Small Business Summit - AFRL on track to exceed 2023 small business performance metrics

Published Sept. 23, 2024
By Aleah M. Castrejon
Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Brian McJilton, director of the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, Small Business office, speaks to attendees during the AFRL enterprise-wide Small Business Summit July 23, 2024, at Dayton Tech Town in downtown Dayton. McJilton said the team is on track to meet or exceed its small business performance metrics for the fiscal year. Working with the Department of Defense offers small businesses substantial contracts and support programs, driving growth, innovation and market diversification. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFRL) – The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is on track to meet or exceed its small business performance metrics from the previous fiscal year, according to Brian McJilton, director of the AFRL Small Business Office, who recently spoke at the enterprise-wide Small Business Summit held at Dayton Tech Town located in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

AFRL collaborates with emerging and established small businesses to accelerate the transition of their talent and innovative technology ideas from concept to capability.

AFRL reported increased engagement with small businesses compared to fiscal year 2023. Small businesses benefit from partnering with AFRL through substantial contracts that drive growth and innovation, along with support programs that diversify their customer base and strengthen their market position, often leading to continued growth of the company or potential acquisition by larger companies.

Celebrating successes

Timothy Sakulich, AFRL executive director, highlighted the importance of collaborative, critical discussions at the summit.

“I think this is a great practice to bring us all together ... but also just to kind of recommit to what we're here to do,” he said.

Reflecting on the past year's achievements, Sakulich praised the directorate for reaching significant milestones and encouraged forward-thinking.

“Congratulations to the community for all the work that has been done over the last year, especially to achieve the kind of milestones in the best year yet,” he added. “But also, congratulations for being so forward about where we need to go.”

Sakulich said AFRL must think beyond the horizon and anticipate future needs.

“‘Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see,’” Sakulich said, quoting Arthur Schopenhauer, a famous philosopher. “We're trying to hit targets that are just now starting to get through the fog of space out there.”

McJilton added that AFRL’s Small Business Program has seen significant activity stating, “We are currently ahead of last year’s small business numbers. If this trend continues, we will likely exceed last year’s figures. It’s about how much money we’re awarding to small businesses. Financially, I believe we will surpass last year’s figures easily.”

He further explained that the annual summit reflects AFRL’s commitment to outreach and collaboration.  This year’s focus was on connecting people and exploring collaborative solutions.
Identifying challenges

Dr. Tim Bunning, AFRL’s chief technology officer, highlighted the crucial role of small businesses in innovation.

“I would argue that from an innovation perspective … a small business community is what is going to run circles around our more classic tier-one or tier-two investment partners,” Bunning said. “Small businesses are as important as they have ever been, and I think their role will exponentially increase as we become more integrated.”

Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and integration between AFRL and its small-business stakeholders Bunning said, “I think it's so important to bring this group of people together, who are all part of the solution but all within their own ecosystem.”

He praised the AFRL Small Business Office for addressing the past year’s issues and highlighted two primary goals: enhancing relationships with small businesses and fostering growth within the organization.

Seeking solutions

McJilton said his team is already looking at ways to reach more small businesses, including the areas where the numbers are in decline. In addition, AFRL’s Small Business Office is exploring innovative methods to streamline processes and improve engagement with small businesses.

He also suggested that capitalizing on artificial intelligence, or AI, advancements could be a potential tool for enhancing efficiency.

AFRL is also refining its outreach efforts and looking at ways to engage more strategically.

“Our goal is to invest resources effectively and connect with businesses that align with our needs,” McJilton said. “We offer a range of tools and programs to help small businesses understand and access opportunities within AFRL.”

Mike Graniero, AFRL Small Business professional at AFRL’s Information Directorate in Rome, New York, who attended the summit, suggested that understanding the customer is vital for resolving some of the challenges between the DOD and small businesses.

“Get to know who your audience is, so that you can tailor your pitch or your presentation to that audience because each technical [directorate] has its own mission, its own technology focus,” Graniero said. “So those small business contractors need to know who they're reaching out to, and how to best present themselves based on the technical focus areas for that particular directorate.”

He added that creating strong working relationships is also imperative to the process.

“It takes time for our program managers to develop a certain level of trust in those small businesses so they can de-risk a situation where they're able to give a prime award to a small business,” Graniero said. “It's important to cultivate those relationships and that takes time. You have to put in the time and effort to build those relationships first.”

Shanel Fultz, deputy director of AFRL’s Small Business Office, said businesses must also understand AFRL's needs. Fultz said AFRL can help guide businesses through the acquisition process of partnering with the Department of Defense and provide alternative recommendations if AFRL isn’t the best fit.

According to Fultz, small businesses interested in collaborating with AFRL should familiarize themselves with the organization’s technologies and various locations.

“I think getting prepared to have a dialogue and a conversation with us is important,” she said. “But also doing research and understanding the key points of contact within our organization.”

Fultz added that understanding AFRL can help build strong relationships. This can be facilitated through network of resources such as the Small Business Administration or APEX Accelerators — an organization designed to enhance U.S. supply chains by assisting businesses with government contracts, according to its website.

In addition to understanding AFRL, she advised knowing and researching within the digital government tools used by the AFRL Small Business office and acquisition teams to uncover additional opportunities.

After making an initial connection, Fultz stressed the importance of networking and asking the right questions to streamline the process.

“We have two types of requirements, or we need support from both areas — research and development, like the technology and innovation space, and different types of services to maintain our operations,” Fultz said. “We often overlook the business side.”

Way forward

Even with exceeding numbers, McJilton said there has been a 33% decline in small businesses partnering with the DOD over the past five to seven years. This is a driving goal for the AFRL Small Business Office to reverse that trend by educating small businesses on how to effectively partner with the DOD.

“While this hasn’t impacted us significantly yet, it could in the future,” McJilton cautioned. “We need to be proactive and seek innovative ways to attract and support new small businesses to ensure the supply-chain of small businesses stays strong for the future.”

Looking ahead, he said feedback from small businesses is imperative.

Despite challenges, McJilton said his office remains on track with its mission to equip small businesses for success with AFRL.

Damon Oakes, an Air Force Materiel Command small business data analyst, noted that while the number of small businesses is declining, funding levels, or dollars, for the small businesses are rising.

Oakes explained that the growing total funding reflects a larger share per small business despite the overall decrease in their numbers.

This increased support aligns with the broader goals of the AFRL Small Business Office.

“We aim to set actionable priorities for the coming year,” McJilton said. “Our goal is to leverage our internal expertise and enhance support for small businesses.”

The AFRL Small Business Office has made significant progress in engaging with small businesses, reaching over 2,000 through events and platforms since last year.

“That’s a significant amount of activity in outreach and engagement,” McJilton added.

McJilton also stressed the importance of understanding and leveraging AFRL’s tools and programs.

“Connecting small businesses with emerging technology and providing necessary resources is a key part of our mission,” McJilton added.

Likewise, Sakulich expressed the necessity of tackling future challenges.

“Part of our goal is to ensure we have a continuous pipeline of capability so that we are prepared for upcoming contests,” Sakulich said.

While AFRL’s small business outreach efforts have been extensive, AFWERX, as part of AFRL, also plays a vital role as the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force working with small businesses to bring cutting-edge ingenuity from small businesses and startups to deliver Air and Space capabilities and connecting commercial solutions with defense needs. AFWERX manages and executes the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer funding programs. Interested small businesses can learn more and connect to AFWERX via afwerx.com.

For small businesses interested in engaging with AFRL, the AFRL Small Business team, visit https://afrlsbhub.com/ and AFResearchLab.com. Those interested in contract and grant opportunities should visit https://sam.gov/content/home and https://grants.gov/.

About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit www.afresearchlab.com. 