Amendment A00001 Attachment 1 - SOO.pdf

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO) ENTREPRENEUR ENGAGEMENT

I. Purpose:

The key objective of this purchase order is to better connect NASA to the portion of the entrepreneurial innovation eco-system that delivers products and capabilities to NASA relevant commercial markets. The goal of these engagements is to allow NASA to better cultivate and accelerate innovations in these areas, thus contributing to NASA’s missions, addressing issues of national concern, and growing the US economy.

II. Background:

For much of the history of space exploration the complexity and cost of operating assets in space was prohibitive for all except a few large governments and companies. However, as the cost of reaching space and operating in it comes down, new market opportunities have emerged and several additional ones could be just over the horizon. With the expansion of commercial opportunities in space the overlap between innovations that are commercially relevant and those that are relevant to NASA continue to grow. This creates an opportunity for NASA to engage a pool of entrepreneurial innovators that are focused on commercial opportunities and on developing technology that can aid NASA.

NASA is looking to improve engagement with this entrepreneurial community. Effectively engaging this community requires a specialized skill set and network as well as a knowledge of the needs and motivations of the stakeholders within the entrepreneurial community. This community includes but is not limited to startup companies, innovative small businesses, tech incubators and accelerators, investors, and other governmental agencies.

Since many of the participants in this eco-system are targeting commercial markets and are not dependent solely on government contracts for funding, many of the participants are not familiar with the growing number of opportunities available to entrepreneurs through government innovation programs. Offerors should demonstrate experience and expertise in connecting with non-traditional government suppliers and effectively leveraging public/private partnerships to improve capability in NASA-relevant markets.

The NASA SBIR program’s prior entrepreneurial engagement consisted of two efforts: 1) An innovation cultivation effort offered through the community building/iTech program, which offered both in-person and virtual forums that brought together innovators, NASA subject matter experts, and investors in an effort to determine the best path forward for companies working in NASA-relevant commercial markets. 2) A funded solicitation offering contracts to companies through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Ignite. This solicitation focuses on de-risking commercially viable technologies in NASA-relevant markets while maintaining the firm’s go-to-market strategy and encouraging private sector investment in firms beyond SBIR funding. Although the SBIR-Ignite effort is primarily an SBIR solicitation and much of the work is conducted using internal NASA processes and personnel, some level of support is required for marketing, tech scouting, and investor engagement to aid in mission success.

Offerors are required to propose work that is specific to the support of the NASA Entrepreneurial Services. Offerors are encouraged to implement their own innovation cultivation efforts through community building, coaching, and/or accelerator efforts should clearly describe both the independent value of the effort as well as the ability to leverage that effort to benefit the SBIR-Ignite solicitation. Note: Offerors are not required to propose to the previous community building activity.

III. Scope:

Entrepreneurial Engagement Support Services will consist primarily of the following deliverables:

1. Community Building Effort (virtual or in-person)– Minimum of one annually – Concluding on or about summer of FY23

a. Administrative Oversite

b. Evaluation of the commercial viability of potential topics

i. NASA must be involved in the selection of the community building effort.

c. Marketing of the opportunity to non-traditional government companies

d. Recruiting event participants

i. Qualified commercial companies

1. Minimum of 2 companies per topic area

2. Approximately 6 topic areas per event

ii. Mentors

1. Potential investors

2. Accelerator participants

3. Strategic Advisors

4. Potential customers / partners

5. Other governmental agency participants

e. Marketing of the opportunity to investors / accelerators / incubators

f. Event planning and execution

g. SBIR Ignite Event Support – One Annually – Summer to Fall of

FY23 Marketing of the Opportunity

i. Company Scouting

ii. Investor Engagement

2. Administrative/ Operations Support

IV. Objectives and Success Criteria

1. Improve participation of New-to-NASA companies in both community building efforts and SBIR Ignite

2. Improve participation of New-to-SBIR companies in community building efforts and SBIR Ignite

3. Improve participation of private sector investor participation in both community building efforts and the SBIR-Ignite program.

4. Increase participation of companies owned by underrepresented groups to rates at least equal to those group’s participation in the space and deep tech sectors. This goal requires strategies to source demographically and geographically diverse innovators.

5. Increase participation of investors with clear strategies for sourcing and investing in companies from underrepresented groups.

6. Encourage participants in community building efforts to engage with NASA with special emphasis on the SBIR-Ignite Solicitation.

V. Period and Place of Performance:

The Period of Performance will be on or about December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023 with 2 one year option periods.

The primary work on this purchase order will be performed at the contractor’s site or virtually.

VI. Operating Constraints:

NASA would like the conclusion of the community building effort to occur before the end of July 2023, so that the companies that come out of that effort can apply to the Ignite solicitation.