The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) held its 28th annual Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event in San Diego on August 23 and 24, 2016. The purpose of Navy Gold Coast is to provide a forum to educate, guide, and assist small businesses in working with the government, primarily the Department of Defense.
More than 1500 attended the event from around the United States. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Business of Innovation.” NDIA had Informative and motivating speakers presenting topics of interest regarding working with the government, specifically the Department of the Navy.
The conference began with a welcome from General Craig McKinley, USAF (Ret.), president & CEO of NDIA. GEN McKinley encouraged conference participants to make the most of their time at Navy Gold Coast, connecting with other businesses and the government entities present this year. Next up at the opening breakfast was Emily Harman, director of the Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs. Harman laid out the strategic priorities for the Navy’s Small Business offices and then sat down with Robert Smith, Department of the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR).
Smith spoke to the crowd, driving home the critical need to support small businesses, as they are the “key enablers of Navy innovation.” He emphasized that small business innovation research and technology transfer, by expanding funding opportunities in the federal innovation research and development (R&D), provides unique joint venture opportunities for small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. These partnerships bridge the gap between performance of basic science and commercialization of resulting innovations.
The Honorable Janine A. Davidson, Undersecretary of the Navy, laid out the Navy’s “innovation vision,” explaining that “innovation is not just about buying a new platform or weapon system; rather it is about changing the way we think, challenging outdated assumptions, and removing bureaucratic processes that prevent great ideas from becoming reality. Innovation, and ultimately the success of our naval mission, is based on three fundamental things: People, Information, and Ideas.”
Workshops included a government panel on Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Experimentation and Adaptive Force Packaging, with moderator Carmela Keeney, Executive Director of SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific. Panelists for this event included Scott Dilisio, OPNAV N42, Alan Kent, Technical Director of NUWC Keyport, and Jeanette Evans-Morgis, Deputy Commander for Systems Engineering, Interoperability, Architecture and Technology (SIAT), Marine Corps Systems Command. This panel discussed the Strategic initiative by the Navy and Marine Corps to rapidly introduce new warfighting capabilities to the fleet. An essential element in the Navy’s strategy to employ innovative technologies, the initiative would help the military pace the dynamic threat of our adversaries, more quickly address urgent capability needs, accelerate our speed of innovation, and rapidly develop and deliver advanced warfighting capability to naval forces.
Government contracting was another key topic, with a panel moderated by Elliott Branch, DASN AP. Panelists for this workshop included Renae Kvendru (CCO, NAVFAC Southwest), John Coon (Capital Improvements Business Line Coordinator, NAVFAC Southwest), Kat Staron-Barabasz (PCO, SPAWAR) and Jeff Sanders (PEO C4I Tactical Networks Deputy Program Manager, Acting (PMW 160)).
During lunch on Wednesday, August 24th, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer spoke to conference attendees, underscoring the importance of supporting small, local businesses and opening up opportunities for those businesses to conduct business with government, at both the local and national levels.
Next year’s Navy Gold Coast even will once again be held in San Diego, at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, August 22–23, 2017.