SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Innovating technology development and acquisition doesn’t require the DoD to establish wholly new programs and procedures, at least with respect to prototyping and integrating key enabling technologies. The SBIR program has not worked historically, but AFWERX’s recent experiments with directing Phase-I and Phase-II awards at adaptable commercial technologies demonstrates the potential — at least on the front end. Application of commercial accelerator tools could extend this success to Phase-III. An Accelerator-Powered SBIR program can drive hundreds of relevant technology solutions into the Air Force innovation pipeline each year, build teams for collaborative lean prototyping, and set the conditions for successful product transition and market commercialization.
