Most people are familiar with large aerospace companies such as Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed-Martin, but how many know that thousands of suppliers, including small businesses, contribute to NASA’s missions?
Many small businesses themselves, particularly those representing minority, underrepresented, or underserved segments of society, do not know of the opportunities as well. However, a recent “Minority Boot Camp” pilot project supported by NASA’s Stennis Space Center focused on changing that fact.
Over six weekly virtual sessions spanning February and March, the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office located at Stennis worked with (1) the Small Business Administration’s Louisiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) based at Louisiana State University, (2) the Small Business Administration’s Office of Investment and Innovation, (3) Xavier University of Louisiana, and (4) the NASA Office of Technology Development to offer more than 300 boot camp participants a unique opportunity to learn about federal research-and-development (R&D) funding opportunities for university faculty and small businesses. During virtual sessions, individuals also learned about the processes of bidding on federal contracts and drafting federally sponsored research proposals.
Participants included representatives of minority- and womenowned small businesses; higher education leadership, faculty, and student communities; area resource partners and stakeholders; and several federal labs, including NASA, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Defense.
The SBDC utilized federal grant funds to organize the “Minority Boot Camp” pilot project as part of its outreach efforts to help make minority-owned companies and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) more aware of the opportunities to receive funding through the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant programs.
The project included information on NASA’s SBIR and STTR Programs and other agency collaboration opportunities. For example, NASA’s Patent Portfolio contains a list of commercially viable patents available for licensing by companies. Small businesses also may submit research proposals in collaboration with universities and research laboratories – all geared toward developing technologies that advance the nation’s space program and improve life on Earth.
The event at Xavier University was loosely modeled after a similar minority-oriented bootcamp held several years ago at Mississippi’s Jackson State University, a public HBCU.
“Our primary purpose is to provide technology transfer and commercialization support to NASA at large and Stennis in particular to meet mission-critical goals and objectives, as well as to identify Louisiana universities and companies that can help NASA solve technical problems,” said Victor “Vic” Johnson, associate director of the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, a full-time staffed resident agency at Stennis for the past 22 years.
“We also work with the NASA Office of Small Business Programs at Stennis to help small businesses in Louisiana position themselves to bid on NASA contract opportunities,” Johnson added.
The Stennis-based office represents the State of Louisiana through the Office of the Governor and the Louisiana Economic Development, as well as the public higher education system through the Louisiana Board of Regents.
“Our Small Business Development Center at LSU works closely with the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office at Stennis to support projects such as the boot camp,” said William “Hutch” McClendon, business consultant with the Louisiana SBDC. “We also serve as an important resource for the office in areas such as SBIR program outreach for NASA.”
NASA engineer Dawn Davis, director of the Stennis Office of Technology Development, presented during the third of the six virtual sessions. “I gave an overview of NASA’s technology transfer and SBIR/STTR programs and of other opportunities available for universities and business communities,” Davis said. “I also provided information regarding other student opportunities through NASA’s internship programs.”
The boot camp supported NASA’s new Equity Action Plan that seeks to broaden opportunities for underrepresented and underserved communities. “This plan seeks to further identify and remove the barriers that limit opportunity in historically underserved and underrepresented communities and anchor equity as a core component in every NASA mission to inspire a new, more inclusive generation,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson notes in an introductory letter.
Based on the success of this initial effort, Johnson said his office is exploring the possibility of hosting a minority-focused boot camp later this year at another HBCU in Louisiana. “When you have that kind of relationship and partnership at NASA, good things are going to happen,” concluded Johnson.
For information about Stennis Space Center, visit:
C. Lacy Thompson
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
228-363-5499
calvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov