Partnering With USARIEM

USARIEM'S headquarters, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), recognizes that unique and innovative products or ideas that have been developed outside the government can help us accomplish our missions. The New Products and Ideas (NPI) web tool provides vendors an opportunity to showcase their products and ideas online and gives us visibility of these new product and idea submissions. Our subject matter experts assess these submissions, evaluate applicability to mission requirements, and provide a disposition to you. No funding is associated with NPI, but it offers a platform for constructive feedback.

You'll find the NPI website is easy to navigate and provides detailed descriptions of the types of medical solutions that we seek. To access, visit https://mrdc-npi.health.mil//

Submission to the NPI is not a substitute where other vehicles are more appropriate, such as responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) or Program Announcements (PAs), nor does it take the place of a pre-proposal that may be required by a BAA or PA.

A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) allows laboratory investigators to collaborate with scientists in industry and academia and work toward a common research goal. CRADAs are used for nondisclosure agreements, material transfer agreements and complex research and development collaborations.

A CRADA is a legal instrument that allows federal and nonfederal parties to join and conduct specified research- and development-related technology transfer activities that are consistent with the laboratory's mission. A CRADA is neither a procurement contract nor grant as defined in 31 U.S.C. 6303-6305 nor can it be used as substitute for one.

Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) coordinates Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Interagency Agreements (IAAs), Nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), and other technology transfer transactions.

Why is a CRADA important?

A CRADA allows the private sector to benefit from the technology and expertise developed by the federal government. The Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 created CRADAs as a vehicle whereby federal technology and research and development could be acquired by the private sector for its own use. This is sometimes referred to as "technology transfer".

What are the features of a CRADA?

• Special consideration is given to small business.
• CRADAs contain provisions addressing a variety of intellectual property issues such as data rights, property, ownership, and rights to future.
• Inventions are contained in the CRADA.
• he Government, at a minimum, must retain a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to make or have made for governmental purposes any inventions made in the performance of work done under the CRADA.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs allow small, high-tech U.S. businesses (less than 500 employees) and academia the opportunity to provide innovative research and development solutions in response to critical Army needs. By capturing the tremendous and agile talents of the U.S. small business community, the SBIR and STTR programs benefit the Department of Defense (DoD), the private sector, and our national economy. For more information on the Army SBIR and STTR programs please visit: https://www.armysbir.army.mil/.

Office of Small Business Programs

Small businesses play an integral role in supporting Department of Defense (DoD) priorities. The mission of the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) at the USAMRDC seeks to maximize opportunities for various categories of small businesses, and assists businesses in developing strategies to compete for procurements for products, services and business solutions. The USAMRDC OSBP has a successful track record of working with both internal and external stakeholders to make the most of small business firm collaborations that support sustained health services and research. The Acquisition Forecast, a projection of anticipated contracting opportunities, is released annually in accordance with Title V of Public Law 100-656. For more info on the OSBP, visit https://smallbusopps.health.mil/

1. Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC)

   The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is a national consortium of industry, academia, and other entities organized and operated through a nonprofit corporation. Members hail from small and large businesses, academic medical research organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and nontraditional government contractors.

   The USAMRDC works with MTEC through a prototype Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). This innovative tool leverages public and private resources to foster integrated research, focus technologies in a number of military-relevant areas, and afford greater flexibility for medical prototype development on biomedical technologies.

   Visit http://mtec-sc.org/ to learn more about the consortium and the process to partner.

2. Program Announcements (PAs)

   Program Announcements (PAs) identify basic and applied research topics that the USAMRDC is particularly interested in funding on a competitive basis. Announcements are posted on https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html for grant seekers to find and apply for these funding opportunities. Each PA includes established open and close dates to submit proposals. To view a complete listing of PAs posted by the USAMRDC, visit http://www.Grants.gov/

3. Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

   The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a competitive process to invite basic and applied research submissions. The BAA provides a general description of USAMRDC research and development programs, evaluation and selection criteria, and proposal/application preparation instructions. Research funded through the BAA is expected to benefit and inform both military and civilian medical practice and knowledge. The BAA is a continuously open announcement; pre-proposals/pre-applications may be submitted at any time throughout the12-month period. You must be invited to submit a full proposal/application.

   To view the BAA posted by the USAMRDC, visit https://beta.sam.gov or http://www.Grants.gov Whether a PA or a BAA, all pre-proposals/pre-applications must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org

4. DoD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)

   Congressionally mandated, the DoD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were created to promote technological innovation and economic growth among small businesses through federal investment. The USAMRDC SBIR/STTR Office manages all medical topics, evaluations and other program management requirements on behalf of both the Army and Defense Health Agency SBIR/STTR programs

   SBIR/STTR programs provide a venue through which high-risk research initiatives may be pursued, and each year, the DoD issues multiple SBIR/STTR announcements. Eligible projects must have the potential to develop into a product or service for commercial and/or defense markets.

   For program details, visit the DoD SBIR/STTR website at www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir

You can find more general information about product and service entry points at the following:

1. http://www.aafes.com/vendors/default.asp
   The Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) is the U.S. Army's designated site to host all Army contracting opportunities. Army contracting personnel use the application to post procurement notices. Vendors (also referred to as 'industry') use the application to locate and respond to Army solicitations for goods and services. The ASFI is a publicly accessible web site located at https://acquisition.army.mil. Note – not all award postings are available on the ASFI.

2. Vendors should also search for active postings at FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov). The Government Point of Entry, located at www.fbo.gov, is the single point where Government business opportunities greater than $25,000, including synopses of proposed contract actions, solicitations, and associated information, can be accessed electronically by the public.