Federal Research Environment for the Department of Defense

A Presentation to UC Riverside

Michael Ledford, Kaitlin Chell, and Karen MowrerLewis-Burke Associates, LLC

January 2014

Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC is a leading full-service government relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy interests of institutions of higher education and other researchand education organizations

• Began working with UC Riverside in November 2012• 23 professional staff members• 26 clients, all nonprofits involved in research and/or education

– 15 universities– 3 contractors running national research facilities– 8 associations

Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC

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• Advanced intel on new programs and emerging agency themes.• Strategic university-wide agenda development.• Enhancing resources for researchers.

– Information on new funding initiatives and prominent solicitations.– Support for post-docs and graduate students.– Thematic deep dives on federal funding.– Support for early career faculty.

• Coalition building.• Program and project support at both political and policy levels.• Positioning and profile enhancement.

Select Services

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Department of Defense

• DOD basic and applied research priorities in FY 14 despite overall RDTE cuts– However, DOD officials indicate investment accounts will be cut in FY 2015

budget request– Success rates lower, fewer extensions, some select areas cut by as much as

20-30%– Air Force and Navy positioned to do better than Army

• Ongoing debate about feasibility of Strategic Guidance if sequester not reversed (long-term)– Service branch research offices implementing cuts differently– Cognitive sciences, synthetic biology, advanced materials, and quantum

information sciences key foci; maintaining technological workforce also a major concern (particularly cyber)

– Shift to Asia is still an undercurrent4

Service Branch Research Offices

• Army Research Office – Continues strong focus around broad basic research topics including

physics, materials, computing, engineering, life sciences, and environmental sciences

– Emphasis remains around broad scientific areas, but ARO is aligned with crosscutting DOD priorities like big data, manufacturing, and materials

• Office of Naval Research– Leading funder of basic research across service branches– Priorities include sensors/communications, energy, and portable weapons

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research– Recent realignment under five new thrust areas reflects increasing

interdisciplinary approach to funding research– Priorities include cyber/information science, materials, alternative energy, and

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• Standard grants and contracts – – Broad Agency Announcements– Special program announcements (e.g. Minerva, Multi-

disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), Young Investigator Programs)

• Cooperative Research Agreement (CRA)• Cooperative Technology Agreement (CTA)• Center of Excellence (COE)• Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts

Signature DOD Funding Mechanisms

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Other DOD Research Entities

• DARPA – Focused on game-changing R&D around threats of the future; program managers enjoy

broad autonomy in funding projects• SEED awards also possible for ideas with promise but more demonstration necessary

– Cyber/cloud computing, big data, and health/biological research top priorities under new Director Prabhakar

• DTRA– Basic and applied research on bio/chemical/nuclear/information sciences geared

towards countering weapons of mass destruction– Small, but underutilized research opportunity for universities (~$50 m in basic research)

• Chemical-Biological Research (~$60 million)– Targeted BAAs released throughout the year– Non-medical: nano, cognition, information science, bioscience– Medical Biological Defense Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative: diagnostic

technologies, vaccine, therapeutic – viral, toxin, bacterial– Medical Chemical Defense – Smallest Area: respiratory, cutaneous and ocular, neurological,

toxicology7

SERDP/ESTCP

• Workshops – identify key priorities (e.g. groundwater contamination, sustainable water usage, climate change, energy and water, materials research for stealth warfare technology, etc.)• SERDP-reducing energy and water consumption; invests in

both basic and applied• ESTCP-technology demonstration and validation program• SERDP Core Solicitation – Pre-proposals due Jan 9, SEED

Solicitation – Proposals due Mar 14.• ESTCP likely early 2014 release

• New leadership (Acting: Anne Andrews) at SERDP/ESTCP presents opportunities for changes; ARPA-E Workshop good opportunity8

Intelligence Community: Opportunities for Engagement

• NSA (National Security Agency) – Centers of Excellence for Information Assurance – Academic and Research– New emphasis on “cyberdefense”– e.g., Key research topics – Mobility, Software assurance, Virtualization,

• DIA/ODNI (Defense Intelligence Agency)– Centers for Academic Excellence (Jan 2014)– Postdoc Research Fellowships (Nov 2013)

• NGA (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency)– NARP - Academic Research Program (BAA –Winter 2014)

• University research initiatives – basic research• Research Collaboration Grants - GEOINT• New Scientific and Technical Innovative Research grants (early career)

• IARPA (Intel Community – DARPA)– Select Programs – Abstracts and Proposers’ Day conference CRITICAL– Active BAAs (Office of Incisive Analysis, Office of Safe & Secure Operations, Office of Smart

Collection)– New: bio-intelligence chip (i.e. exposure to chem-bio agents).

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Other Key Defense Health Engagement Areas

• Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP)– Broad umbrella with active solicitations throughout the year (typically

1/year for each sub-program – e.g. Breast Cancer Research, TBI, etc.)• Combat Casualty Care

– Device, mobile, on site interventions, traumatic brain injury• Telemedicine and Advanced Robotics (TATRC)

– Medical devices, trauma, neuroscience, biomaterials• Social and Behavioral Research:

– Cross DOD - Human Social Cultural Behavioral Modeling (~$20 million)• Minerva Program (basic research)

– U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences– ARO - Cultural and Behavioral, Institutional and Organizational Science

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Looking Ahead

• Must lead with DOD mission to be responsive to sponsor needs

• R&D and basic research still a TOP priority on both sides of the aisle in Congress, but there is competition for limited dollars as more institutions turn toward DOD

• Public-private partnerships will remain the favored mechanism for very large-scale efforts

• Proposers Days, RFIs, and meetings with program managers still key to determining and influencing agency policy and research directions

• Shared milestones and progress reports part of the culture11

Contact

Kaitlin ChellLewis-Burke Associates LLC

1341 G Street, NWEighth Floor

Washington, D.C. 20005e: kaitlin@lewis-burke.com

p: 202.289.7475f: 202.289.7454

www.lewis-burke.com

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