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Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) emphasized the importance of collaborating with small businesses to increase capability, citing agility and innovation during the 2024 National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Department of the Navy (DON) Gold Coast Conference. Held Aug. 19 to 21 in San Diego, Gold Coast is the premier Navy procurement expo in the country, providing a forum to educate, guide, and assist businesses, large and small, in support of the warfighter mission within the DON and Department of Defense (DOD).
The 1NAVWAR enterprise -- including headquarters, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, NIWC Atlantic, Program Executive Office (PEO) Manpower, Logistics and Business (MLB), PEO Digital and Enterprise Services (Digital) and PEO Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) -- was present to network with potential industry partners. Representatives from NAVWAR, NIWC Atlantic and NIWC Pacific Office of Small Business Program (OSBP) as well as NAVWAR’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) program were available to answer any questions from interested attendees on the main exhibit floor.
“Gold Coast is always a good opportunity to network with as many small businesses as we can. Being here with all the PEOs and NIWC Pacific as part of the 1NAVWAR enterprise, we were able to collaborate on how we do business together with each other in addition to industry,” said Kimberly Reidy, director of NAVWAR OSBP. “Small businesses are vital to NAVWAR and the Navy as a whole because it’s where we find innovation and agility. Over the past 10 years, the defense industrial base has been shrinking, so it’s important to remove as many barriers to entry as we can to build it back up again to support our warfighters.”
Networking and maintaining relationships with small businesses is a top priority for PEO MLB, Digital and C4I, all of which sent multiple leaders to Gold Coast to participate in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with industry representatives. This was the first time PEO C4I came to Gold Coast. Throughout the three-day conference, the PEOs met with nearly 70 different small businesses through matchmaking. Additionally, PEO MLB hosted an exhibit table to speak with small businesses that did not sign up for matchmaking.
Mark Compton, command information security officer at NAVWAR, spoke on a panel with other cyber, employment and education experts about the importance of continuous training to upskill a workforce to tackle emerging cybersecurity challenges.
“At NAVWAR, we are able to drive innovation through competition, like HACKtheMACHINE Unmanned, where industry and academia come together to develop autonomous capabilities,” he said. “These events provide a platform for small businesses, start-ups and academia to present cutting-edge solutions directly applicable to Navy challenges.”
Reidy spoke on a panel titled “What is the DON buying?” with other small business program directors from the Marine Corps and Office of Naval Research. During her presentation, she highlighted the industries NAVWAR has worked with in the past, including engineering, computer systems design and communications equipment manufacturing. She also discussed upcoming NAVWAR events for attendees interested in connecting further.
“We want to grow and adapt alongside small businesses as we both learn how to better navigate this process, like providing feedback on submitted requests for information and communicating our opportunities through regular announcements and attending forward-facing events like this one,” she said. “This is how we continue to grow our defense industrial base and support the DOD-wide priority to collaborate with small businesses to meet our evolving warfighting needs.”
In fiscal year 2023, NAVWAR spent more than $2 billion on contracts with small business and is constantly looking for ways to partner with more. By participating in events like Gold Coast and hosting contests like the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Challenge, NAVWAR strives to enhance its capability and innovation through connections with small business.
“The Navy and NAVWAR rely heavily on a strong, collaborative relationship with our defense industrial base to provide the information warfare capabilities that generate decision advantage for our warfighters,” said Compton. “As the backbone of our national economy, our nation’s small businesses play a key role by driving innovation with cutting-edge capabilities. Together, we can successfully protect the data of the decision advantage innovations you design, develop and bring to the fight."
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2024 14:14 |
| Story ID: | 479554 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 191 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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