Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017, which now awaits the President’s signature. The bill includes several significant provisions for the innovation community, including:
- SBIR is reauthorized through FY 2022 but without the administrative funds pilot program provision included in the 2012 reauthorization;
- The Rapid Innovation Program, which enables the Department of Defense to work with small businesses and defense laboratories to deploy new technologies through contracts of up to $3 million, is made permanent;
- The National Defense University and Defense Acquisition University are permitted to enter into cooperative R&D agreements;
- A Manufacturing Engineering Education Grant Program is authorized (but not funded) to support a wide array of educational, networking and research activities between universities, nonprofits and industry; and,
- A $250 million pilot within the Rapid Prototyping Fund is authorized (subject to the availability of funds) to work with nontraditional and small contractors.