Wright Brothers Institute had a strong presence at this year’s Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) National Meeting, held March 28-30 in downtown Cleveland.
The FLC comprises more than 300 federal laboratories, agencies and research centers. It was created to encourage, enable and improve U.S. productivity by focusing on technology transfer, the practice of taking technology out of federal labs and into the private sector. The FLC considers itself the government’s “one-stop shop” for everything related to tech transfer, executing its mission to increase the impact of federal laboratories’ technology transfer for the benefit of the U.S. economy, national security and society. The agency provides resources that enable public-private partnerships, help businesses work through the commercialization process and find market success.
The annual National Meeting is a chance for T2 experts across the nation to come together for education, training, and networking. Wright Brothers Institute saw an opportunity to broaden the pool of collaborators and partners for the Air Force Research Laboratory by participating in event, bringing additional awareness to AFRL Small Business and the Offices of Research and Technology Application (ORTAs).
WBI’s René Meadors, Commercialization Program Manager, and Jennie Hempstead, Marketing Consultant, together with AFRL ORTA Joshua Laravie and NASA's Jeff Lockney, were tapped to deliver a training session on “Marketing the Lab Inside and Out.”
The sold-out session focused on AFRL T2 processes, broadening the understanding of T2 professionals from national organizations such as the National Security Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Office of Naval Research. The attendees left with a resource sheet that provided contact information for AFRL and promoted AFRL’s TechConnect, a website that provides access to current, open opportunities, meet-up events, other Department of the Air Force science and technology enterprise connectors. It is also an easy way for anyone to share an idea, which the TechConnect team can provide to the relevant subject matter expert. The session will be developed into an official T2 marketing curriculum that will be delivered to FLC regional chapters.
WBI connected Mr. Laravie to the FLC planning committee as a qualified presenter, and was instrumental in helping form the training agenda. Through WBI’s participation, AFRL’s T2 efforts were highlighted to an influential national audience.