The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this month created a new “innovation framework” to make it easier for start-up companies and non-traditional government contractors to work with the department and to speed the acquisition of potential solutions, according to a notice DHS published in the FedBizOpps.gov.
The innovation framework will use a flexible industry engagement mechanism called an Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) “to promote competition among non-traditional government contractors, with a streamlined approach to address specific needs to the Homeland Security,” DHS says in the Dec. 9 notice. Other transaction authority typically doesn’t involve the requirements of procurement contracts, making it less burdensome to do business with the government.
The notice was published a day ahead of an Industry Day that DHS held in Silicon Valley to host start-ups, non-traditional businesses, and investors to discuss homeland security challenges with the Internet of Things, the benefits of the department’s new Silicon Valley Office Innovation Program, and how to apply for funding. Earlier this year DHS announced it would establish an office in Silicon Valley to strengthen relationships with technology firms there.
“We want to remove the barriers that limit the nation’s innovators from considering us as a technology partner,” says Reginald Brothers, DHS under secretary for Science and Technology. “The Innovation OTS will help engage some of the best minds on the most difficult homeland security problems.”
The Silicon Valley Office expects to have $20 million over the next five years to support the Innovation OTS
The Innovation OTS will utilize a streamlined evaluation approach whereby it will call for solutions to specific technical topic areas that will be reviewed in real-time by a DHS evaluation panel. The topics will be generated through “ideation” workshops, which will be focused on specific DHS needs, or requirements generated by department components.
“By providing clear government requirements and access to the end-user community, the OTS will help S&T invest smarter and harness the power of the nation’s innovation centers for government applications,” says Doug Maughan, director of S&T’s Cyber Security Division.
In its notice, DHS listed representative technical topic areas including Internet of Things (IoT) security, unmanned aerial systems security, aviation security, border security, biological threat defense, counterterrorism, cyber security, and support to first responders. The program acquisition framework will consist of four phases, each lasting three to six months, with $50,000 to $200,000 available in each one.
Already S&T has released its first call, which seeks proposals on solution to improve situational awareness and security measures for protecting IoT domains. Specifically, DHS says it is “seeking technologies to help the department and/or critical infrastructure managers gain comprehensive and near continuous knowledge of IoT systems that affect their operations and assets.”
Technical areas of interest for IoT security include detecting IoT components and connections, authenticating components, and updating IoT components.
The first phase is prototype development, the second is to further prototype development and demonstrate viability, the third is pilot testing in an operational environment, and the final phase is operational test and evaluation in multiple user scenarios.
Some of the advantages of the Innovation OTS include contracts awarded within 30 days of selection, a portion of funding transferred to awardees shortly after award to help with cash flow, intellectual property retention by the company, no dilution of ownership, rapid feedback from operators and users within the homeland security enterprise to help product teams improve their design, and the potential for accelerated procurement by DHS or other government agencies.