Secretary James speaks at Innovation Forum

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Sarah Johnson
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James addressed more than 80 professionals during the Air Force Innovation Forum hosted by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and the Governor's Military Council Oct. 17 at the Brocade Campus in San Jose, Calif.

Held at locations across the country, the Innovation Forum facilitates discussion between Air Force leaders and local nondefense companies regarding the acquisition of diverse, cutting-edge technologies to aid the Air Force mission. This event is seen as a key step toward expanding the collaborative process between the Air Force and qualified companies in California.

"We in the Air Force are really committed to deepening the ties that we have with startups, nondefense companies and other partners," said Secretary James.

Though adverse weather prevented the Secretary from attending the event personally, as she had planned, she made every effort to connect remotely. Attendees were able to hear her keynote address via Skype, as well as ask questions relating to key topics.

The forum discussed current efforts to optimize nondefense contributions as well as systems to encourage diversity among the sectors represented in the partnerships, including technology, manufacturing, universities and venture capital groups.

The primary purpose of the forum, however, was accomplished through two-way discussion with the regional industries and academic institutions that attended.  The participative format of the event allowed these audience members to brainstorm in small groups and provide feedback directly to Air Force leaders about the collaborative opportunities currently offered. They also were invited to share ideas on streamlining the acquisition process.

As seen throughout the forum, the benefits of contracting nontraditional companies are numerous. Previously, some Air Force communications systems underwent five to eight years of research and development each time a system upgrade was needed - a major delay in such a fast-paced environment. To solve the problem, the Air Force developed a more open-ended framework which allowed outside vendors to test simulated versions of their solutions against Air Force requirements. The Air Force could then decide which solutions to fund and incorporate, cutting the system upgrade time to just seven months.

Due to the success of projects like this one, the Air Force is developing a permanent contract vehicle called the Open Systems Acquisition which uses similar crowdsourcing techniques to award nondefense partnerships to vendors. Companies will compete for rapid turnaround prototype projects using a pre-qualified online consortium that lists current Air Force needs. Using the OSA, the Air Force hopes to accomplish a three-to-four-week turnaround between the project proposal and the contract being awarded to a vendor.

It is this diversity of thought and engagement with a wide variety of American industry partners that broadens the Air Force's horizon to include more cutting-edge technology, research and development. While a simpler acquisition process is certainly a benefit, these partnerships are most important in their effectiveness to quickly and efficiently deliver new capabilities to warfighters. Continued technological superiority is essential to the military, as it is more challenged today than ever before. James and the Innovation Forum are dedicated to doing exactly that.

"The ability to achieve technological breakthroughs has moved out of the labs, in many cases, and into the small firms, which is why we consider it so important that we reform our current process," said James. "We have to be able to keep up a better pace in a digital world."