Bridging Innovation
Building pathways to discover, accelerate, and deliver novel solutions from nontraditional sources.
Facilitating connections to foster innovation
External collaborations bring speed and know-how to the development of technology. MITRE shares our deep understanding of government with industry and academia to influence and accelerate dual-use solutions.
MITRE’s Bridging Innovation program is a leader in connecting regional innovation ecosystems to national-level needs and lowering barriers for small businesses entering the marketplace. Startups gain awareness of markets and funding sources, and federal agencies get quicker access to emerging solutions.
Why Is MITRE interested in engaging with small businesses?
Through our public-private partnerships and federally funded research and development centers, we work across government and in partnership with industry to tackle challenges to the safety, stability, and well-being of our nation. The private sector's role in innovation is crucial, often focusing on applied research and development that leads to novel products and processes. Rich, robust innovation ecosystems support the creation and acceleration of these novel solutions. MITRE’s deep technical and domain expertise, as well as our unique lab resources, can lower the barriers of entry, enabling startups to accelerate development, apply and integrate their commercial solutions to government operational environments, and ensure successful transition.
Our Framework
Our framework for success starts by working closely with our government sponsors to define an intentional and comprehensive strategic plan for successful transition—such as clear challenge statements, evaluation criteria, contracting, and funding—while also actively engaging in accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces to build trusted relationships and share government challenges. With a clear understanding of needs and strong partnerships across the innovation landscape, we can easily leverage those networks to scout and match solutions from industry to challenges. Often, startups need help understanding how to apply and integrate their commercial solutions to government operational environments. MITRE’s deep technical and domain expertise as well as our unique lab resources can lower the barriers of entry, enabling startups to accelerate development, and ensure successful transition.
Ways We Partner
Mentoring
Bridging Innovation taps our deep technical and domain expertise working across the government to guide you through federal regulations and acquisitions, matching novel solutions to government challenges and funding opportunities. Whether flying drones in airspace, making your medical device secure from cyber attacks, or navigating the DoD’s acquisition landscape, MITRE mentors guide you through publicly available information helping you move faster and see opportunities in government markets for your commercial products and services.
Collaborative Research
Through our Independent Research and Development (IR&D) program, we are always looking for emerging technology or novel services that can be applied to government challenges. Bridging Innovation helps you connect with MITRE principal investigators to explore and shape research proposals for IR&D funding or, if there is no organizational conflict of interest, we can partner on government research grants. If you are exploring applying for a SBIR or STTR grant, ask if our FFRDC lab capabilities or intellectual property can accelerate your research.
Collaboration on Direct Work
Often our U.S. government sponsors ask us to collaborate with industry and academia. This can take various forms of support, like leveraging our unique lab resources to test and evaluate your capability of maturity and system fit, or integrating into a larger system capability, or adopting standards. Our understanding of regulations, standards, operational environments, and systems of systems can lower barriers for nontraditional companies to rapidly field their novel solutions. Bridging Innovation helps you connect with project leaders across our diverse work programs looking for commercial solutions.
Technology Transition
MITRE intellectual property helps solve some of the nation’s, and the world’s, biggest and boundaryless challenges. Think: cybersecurity, national security, aviation safety, and health. By transferring solutions inspired by our U.S. government sponsors’ most pressing future needs, we provide technical capabilities that can be leveraged by industry to start a new company, enhance an existing product line, or increase economic benefit to the nation. Bridging Innovation helps you find, evaluate, and transition our IP for greater impact.
Small Business Subcontracting
As needed, MITRE engages subcontractors and consultants to perform scientific, technical, advisory, and infrastructure services. Bridging Innovation can help explore if your organization is a potential fit.
Other Resources
Understand Our R&D Centers:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/rd-centers
What is a Federally Funded R&D Center?
https://www.mitre.org/news-insights/fact-sheet/mitre-ffrdcs
Discover Our Independent Research:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/independent-research
Learn About Our Technical Expertise In MITRE Labs:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/mitre-labs
Search Our Intellectual Property:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/intellectual-property
Bridging Innovation taps our deep technical and domain expertise working across the government to guide you through federal regulations and acquisitions, matching novel solutions to government challenges and funding opportunities. Whether flying drones in airspace, making your medical device secure from cyber attacks, or navigating the DoD’s acquisition landscape, MITRE mentors guide you through publicly available information helping you move faster and see opportunities in government markets for your commercial products and services.
Through our Independent Research and Development (IR&D) program, we are always looking for emerging technology or novel services that can be applied to government challenges. Bridging Innovation helps you connect with MITRE principal investigators to explore and shape research proposals for IR&D funding or, if there is no organizational conflict of interest, we can partner on government research grants. If you are exploring applying for a SBIR or STTR grant, ask if our FFRDC lab capabilities or intellectual property can accelerate your research.
Often our U.S. government sponsors ask us to collaborate with industry and academia. This can take various forms of support, like leveraging our unique lab resources to test and evaluate your capability of maturity and system fit, or integrating into a larger system capability, or adopting standards. Our understanding of regulations, standards, operational environments, and systems of systems can lower barriers for nontraditional companies to rapidly field their novel solutions. Bridging Innovation helps you connect with project leaders across our diverse work programs looking for commercial solutions.
MITRE intellectual property helps solve some of the nation’s, and the world’s, biggest and boundaryless challenges. Think: cybersecurity, national security, aviation safety, and health. By transferring solutions inspired by our U.S. government sponsors’ most pressing future needs, we provide technical capabilities that can be leveraged by industry to start a new company, enhance an existing product line, or increase economic benefit to the nation. Bridging Innovation helps you find, evaluate, and transition our IP for greater impact.
As needed, MITRE engages subcontractors and consultants to perform scientific, technical, advisory, and infrastructure services. Bridging Innovation can help explore if your organization is a potential fit.
Understand Our R&D Centers:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/rd-centers
What is a Federally Funded R&D Center?
https://www.mitre.org/news-insights/fact-sheet/mitre-ffrdcs
Discover Our Independent Research:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/independent-research
Learn About Our Technical Expertise In MITRE Labs:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/mitre-labs
Search Our Intellectual Property:
https://www.mitre.org/our-impact/intellectual-property
Why connect with us?
MITRE has the capabilities, network, and expertise to benefit industry leaders, academic institutions, startups, and small companies..
We should connect if...
- You have a focus on developing emerging and disruptive technologies for national security, aviation, treasury, IRS, veteran’s affairs, health, commerce, homeland security, or cybersecurity.
- You are an emergent tech startup with Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR)
- You run an innovation program, accelerator, or incubator program
- You operate an innovation program on behalf of the federal government
- You are a venture capitalist
- You are a scientific researcher at a university
- You are interested in learning more!