Changing the Way We Change: The State of Government Contracting for Innovation
Anne Laurent and other contracting experts from across the Army explain the current status of government contracting, what’s already changed, and what new changes are coming to make this vision of modernization a reality.
What you’ll find out
- How the Army is making contracting easier (07:39)
- What companies should do to break into federal contracting (14:30)
- Where to go if you’re new to federal contracting (16:00)
- How larger companies help smaller companies (21:00)
- What’s the most significant change the Army must make (28:38)
Key quotes
- “There are contracting tools right here in the Defense Department that can improve communication and collaboration between AI companies and end users. You can negotiate IP. There’s lots of ways to do so now.” — Anne Laurent, NCMA Director of Professional Practice and Innovation (03:54)
- “From an AAL perspective, one of the biggest things for us is speed…We need to get you money faster. From an Army perspective, that gets us capabilities faster. From a company perspective, it makes it feasible for you to work with us because you’re not paying out of pocket.” — Dr. Casey Perley, Director of Insights and Analysis of AAL (07:45)
- “Policy is there for a reason. Statute is of course there for a reason. But I am encouraging my team and all of our acquisition professionals to question everything and see what we can do again to break down barriers.” — Matt Willis, Director of Army Prize Competitions and Army Applied Cyber Programs (10:20)
- “We are working very closely with our contracting professionals to ensure that they understand that we need to be transparent in our process. We need to be involved early.” — Laurice Sosa, APG Program Integrator at Army Contracting Command (12:00)
- “This acts as a friendly front door for small businesses who might have the technology but don’t know if it has an Army application.” — Matt Willis, Director of Army Prize Competitions and Army Applied Cyber Programs (17:26)
- “Let’s go take that hardware, let’s take it to the Army, and we’ll do it as a team. It benefits the small business, benefits the Army, benefits IBM. It’s a win, win, win.” — Brian Cook, IBM, AFC & FORSCOM Account Manager (22:39)
- “Programs like Matt’s put out incredible resources. Templates for how to write a proposal are out there. If you don’t know what you’re doing, ask. We’ll send them to you! Take advantage of what already exists.” — Dr. Casey Perley, Director of Insights and Analysis of AAL (26:50)
Who you’ll hear from
Anne Laurent, NCMA Director Professional Practice and Innovation
Casey Perley, AAL Director Insights and Analysis
Matt Willis, Army Director Prize Competitions and Army Applied SBIR Program
Brian Cook, IBM, AFC & FORSCOM Account Manager
Laurice Sosa, Army Contracting Command APO Program Integrator
About Fed Supernova
Fed Supernova is a two-day annual conference highlighting defense innovation in Texas. This first-of-its-kind interactive experience draws national attention and connects leading entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders, corporations, and decision makers from around the world.About Capital Factory
Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas, the number one startup state in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, programmers and designers gather day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes and coworking. With boots on the ground in Austin, Dallas and Houston, we meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active investor in Texas since 2013.
