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As July comes to a close, we're celebrating some significant accomplishments in Congress this week with defense legislation.
- The defense bill is through the appropriations subcommittees in both the Senate and the House, setting up the possibility that not only defense spending but all federal spending bills will be passed before the end of the fiscal year.
- The Senate passed its version of the NDAA yesterday, considering over 900 amendments and adopting 121. The House passed the NDAA two weeks ago.
- Congress leaves for August recess next week, giving the full chambers a month to resolve differences between these bills when they return in September.
- We share analysis of some of this legislation from Matt MacGregor and Pete Modigliani, who gloss the HAC-D bill and the SASC NDAA, completed last week.
- We've also got a helpful infographic on the recently released guidance on Other Transaction Authorities.
In acquisition news, DoD and the federal government are increasingly using commercial capabilities, as several stories this week point out.
- The Transportation Department announced the Tanker Security Program, which puts 9 commercial tankers on call for government or military needs.
- Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, nominee for the next SPACECOM commander, strongly endorsed taking a "buy first" approach to space technology, noting that strong partnerships with commercial providers bring many benefits -- namely, speed and agility.
- Space Systems Command released a draft framework for a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve, which would formalize how DoD could leverage commercial space capabilities. In times of national emergency or war, DoD would gain exclusive access to commercial satellite capabilities.
DIB chair Mike Bloomberg has published commentary on the challenges inhibiting fast adoption of innovative technologies in DoD.
- He calls for adoption of a legislative proposal sent from the Pentagon to Congress that would allow the military to acquire new capabilities before a final budget is approved by Congress each year.
Lots of new positions have been announced or nominated, including three new assistant secretary positions in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering leading critical technology, science and technology, and mission capabilities.
DoD transmitted the final rule for CMMC to OMB this week -- expect it to be posted in September, when it may be due for more public feedback.
DoD and the Department of Commerce have signed a MOA establishing tighter relationships and information-sharing about semiconductor manufacturing, part of the CHIPS Act.
In NPS news, research on climate to support SECNAV goals of sustainability and an interview with President Rondeau detailing benefits of and changes to NPS graduate education. It's a great overview of how the school operates to deliver warfighting capability through advanced research, education, and innovation.
Our top story comes from this week's NCMA World Congress, where former NPS professor Dan Finkenstadt received the 2023 Innovation in Contracting Award for a project developed in collaboration with ARP: the Simulation and Ideation Lab for Applied Sciences (SILAS).
- We've shared research from students who have made use of the SILAS facility, including several theses producing gamified acquisition training.
- Read the full article to learn more about SILAS' inception and its next evolutionary phase, tied to larger innovation-focused efforts underway at NPS.
This Week's Top Story
NPS Professor, New Innovation Lab Honored With Prestigious Contracting Award
Matthew Schehl, Naval Postgraduate School
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Finkenstadt, a former NPS assistant professor in the Department of Defense Management (DDM), received the 2023 Innovation in Contracting Award from the National Contract Management Association for his efforts to develop NPS’ Simulation and Ideation Lab for Applied Sciences (SILAS). (Photo courtesy National Contract Management Association)
Innovation at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) isn’t just limited to new technology. A groundbreaking laboratory developed in the school’s Department of Defense Management (DDM) is becoming a key enabler to student innovation efforts in contracting – and earning national recognition in the process.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Finkenstadt, a former assistant professor in DDM, was honored with the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) 2023 Innovation in Contracting Award for his establishment of NPS’ Simulation and Ideation Lab for Applied Sciences (SILAS), a mobile computer lab dedicated to supporting the creativity and collaboration necessary for acquisition and DDM’s new Innovation Capstone Project (ICP) initiative. SILAS uses innovative gaming and simulations to educate and train contracting officers, improving how the military buys and delivers weapons and supplies.
“Winning this award demonstrates two important things,” said Finkenstadt, who received his award at the 2023 NMCA World Congress, held July 23-26 in Nashville, Tennessee. “First, that the work being done at SILAS is relevant to the larger acquisition community, and second, that SILAS has successfully created a multi-disciplinary, multi-organizational environment for evolutionary ideation and innovation.”
“The lab has grown from a grassroots idea between the NPS’ Acquisition Research Program, a few students, and myself into the model for innovation capstones at NPS that has partnered with everyone from the University of California, Berkeley engineering students to computer scientists at North Carolina State University,” he continued. “The products and research completed within SILAS will also build on each other and mature from cohort to cohort, creating a stream of research that allows for greater validation.”
As a physical space, SILAS consists of a dozen interconnected, high-speed gaming laptops laid out to encourage collaboration. As a concept, SILAS is designed to be a formidable catalyst of innovation.
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