The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Jeh Johnson announced in April 2015 that DHS would establish a presence in California's Silicon Valley to cultivate relationships with technology innovators, particularly non-traditional performers, from small start-ups to large companies, investors, incubators, and accelerators. To meet this objective, the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) created the Homeland Security Innovation Programs (HSIP) which builds on the work S&T has been doing over the last decade to spawn innovation to solve DHS’s most difficult challenges.

The HSIP’s goal is to generate innovation in hubs around the nation and the world to solve DHS’s most difficult challenges. The HSIP focuses on outreach to cultivate relationships with innovators and investors, and fund innovative startups to solve challenges shared by homeland security and commercial investors. By leveraging private sector investments, the HSIP aims to accelerate the transition of new technological solutions into operational use by DHS and other users in the Homeland Security Enterprise.

The HSIP taps into the innovation of the private sector in new ways, opening the doors for non-traditional performers to work with government and to pose the government as a viable customer for their technology. Traditional government contracting tends to dictate exactly how to do things, and DHS S&T understands innovators don’t work that way. The HSIP’s approach will be to explain challenges and operational constraints the nation and the Homeland Security Enterprise faces and allow them use their full creativity to develop solutions.

Over the past year, S&T has reached out to innovators, non-traditional partners and other stakeholders at regional events across the country including Boston; Pittsburg; San Francisco; New Orleans; Chicago; Louisville, Kentucky; and Austin, Texas. At each of these locations, S&T aimed to develop strong public-private partnerships with stakeholders. These events will continue throughout the coming year. Stay tuned to the S&T Events page for upcoming events.

The Silicon Valley Innovation Program

The Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), which launched in late 2015, is S&T’s first HSIP regional program. These regional programs will help companies better understand DHS, S&T, DHS components, the homeland security mission, and how these innovation corridors can help the government solve problems across the Homeland Security Enterprise. S&T will leverage commercial investments to focus on several sectors, including information technology, finance, energy, health, and first responders.

The SVIP is expanding DHS’s reach to find new technologies that strengthen national security with the goal of reshaping how government, entrepreneurs and industry work together to find cutting-edge solutions. DHS is reaching out to Silicon Valley and all of the innovation communities across the nation to harness the commercial R&D ecosystem for government applications, co-invest in ideas and accelerate transition-to-market.

Program Summary

• Open to all innovation ecosystems
• Up to $800K over 24 months

Innovation OTS Program Framework per OT Award

Benefits

• Government serves as an early adopted
• No dilution of ownership
• Pilots and operator feedback
• Buys down investor risk
• Helps make the nation safer

How to Apply

1. Review Innovation Other Transaction Solicitation calls to see if you qualify and decide if your solution applies.
2. Complete your application (check website for application form) and Email it to DHS-Silicon-Valley@hq.dhs.gov
3. If we select your application:
   • Prepare a 15-minute oral pitch (in person or via video chat)
   • Register in sam.gov (this is how we can pay you)
4. If selected for funding, contracts will provide you with our standard Other Transaction Agreement (OTA)
5. Award timeframe estimate is 30 days

Open Calls under the Other Transaction Solicitation

The S&T SVIP issued its first Innovation Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) — HSHQDC-16-R-B0005 — in December 2015. The OTS describes the overall program framework and eligibility criteria. Individual calls describing specific technical areas and use cases will be issued under the Innovation OTS in the future.

Below are the open calls on OTS HSHQDC-16-R-B0005.

• Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Capabilities: This call is open until July 14, 2017.
• Enhancing CBP Airport Passenger Processing: This call is open until July 13, 2017.
• K9 Wearable Technologies—HSHQDC-16-R-00093: This call is open until June 7, 2017.
• Enhancements to the Global Travel Assessments System (GTAS)—HSHQDC-16-R-00094: This call is open until June 7, 2017.
• Internet of Things (IoT) Security—HSHQDC-16-R-00035: This call is open until December 11, 2016.

Continue to check this page for future call opportunities.

Current Portfolio Companies

Internet of Things (IoT) Security

• Pulzze Systems Inc (Sunnyvale, CA) will provide dynamic detection as IoT components connect or disconnect from a networked system (awarded February 2016).
• Machine-to-Machine Intelligence Corporation (M2Mi) (Moffett Field, CA) will make the SPECK cryptographic protocol available to IoT devices (awarded April 2016).
• Whitescope LLC (Half Moon Bay, CA) will build a secure 802.11 wireless communications gateway that will provide a centralized capability for identifying, characterizing, and securing access to IoT devices (awarded May 2016).
• Factom Inc (Austin, TX)will will create an identity log that captures the identification of a device, who manufactured it, lists of available updates, known security issues and granted authorities while adding the dimension of time for added security (awarded June 2016).
• Ionic Security (Atlanta, GA) will apply a novel distributed data protection model to solve the authentication, detection and confidentiality challenges that face distributed IoT devices, specifically, to improve the integrity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems and industrial control infrastructure as well as critical components deployed in the DHS network (awarded July 2016).

News

Press Releases and Media Advisories

• DHS S&T Announces Industry Day with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Seeking New R&D Opportunities, July 19, 2016
• DHS S&T Awards $119K to Atlanta's Ionic Security for Internet of Things Systems Security, July 5, 2016
• DHS S&T Awards $199K to Austin Based Factom Inc. for Internet of Things Systems Security, June 17, 2016
• DHS S&T Awards $200K to Whitescope LLC for Internet of Things Systems Security, May 23, 2016
• DHS S&T Awards $75K to Machine-To-Machine Intelligence Corporation for Internet of Things Systems Security, April 28, 2016
• DHS to Host Innovators at Silicon Valley Homeland Security Day, April 21, 2016
• DHS to Host Innovators at Silicon Valley Homeland Security Day, April 7, 2016
• DHS S&T Awards $200K for Internet of Things Systems Security, February 22, 2016
• DHS S&T Releases Innovation Call Aimed at Startups, December 11, 2015

Events

Upcoming Events

Past Events

DHS Silicon Valley Innovation Program Industry Day - July 29, 2016 - Menlo Park, California —At this Industry Day, DHS will present opportunities—initially discussed at the Homeland Security Day event in April—for technology startups and investors to develop or implement existing cutting-edge technologies to support U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP) mission in the areas of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Capabilities and Enhancing CBP Airport Passenger Processing.

DHS S&T Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Industry Day – June 15, 2016, Menlo Park, California—On June 15, learn how the SVIP assists startups, learn about homeland security challenges, use cases and technical needs for K9 Wearable Technologies and Enhancements to the global Travel Assessment System and how to apply for funding. Startups, innovators, investors, and representatives of accelerators: this Industry Day is for you!

DHS Silicon Valley - Homeland Security Day: U.S. Customs & Border Protection – April 29, 2016, Menlo Park, California—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) must rapidly identify and develop technologies to counter emerging threats. The mission of U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) is to safeguard America's borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation's global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel.

DHS S&T and CBP will host a Homeland Security Day in Silicon Valley on April 29. This event will provide technology startups and investors with an opportunity to learn more about CBP’s mission, what technologies are being used to complete their mission and where CBP is looking for creative ideas and solutions to enhance mission capability.

Contact

For more information, contact dhs-silicon-valley@hq.dhs.gov.