xTechSearch 2

The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) is announcing the second cohort of the Army xTechSearch prize competition to be featured at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Meeting in Huntsville, AL, from March 26-28, 2019. xTechSearch will highlight opportunities for nontraditional defense partners to collaborate with the Army to tackle the most poignant Army modernization challenges.

The ASA(ALT) recognizes that the Army must enhance engagements with the entrepreneurial funded community, small businesses, and other non-traditional defense partners, by:

• Understanding the spectrum of technologies being developed commercially that may benefit the Army;
• Integrating the sector of nontraditional innovators into the Army’s research and development ecosystem; and
• Providing mentorship and expertise to accelerate, mature, and transition technologies of interest to the Army.

The xTechSearch program will provide resourcing to select businesses to demonstrate proof of concept for their technologies pertaining to Army challenges. The program will also integrate these nontraditional innovators into the Army’s Science and Technology (S&T) ecosystem by providing cooperative research opportunities with Army labs, including access to the Army’s organic intellectual and technical capital. xTechSearch is an opportunity for businesses to pitch novel technology solutions – a new application for an existing technology or a new technology concept entirely – to the Army. The Army will provide non-dilutive seed prizes for the companies to demonstrate proof of concept in an Army-relevant challenge area.

The entities allowed to participate in this competition are small businesses as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. § 638). Eligible businesses must fall within the Small Business Administration’s size standard for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes 541713, 541714 and 541715: 1,000 employees (under 13 CFR Part 121 Section 121.201). Sole proprietors may participate in xTechSearch if the individual is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and the business is registered in the United States. Foreign companies may participate in xTechSearch by establishing a US domestic business relationship (e.g., wholly owned US subsidiary) or partner with a US based company. Companies that have previously participated in the xTechSearch competition are eligible to participate for new technology concepts or improvements to prior submitted proposals.

Each company:

• Shall provide registration information and upload proposal submission in the Challenge.gov portal by 11:59 PM PST on December 31, 2018;
• Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States;
• May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of Army science and technology ecosystem including Warfighter, acquisition, and research and development subject matter experts.

Phase I: Concept White Paper

Concept White Papers will be ranked using the following Scoring Criteria:

• Potential for Impact/Revolutionizing the Army – 50%
• Scientific and Engineering Viability – 50%

Phase II: Technology Pitches

Technology Pitches will be ranked using the following Scoring Criteria:

• Potential for Impact/Revolutionizing the Army - 40%
• Scientific and Engineering Viability – 40%
• Proof-of-Concept Demonstration Plan - 10%
• Team Ability - 10%

The xTechSearch program is voluntary and open to all interested traditional and nontraditional businesses that meet the eligibility requirements.

The Phase I proposal must be a white paper describing the novel technology concept, innovative application concept and integration with one or more of the Army’s technology focus areas. The Phase I proposal must be submitted via the Challenge.gov portal as a single searchable PDF file containing:

• Title
• Author(s)
• Army Technology Focus Area: Choose from the eight Technology Focus Area(s) that the proposal addresses
• Keyword(s): Provide up to 10 keywords that describe the technology
• Abstract: Provide an abstract (up to 250 words)
• White Paper: Technology proposal concept, no greater than 1,000 words (not including title, author(s), keywords, abstract, graphs, figures or images). The word limit on the White Paper submission will be strictly enforced.
• List of prior SBIR awards in the past 5 years: Include Date award received, Funding organization, Phase of awards, and Topic Title awarded
• Company Biography (Optional): Company background information, up to 1 page

The submission package must be provided to the xTechSearch Challenge.gov portal by 11:59 PM PST on December 31, 2018. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

Registered participants shall be required to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in this prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. Participants shall be required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in amounts determined by the Army, for claims by—

• Third parties for death, bodily injury, or property damage, or loss resulting from an activity carried out in connection with participation in this prize competition, with the Federal Government named as an additional insured under the registered participant’s insurance policy and registered participants agreeing to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to prize competition activities; and
• Federal Government for damage or loss to Government property resulting from such an activity.

Intellectual property

The Army is a strong proponent of deliberate intellectual property (IP) rights and management by the private sector and the Department of Defense.

• The Federal Government may not gain an interest in IP developed by a participant without the written consent of the participant;
• Nothing in this xTechSearch prize competition shall diminish the Government’s rights in patents, technical data, technical information, computer software, computer databases, and computer software documentation that the Government had prior to this xTechSearch prize competition, or is entitled to, under any other Government Agreement or contract, or is otherwise entitled to under law; and
• The Federal Government may negotiate a license for the use of IP developed by a registered participant in the prize competition.

Dr. Matt Willis and Mr. Joshua Israel

ASA(ALT)

Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, Research and Technology

2800 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202

Email: usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.xtechsearch@mail.mil