We're Doing it to Ourselves
Government Opacity is Preventing Defense Innovation
In the pursuit of progress and innovation, transparency and collaboration play a pivotal role.
However, in the domain of defense innovation funding, a lack of openness hinders the sharing of vital information and potential opportunities.
This article sheds light on the importance of transparency in disseminating information about funding programs for businesses and the potential benefits of fostering a more open dialogue between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the private sector.
There are numerous funding opportunities for small and medium businesses and for others interested in bolstering our national defense.
But the Department of Defense sometimes takes paradoxical measures that inhibit access to these programs.
I don’t believe there’s some diabolical or nefarious reason for this, it’s likely just bureaucratic momentum.
For example, I recently received a list of departmental innovation funding opportunities, complete with descriptions, targeted technologies, TRLs, available funding, average timelines, and approval authorities. This is clearly GREAT information that would help tons of businesses better work with the DoD.
So what’s the problem?
I can’t share it.
That’s right; it’s marked ‘FOUO’ or For Official Use Only. That means that it is a controlled information that cannot be freely passed out to the businesses and organizations that would most benefit from it.
We (the DoD) profess a need for innovation, but then put in roadblocks. This is a simple, no-brainer to solve. We need increased transparency. The Department ought to create a public-facing website or similar resource with this all of this information, easily digestible.
Programs such as the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, or the Emerging Capabilities Technology Development, or the Rapid Prototyping Program, or the Warfighting Laboratory Incentive Fund are each unique opportunities for companies to partner with the government to improve our national security. There are plenty of others, but these are just a small sampling of the available programs.
This opacity though, challenges even seasoned veterans of the defense industry, as they try to keep pace with the changes that occur from year-to-year.
I guess until the government is willing to more freely share this information, companies will continue to be hamstrung and will have to invest time and effort in digging through various websites to try and identify these opportunities, or they will have to invest capital to hire people to help them navigate more quickly.
There’s a lot of money available for businesses looking to work with the DoD to improve our national security. Our national security ironically depends on increasing transparency to allow better partnerships between the government and the private sector.
If you’re a company looking to do business with the government, I implore you to research all the opportunities. There is one that will fit your stage / product. If you’re working within the DoD / military services, let’s try to do better at providing information about the existing opportunities out there. And regardless of where you work, please,
Keep building!
Andrew