The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking proposals from accredited U.S. universities to educate and build the capabilities of DHS employees. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced a funding opportunity for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) to develop a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program focused on transitioning security technology from research and development to operational use. United States universities with existing high-quality MBA programs are eligible to apply. The Request for Proposal (RFP) has a deadline for submitting a Phase I Proposal by March 5, 2020. The Phase II proposals should be submitted on or before March 26, 2020.
“The federal government has unique needs for developing and using technology. Transitioning technology from ideas and prototypes in the research and development realm to operational use can be challenging, especially in the area of security technologies,” said William Bryan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “S&T’s investment in this MBA program will build a cross-DHS collaborative workforce with the capability and skillset needed to develop, acquire, implement, and manage the transition process of operationally relevant technologies.”
DHS plans to structure its MBA in Security Technology Transition (STT) Program into three two-year student cohorts, through a Firm Fixed Price contract.
The U.S. government is a critical partner in the innovation environment and often serves different functions within this community. This pilot program will be designed to train DHS professionals to navigate established federal acquisition regulations, experience the research and development (R&D) process from a private sector vantage point, navigate the challenges of technology development and adoption, and advance technologies more efficiently from concept to operational use.
Applicants are encouraged to utilize and aggregate existing courses, structuring and offering them in a way that would warrant a thorough understanding of the skillsets specified in this solicitation.
The case study-based STT coursework would convey to students the business and technology management principles that are needed for successful federal research, development, and acquisition. The MBA STT program will prepare the DHS workforce to understand, manage, and avoid the pitfalls that may derail critical technological or operational improvements. In addition to DHS professionals, the program will be open to private sector, academia, and other federal agency employees.
This program must leverage an existing MBA program’s core management curriculum and supplement the core curriculum with security technology-focused courses and real-world case studies applicable to private and public-sector research and development programs. Additionally, the STT program will provide insight into the requirements for both private sector commercialization and government acquisition.
The S&T COEs are university consortia that work closely with DHS operating components to conduct research, develop and transition mission-relevant science and technology, and educate the next generation of homeland security technical experts. Each COE is led by a U.S. university and has multiple partners from other universities, commercial interests, DHS, Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, and other federal state and local agencies.
The notice of funding opportunity for the MBA STT Lead Institution is available at DHS Technology Transition MBA. https://beta.sam.gov/opp/093a607fdba24a4aaf71e12a6078f497/view,
DHS estimates selecting a business school performer by early September 2020. For additional information about the DHS COEs, visit DHS S&T Centers of Excellence.
