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DMCSP BSTI Board Meeting
November 12
The NC OSTI/BSTI is seeking partnership in establishing a new center/organization, to be formed in FY25, that serves as an intermediary for global innovation across the commercial and defense markets, leveraging agile government acquisition models while serving as the nexus between academia, commercial industry, nonprofits, capital partners and governments focused on innovation for the betterment of society. The center will serve as an Innovation as a Service (IaaS) organizer across the global health and security enterprise. The center will provide physical location to support operation and organization as it relates to advancing a broad range of critical technology areas relevant to regional capabilities and needs for government partners.
Background Information:
- In 2023, the State of North Carolina recommended the formation of a NC Defense Innovation Network (DIN), led by the NC Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology and Innovation (OSTI) and supported by the statutorily authorized 25-member Board of Science, Technology and Innovation (BSTI). The DIN is the coordinating entity that enables improved collaboration management and communication among existing, high-impact activities of the State’s innovation ecosystem and improves the linkage between this ecosystem and regional Department of Defense assets.
- In 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) and the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) has communicated interest in establishing an OnRamp Hub in North Carolina that would serve as the Southeastern US central location to support the execution of programs to support national security. Operationally, the OnRamp Hub, meeting the goals of the NC DIN, works to execute a coordinated, ongoing set of research, planning, outreach, training, opportunity identification, business assistance and relationship-building activities at the strategic and operational levels.
- In 2020, RTI International published a report on A Blueprint for Building an Innovation Corridor, which provides guidance to creating more broad-based growth across a geographic region by leveraging the innovation and placemaking assets through a high-performing innovation hub. The Innovation Center is aligned to delivering upon the recommendations of this report to the needs of the regional national security industry.
Benefiting Sectors:
- For Academia: Facilitate research-to-market pathways and partnerships with government and commercial entities for practical application of innovations.
- For Commercial Industry: Access to government and commercial market on-ramps, incubators and off-ramps helping companies navigate the complexities of the industry.
- For Nonprofits: Enable organizations to contribute to global innovation and social impact initiatives, particularly in global health and security contexts.
- For Capital Partners: Provide opportunities for impact investment with measurable social, technological and defense outcomes.
- For Government: Provide a capacity builder by allowing insight and leverage across academic, commercial capital and government strategic partnerships in support of our global security initiatives.
Benefits Provided:
- Cross-Sector Collaboration: Enable seamless collaboration between defense, commercial industries, academia and nonprofits for innovative, dual-use solutions.
- Agile Acquisition Expertise: Assist government and industry to navigate and leverage modern, flexible government acquisition models to speed up procurement.
- Innovative Solutions for Global Challenges: Facilitate the development of breakthrough innovations aimed at addressing global challenges like climate change, cybersecurity, and public health.
- Reduced Friction for Innovation: Streamline the path from research and development to government and commercial application, lowering barriers to market entry.
Potential Partners:
- Government Agencies: Global, Federal, and state organizations focused on innovation, experimentation and exploration.
- Commercial Industry: Technology firms, defense contractors, and startups that provide innovative solutions and need assistance navigating the commercial and defense market.
- Academia: Universities and research institutions that focus on cutting-edge technologies and methodologies.
- Nonprofits: Advocacy and research organizations addressing global challenges and goals (e.g., environment, health, social equity, social impact.)
- Capital Partners: Venture capitalists, private equity, and impact investors interested in funding innovative solutions. This includes incubators, accelerators, and innovation clusters fostering startups and research.
- International Governments: Foreign governments engaged in defense and innovation partnerships.
- Think Tanks and Research Networks: Independent organizations providing strategic insights and future-facing research.
Customer Segments
- Government & Defense Agencies: Federal and state-level organizations looking to leverage a lean innovation framework to accelerate their own interests.
- Commercial Industry: Startups, large enterprises, and tech companies looking to expand into government markets or innovate within the defense sector and find new commercial and government partnerships.
- Academia: Universities and research institutions seeking to commercialize research or develop dual-use technologies.
- Nonprofits: Mission-driven organizations looking to collaborate on projects that align with their specific objectives in enabling innovation within commercial and dual-use technology development and commercialization.
- Capital Partners: Incubators, venture capital firms and impact investors interested in funding projects with both commercial viability and public benefit.
Funding
- Federal Appropriation: OSTI/BSTI has communicated with US Sen. Ted Budd’s office to recommend support of appropriating funds designated for NSIN’s OnRamp Hub expansion, which is estimated to cost ~$6.5M/yr to support operations.
- State of North Carolina: OSTI/BSTI intends to submit a funding request for the establishment of center/organization and supporting advancement of NC national security programs to the NC General Assembly for FY25 and FY26.
- U.S. Federal Agencies: OSTI/BSTI is engaging strategic federal government stakeholders to support the center/organization.
For more information, contact:
- Dr. John Hardin (jhardin@commerce.nc.gov), Executive Director, OSTI
- Dr. Jess Jur ( jjur@commerce.nc.gov), Deputy Director, OSTI
- Nicholas Vandre (nicholas.a.vandre@gmail.com), NC Defense Innovation Policy Specialist, OSTI
