First, I’d like to wish you and your families a happy holiday season. S&T accomplished a great deal in 2015, and I’m excited about the achievements and accomplishments 2016 will bring. S&T’s resolution for the coming year is to connect more with you: the innovators, small businesses, and our partners in industry, business, and academia. We’ll be putting significant effort into developing and increasing these relationships in the coming year.
I’ve talked about this before but it bears repeating: Casting a wide net to find innovators with out-of-the-box solutions to our homeland security challenges is of the utmost importance. S&T is looking for proposals from small businesses that capture their best thinking, particularly small businesses representing under-represented groups, such as women-owned small businesses and socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.
For example, we will be seeking proposals from small businesses to address technical challenges in homeland security through our Small Business Innovation Research Program for 2016. We hope this program fosters new relationships with partners in industry from now until the foreseeable future.
This coming year, we’re going on the road to talk to stakeholders and partners around the country. We may be coming to an event near you. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and on our website at our events page to see where we’ll be. Visit our Business Opportunities page for more information.
With that in mind, I will be at the Consumer Electronics Show next week in Las Vegas. This isn’t business as usual for S&T. Part of our larger goal is to change the ways in which we interact and do business with the private sector. So if you are in the area January 6-9, don’t hesitate to stop by and talk to us about your ideas.
I hope you are as excited as we are about the promise of a new year, and the challenges and opportunities it brings. Have a safe and enjoyable New Year’s!
Dr. Reginald Brothers
Under Secretary for Science and Technology