does that not 57:40.681 --> 57:40.330 make sense ? You've got that ability to 57:40.330 --> 57:42.290 have those conversations . But to 57:42.290 --> 57:44.580 answer the question . Um , I would say , 57:44.949 --> 57:47.116 I guess I , I can't really envision an 57:47.116 --> 57:49.060 environment where it wouldn't make 57:49.060 --> 57:51.282 sense or would it benefit you , uh , to 57:51.282 --> 57:52.949 get the eyes of , of the apex 57:52.949 --> 57:55.005 accelerator on what you're doing and 57:55.005 --> 57:56.671 allow them to kind of give an 57:56.671 --> 57:58.393 assessment of , of what you're 57:58.393 --> 58:00.671 proposing to do and what they see , uh , 58:00.671 --> 58:02.893 are in those solicitations and topics . 58:02.919 --> 58:05.086 And one other thing , John , would you 58:05.086 --> 58:07.429 kind of mention a little bit of what 58:07.429 --> 58:09.820 the sier impact has been there in 58:09.820 --> 58:12.510 Kentucky , you know , overall , kind of 58:12.510 --> 58:14.621 what kind of dollar figures have gone 58:14.621 --> 58:16.788 into Kentucky ? Yeah , absolutely . So 58:16.788 --> 58:19.010 one of the things we're really proud of 58:19.010 --> 58:18.949 with the program , I , and I , I want 58:18.949 --> 58:21.659 to emphasize this very , very strongly 58:21.659 --> 58:24.219 for everybody on the call . This 58:24.219 --> 58:26.949 program is focused on merit-based 58:26.949 --> 58:28.949 solutions , right ? They go through 58:28.949 --> 58:31.005 peer , uh , peer review , right ? So 58:31.005 --> 58:33.005 the idea is you're not , you're not 58:33.005 --> 58:35.227 able to cherry pick . We are focused on 58:35.227 --> 58:37.005 the best and brightest and most 58:37.005 --> 58:38.782 innovative capabilities for the 58:38.782 --> 58:40.949 warfighter . We do not care where they 58:40.949 --> 58:42.949 come from , provided they're coming 58:42.949 --> 58:45.171 from the United States , uh , companies 58:45.171 --> 58:47.338 that are located in the US . Um , so , 58:47.338 --> 58:49.669 Kentucky over the last 4 or 5 years , I 58:49.669 --> 58:51.836 think I said something like almost $30 58:51.836 --> 58:54.469 million . Uh , worth of awards through 58:54.469 --> 58:56.699 the SBIR and STTR program , right , 58:56.909 --> 58:59.187 which is a really good chunk of change , 58:59.187 --> 59:01.030 um , right , especially when you 59:01.030 --> 59:03.197 consider that our thresholds for those 59:03.197 --> 59:05.252 phase ones kind of saw that from the 59:05.252 --> 59:07.419 one side are around 300,000 , um , and 59:07.419 --> 59:09.363 most of the components don't award 59:09.363 --> 59:11.641 phase ones at the in the 300,000 range . 59:11.641 --> 59:13.863 They're typically gonna be more like 75 59:13.863 --> 59:16.030 to 150,000 . Um , and then even at the 59:16.030 --> 59:18.197 phase twos , right , the limit is just 59:18.197 --> 59:20.810 under 2.1 million . But again , most of 59:20.810 --> 59:23.469 the components award their phase twos 59:23.469 --> 59:26.080 in the 1 to $2 million dollar range , 59:26.409 --> 59:28.969 um . So yeah , there's and there's 59:28.969 --> 59:31.080 always room for growth , and the more 59:31.080 --> 59:33.358 ideally the the bigger the budget gets , 59:33.358 --> 59:35.580 the more opportunities there are uh for 59:35.580 --> 59:38.020 awards . And they say , Nancy , you've 59:38.020 --> 59:41.209 got your hand raised . I have a quick 59:41.209 --> 59:43.270 question for you . It's more of a 59:43.270 --> 59:46.570 forward uh looking uh insights that you 59:46.570 --> 59:49.570 might have . So given our current 59:49.570 --> 59:52.770 national focus on critical minerals , 59:52.929 --> 59:56.129 how is that translating into SBR STTR 59:56.129 --> 01:00:00.110 activities , both in terms of proposal 01:00:00.110 --> 01:00:02.689 volumes and maybe the types of 01:00:02.689 --> 01:00:05.570 innovations that are being pursued or 01:00:05.570 --> 01:00:08.929 DOD is focusing on ? So , Nancy , that 01:00:08.929 --> 01:00:12.330 is such an amazing question and uh so 01:00:12.330 --> 01:00:15.449 let me preface this with I am by no 01:00:15.449 --> 01:00:18.850 means an expert in uh rare earth 01:00:18.850 --> 01:00:21.050 elements , critical minerals , uh 01:00:21.050 --> 01:00:24.419 batteries . It is going to , we are 01:00:24.419 --> 01:00:26.860 going to see an influx of not only 01:00:26.860 --> 01:00:29.138 topics , but capabilities in this area . 01:00:29.138 --> 01:00:31.739 So I , I sit um as part of a , a sort 01:00:31.739 --> 01:00:34.239 of a quasi task force that , and my 01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:36.295 role in this task force is to figure 01:00:36.295 --> 01:00:38.620 out how we can bring DOD silver sitter 01:00:38.620 --> 01:00:40.939 into that um ecosystem . Obviously , I 01:00:40.939 --> 01:00:42.717 don't think you're gonna Have a 01:00:42.717 --> 01:00:44.772 situation where small businesses are 01:00:44.772 --> 01:00:46.828 gonna overnight become these magical 01:00:46.828 --> 01:00:49.840 incubators for uh huge volumes of rare 01:00:49.840 --> 01:00:51.951 earth elements , but they're going to 01:00:51.951 --> 01:00:54.209 contribute to alternative processing . 01:00:54.479 --> 01:00:56.360 um , and different pieces of the 01:00:56.360 --> 01:00:58.560 overall strategy . That is my really 01:00:58.560 --> 01:01:01.439 long-winded way of saying absolutely 01:01:01.439 --> 01:01:03.909 DOD servesitter is going to be playing . 01:01:04.159 --> 01:01:06.437 Uh , in that universe , and I think as , 01:01:06.437 --> 01:01:08.492 as you go forward again , and that's 01:01:08.492 --> 01:01:10.603 when we talk about our , our national 01:01:10.603 --> 01:01:12.770 priorities , right ? That's not just a 01:01:12.770 --> 01:01:14.826 defense priority , that's a national 01:01:14.826 --> 01:01:17.179 priority . Uh , so being able to 01:01:17.179 --> 01:01:19.459 understand and , and see almost those 01:01:19.459 --> 01:01:21.348 futuristic things , although it's 01:01:21.540 --> 01:01:23.762 really not future right now , like it's 01:01:23.762 --> 01:01:25.873 present day like we need to get after 01:01:25.873 --> 01:01:27.984 it . It is present day . Uh , I would 01:01:27.984 --> 01:01:30.219 be very surprised . If in this next , 01:01:30.270 --> 01:01:33.729 this FY 26 year , you don't see SBIR 01:01:33.729 --> 01:01:36.370 topics uh that are focused in those 01:01:36.370 --> 01:01:38.560 areas and figuring out how we can 01:01:38.560 --> 01:01:40.227 leverage all of the brilliant 01:01:40.227 --> 01:01:41.893 innovation , innovative small 01:01:41.893 --> 01:01:44.439 businesses around the country on things . 01:01:44.629 --> 01:01:47.770 Um . You can go to yer.gov . This is 01:01:47.770 --> 01:01:49.492 another resource you can go to 01:01:49.492 --> 01:01:51.548 cyber.gov and actually you can query 01:01:51.548 --> 01:01:53.770 awards a number of different ways , but 01:01:53.770 --> 01:01:55.659 you can query them by things like 01:01:55.659 --> 01:01:57.770 critical , um , critical elements and 01:01:57.770 --> 01:01:59.881 rare earth elements , and you can see 01:01:59.881 --> 01:02:01.992 there's been awards made to companies 01:02:01.992 --> 01:02:04.270 over the years , uh , in that area . I , 01:02:04.270 --> 01:02:06.492 I really could think we're going to see 01:02:06.492 --> 01:02:08.659 a continuation of that and a number of 01:02:08.659 --> 01:02:10.881 small businesses that operate in that , 01:02:10.881 --> 01:02:13.214 in that theater in that tech space , uh , 01:02:13.214 --> 01:02:15.326 continue to be a part of , of SBIR in 01:02:15.326 --> 01:02:17.548 the future . That's great . Thank you . 01:02:17.548 --> 01:02:17.455 Thanks , John , and thank you for the 01:02:17.455 --> 01:02:19.677 presentation . It was great , uh , very 01:02:19.677 --> 01:02:22.715 informative . I'll , I'll give it back 01:02:22.715 --> 01:02:26.010 to you now . Thank you . No . So I , 01:02:26.169 --> 01:02:28.370 we're a couple minutes over , um , but 01:02:28.370 --> 01:02:30.537 I mean , unless there's any other , if 01:02:30.537 --> 01:02:32.703 there's , I , I've got a few minutes . 01:02:32.703 --> 01:02:34.814 If there's other questions , if not , 01:02:34.814 --> 01:02:36.814 um , I think I I'll hand it back to 01:02:36.814 --> 01:02:38.481 Anna Lee or who's ever , uh , 01:02:38.481 --> 01:02:40.814 controlling it , but thank you all . Um , 01:02:40.850 --> 01:02:43.072 it's lunchtime , right ? Or I hopefully 01:02:43.072 --> 01:02:45.183 everybody is not like , hopefully I'm 01:02:45.183 --> 01:02:47.239 not the one standing between you and 01:02:47.239 --> 01:02:49.461 lunch , right ? Is the is the statement 01:02:49.461 --> 01:02:51.572 right ? But this was awesome . I hope 01:02:51.572 --> 01:02:51.010 you found this to be informative . It 01:02:51.010 --> 01:02:53.679 is a lot of information , but we really , 01:02:53.810 --> 01:02:56.399 we truly try . Uh , to make sure that 01:02:56.449 --> 01:02:58.449 you guys get it all and you get the 01:02:58.449 --> 01:03:00.770 foundational work behind SBIR you get 01:03:00.770 --> 01:03:02.850 all the ins and outs , um , right , 01:03:03.090 --> 01:03:05.201 because we want to be able to posture 01:03:05.201 --> 01:03:07.257 you as , as small businesses to be a 01:03:07.257 --> 01:03:09.368 part , uh , of the defense industrial 01:03:09.368 --> 01:03:11.090 base , to be a part of all the 01:03:11.090 --> 01:03:13.146 solutions that we're looking to fund 01:03:13.146 --> 01:03:15.146 through this program . So thank you 01:03:15.146 --> 01:03:17.368 guys so much . I really appreciate it , 01:03:17.368 --> 01:03:19.534 um , and have a great rest of your day 01:03:19.534 --> 01:03:18.689 and , and rest of your week .