Technology Transfer, Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Development

GENERAL INFORMATION This is a Request for Information (RFI) by The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T), Innovation & Collaboration (I&C), Industry Partnerships Division (OIP) Technology Transfer & Commercialization Branch (T2C) to determine if there are vendors capable of providing technology transfer, commercialization, and entrepreneurial development to meet DHS needs. This RFI is issued solely for market research, information, and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or any commitment or intent to issue an RFP or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). The RFI does not commit the DHS to contract for any supply or service. DHS is not seeking proposals at this time. Responders are advised that the DHS will not pay any costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to the RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation or BAA. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organizations capabilities. The Government is not requesting and does not want to receive from respondents any proprietary data, trade secrets, business sensitive information, or information considered CONFIDENTIAL under 18 U.S.C. - 1905. The Government's constraint does not in any way relieve contractors from their responsibility to properly mark proprietary data when it is provided, nor does it alleviate any requirement for the Government to protect marked data. The Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on DHS. All submissions become the property of DHS and will not be returned. The DHS S&T Technology Transfer and Commercialization Program (T2C) is the designated Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) for all of DHS under the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980. In that role, T2C manages DHS funded technologies and ensures that the outcomes of DHS funded research investments are successfully transferred into practice to benefit DHS, DHS components, the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) and the public. T2C manages a portfolio of DHS technologies and actively seeks partners to commercialize these technologies. Early-stage technologies require additional support to properly understand the commercial opportunities, understand what would be required to develop a commercial product and attract sufficient investment to bring a product to market. The Commercialization Accelerator Program (CAP), within T2C, is leading the successful transition of federally funded DHS mission relevant technologies into broader use through commercialization and utilization by end-users. Scope To this end, T2C seeks specialized support from a firm that has the expertise to analyze Homeland Security-related federally funded technologies; select technologies that could successfully be - spun-out (e.g., established as a start-up company capable of attracting additional investment from venture or angel investors to build a sustainable business around the federal technology); and build a more entrepreneurial/innovative research workforce, as further described in the statement of needs. OBJECTIVE The objective of the work is to identify federally funded technologies that could effectively be commercialized through a start-up model. An additional objective is to develop an entrepreneur/innovator curriculum for inventors, laboratories, and partners to enable transfer efforts that will yield technologies with commercial potential. STATEMENT OF NEEDS TASK ONE - TECHNOLOGY IDENTIFICATION AND LABORATORY OUTREACH (a) Technology Identification: Contractor shall expertly review and analyze Homeland Security-related federally funded technologies that address existing/imminent DHS needs and shall identify those technologies suitable for investment and commercialization. The Contractor should have extensive experience working with federal labs. The Contractor shall utilize industry accepted criteria to make its determinations (e.g., technology readiness level, manufacturing readiness level, market need, etc.). The Contractor shall identify at least ten (10) technologies annually for a technology cohort event. The Contractor shall select technologies that could successfully be - spun-out (e.g., established as a start-up company capable of attracting additional investment from venture or angel investors to build a sustainable business around the federal technology); and build a more entrepreneurial/innovative research workforce. (b) Laboratory Outreach: The Contractor shall review portfolios of federally funded technologies within the DHS S&T programs and laboratories, DHS Operational Components, Department of Energy National Laboratories, Department of Defense laboratories, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and University Associated Research Centers. The Contractor shall travel to, and engage with, laboratory personnel and inventors to properly assess technologies and projects for a technology cohort event. The Contractor will document the portfolio reviews and add the technology details in a collaboration portal or technology catalog. TASK TWO - COHORT EVENT (a) Start-Up and Accelerator Formation and Support: The Contractor shall provide an entrepreneurial technology transfer program to teach cohort participants about the operational, legal, and strategic considerations related to the successful commercialization of federally funded technologies. The Contractor shall expertly recruit and pair entrepreneurs with identified federally funded technologies to create new business models. The Contractor shall create a minimum of ten (10) teams of three (3) entrepreneurs focused on a minimum of ten (10) selected technologies yearly. The Contractor shall offer curriculum that is specifically focused on entrepreneurial training and startup formation to assist the cohort participants with their plans to accelerate the federally funded technologies to market. (b) Marketing and Investor Recruitment: Contractor shall run at least one (1) technology cohort event yearly to showcase the identified federally funded technologies. The Contractor shall market and advertise the DHS technology cohort event through suitable channels to attract interest in the DHS cohort event and the federally funded technologies. The Contractor should have well-developed ties to the investment community, technical or subject matter experts and industry experts who would have an interest in Homeland Security-related technologies. TASK THREE - POST-COHORT SUPPORT (a) The Contractor shall provide continued coaching and assessment of commercial development plans to cohort alumni for at least two (2) years after completion of their respective cohort. The Contractor shall develop metrics to document successful delivery of coaching and prepare materials that can be used by T2C for internal and external reporting to highlight the value of the post-cohort support. (b) The Contractor shall track and monitor participants following the DHS technology cohort events. The Contractor shall develop metrics to document successful technology transfer and prepare materials that can be used by T2C for internal and external reporting to highlight the value of the program. TASK FOUR - BUILD A MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL AND INNOVATIVE RESEARCH WORKFORCE (a) The Contractor shall provide a two-part interactive training program for DHS researchers to develop and improve the knowledge and skills necessary to advance DHS technologies. (b) The Contractor shall present an innovation seminar series open to all S&T researchers. The Contractor shall develop metrics to document the presentation of this seminar series that includes metrics such as seminar topics, number of S&T researcher attendees, copies of the presentations, etc. (c) The Contractor shall conduct a more in-depth and focused effort to assist interested research staff in preparing commercialization strategies for their projects. The Contractor shall develop metrics to document the number of S&T researchers they assist in preparing commercialization strategies, the specific technologies involved, and the number of technologies included in future cohorts. RESPONSES TO THIS RFI The objective for this RFI is to improve the quality of the acquisition process and obtain meaningful responses from Industry. Your response is important for market research and other planning aspects of this activity. Responses must have a cover letter that includes the following information: Company's Name Company's Address SAM Unique Entity ID Company's Size and Socio-Economic Status information, if applicable Technical Point of Contact(s) (Name, title, email, and phone number) Contracting Point of Contact(s) (Name, title, email, and phone number) Specifically identify any existing GSA, GWAC, or DHS contracts vehicles that we can use to access your company to procure these services. Please provide your contract number(s). It is requested that qualified parties interested in supporting the Technology Transfer, Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Development for Inventors and Federal Laboratories contract submit a written response that includes a demonstrated capabilities statement to perform each subtask as described in the Statement of Needs, and provide the following information: How could you meet the technical needs and requirements identified in the Statement of Needs? Describe the qualifications and experience of the key personnel who could perform the tasks outlined in the notice. Have you provided a recent and similar type and scope of services as the current requirements for any U.S. Federal government agencies? If so, please provide supporting details. If you are a Small Business, identify if you can accomplish each subtask in the Statement of Needs as the Prime or using a subcontract / partner/ team / other. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) rules, procedures and responsibilities as described in FAR Subpart 9.5 shall be applicable to any resultant contract and subcontracts. Any anticipated actual or perceived organizational conflicts of interest should be identified in your response. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued for information and market research planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation and an obligation on the part of the Government. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. The Government will not return or pay for any information provided in response to this announcement; no basis for a claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this notice or Government use of any information provided. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this announcement. VENDOR SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES Please follow the response format: S&T requests a written response to address any or all of the questions above. Responses should not exceed six (6) pages in total and must be in Arial 11 font in either read-only Word or PDF format. Written responses for RFI number (70RSAT25RFI000009) shall be submitted not later than 5:00PM ET on 02-25-2025 to Joseph.Pianese@hq.dhs.gov, Mohammed.Rizki@hq.dhs.gov REVIEW OF VENDOR RESPONSES The Government will review responses for market research purposes only. The Government does not intend to provide a response to submissions for this RFI, but the Government reserves the right to hold a meeting after the RFI review at the agency's discretion. These meetings will be scheduled at the discretion of the Government and may not be scheduled with all vendors that respond to the RFI.