The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Regional Network – Midwest is a new science and technology ecosystem comprised of universities, large and small businesses, other government agencies, and venture capitalists. The Midwest Network supports the AFRL by cultivating strategic collaborations to drive innovative research, translation, and workforce development opportunities that bolster the critical technology needs of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The Midwest Network encompasses 12 states and is headquartered at Purdue University.  

VT-ARC is a 501(c)3, nonprofit, research organization that delivers tailored analysis, research and engineering to address problems of national and global importance. Working with government and other academic and industry partners, we specialize in: Applied Research; Translational Research; Technical Services; and Commercialization. Our people possess backgrounds from academia, industry, intelligence, DOD, and other federal agencies. The majority possess PhD’s or Master’s degrees across multiple disciplines.

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development.

The Nebraska Defense Research Corporation (NDRC) provides a bridge of trust between government, industry and academia to support and promote technology discovery, facilitate knowledge transfer, and accelerates the transfer of command, control, and communications capabilities to customer operations. NDRC supports government stakeholders in shortening development timelines that deliver secure, mission-enhancing capabilities.

We are a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 research institute headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, and Arlington, Virginia. Our organization is focused on addressing critical national security and prosperity issues. Our approach combines resources, competencies, and perspectives from different sectors (academia, industry, and the government) to drive innovation and creative solutions to hard problems.   

Founded October 2019, NewSpace Nexus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit accelerating the pace of space innovation by uniting and igniting the industry. Through the NewSpace Launchpad, a first-of-its-kind co-innovation hub, stakeholders gain access to workspaces, equipment, programming, rapid prototyping and demonstration, and resources needed for innovation and rapid progress.

Independent Research & Development (IR&D) is a key source of innovation for the department. In 2010, under the Better Buying Power 1.0 initiative, DoD staff engaged with industry and government to learn about what we could to improve IR&D effectiveness. The key challenge identified was communication—industry wanted information about Department investment priorities to better help them plan their IR&D investment projects and DoD planning was hampered by limited insight into industry IR&D projects.

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