Information on the Department of Defense Open Business Cell

Thanks to Andy Poole at the Montana Department of Commerce http://commerce.mt.gov/ for sharing this information regarding new efforts for accessing DoD contracts.

Subject: Information on the Department of Defense Open Business Cell

Mr. Andrew Poole

Business Resources

Montana Department of Commerce

(406) 841-2707

Dear Mr. Poole,

It was a pleasure speaking with you this morning. I trust this information will be helpful.

Last year, the Department of Defense launched a new effort to fund innovators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and businesses large and small that have good ideas. It is the Open Business Cell and its associated website is http://DefenseSolutions.gov.

We seek new ideas to resolve some of our needs, and we especially want to find people that may never have done business with DoD before. Please help us inform Montana’s science, technology, research and development organizations and associated commercial businesses about this effort.

At our new website, http://www.DefenseSolutions.gov., we describe some of DoD’s needs. We want to develop the best ideas submitted by the public to the prototype stage for testing and evaluation, to see if they really are good solutions. DoD will fund these developments. Typically each project would be about half a million dollars and be completed in less than 24 months. If the prototypes successfully pass the field tests, there is solid potential for future procurement.

Our site has one or more topic areas for which companies and individuals may submit their ideas. Submitting an idea is entirely free form and can be done on the site with the click of a button. Additional topics will be added when more DoD needs are identified and money is available to fund prototype development. Interested people or companies can sign up at the site to be notified when new topics are posted.

Ideas that are competitively selected for development will use a “commercial-like” rapid contracting method that is easy for businesses and individuals to understand. Organizations and individuals submitting ideas need not be familiar with government contracting or procurement at all. All submitted ideas are protected and will not be disclosed except to the government experts that evaluate them. Most assuredly, they will not be disclosed to competitors.

We would appreciate your help in spreading the news of our endeavor throughout Montana’s commercial community and to any specialized state or regional organizations promoting research, development, science, or engineering.

One last thing. As you can see below, I am a contractor hired through my company, Strategic Analysis Inc., to operate the Open Business Cell for the Department of Defense. My binding Non-disclosure Agreement prevents me from communicating any information that I gain from the Open Business Cell to anyone, even my own company.

At your convenience, I would be pleased to speak with you again, or with your staff, about any further details of this effort.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Dave

David A. Edwards

Open Business Cell/Rapid Fielding Directorate/DDR&E

Contractor, Strategic Analysis Inc.

[email protected]

[email protected]

(703) 588-2413 (O)

(571) 334-7821 (cell)

1401 Wilson Blvd, Room 820

Arlington, VA 22209