Dayton Nonprofit becomes home of “on ramp” for Department of Defense
A Dayton-based private nonprofit research institute has been awarded a contract from the Department of Defense (DOD), which could ultimately bring jobs while fostering innovation and the creation of high-tech startup companies across the region.
Parallax Advanced Research, of greater Dayton, recently was awarded a contract on behalf of the DOD, to execute the OnRamp Hub: Ohio, which aims to expedite the development of technology solutions for national security challenges while supporting Ohio-based small businesses in the high-tech sector.
Parallax, through the Great Lakes Mission Acceleration Center (MAC) entity, recently received $1.9 million from the Defense Innovation Unit and the National Security Innovation Network to execute and manage the OnRamp Hub: Ohio, which will be a front door for the DOD to Ohio businesses, academia, state organizations and military bases, and will coordinate programs to ensure success by providing physical and digital space for entrepreneurs to meet, collaborate and innovate.
This program is being run through the Great Lakes MAC as one of five regional MACs locations, which also includes Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas and Washington. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown ecured funding for the program, and U.S. Representative Michael Turner supported funding for the broader DOD Mission Acceleration Program, which now has $65 million allocated in the House of Representatives’ fiscal year 2024 defense spending bill.
“Parallax and our partners, JobsOhio, the Dayton Development Coalition and OneDefense, are looking forward to working with industry and business organizations of all sizes in Ohio on advancing our nation’s security through science, technology and innovation at yhe Great Lakes MAC and OnRamp Hub: Ohio,” says Dennis Andersh, president and CEO of Parallax Advanced Research.
“The Great Lakes MAC is an entity run by Parallax Advanced Research that is funded by the National Security Innovation Network, which is a part of the Defense Innovation Unit,” explains Major Gen. (Ret.) Mark Bartman, vice president of Advanced Development at Parallax. “The goal of these OnRamps in five different states that all fall under the various Mission Accelerator Centers is to bring small businesses, academic researchers and other innovators together to solve problems that the DOD has in various technological areas.”
So why the new paradigm? What was wrong with the old system?
“The largest complaint that I heard when I talked to innovators, small business individuals or academics is that they didn’t know who to talk to when it comes to the DOD,” says Bartman. “They want to show people the new technology that they were working on, but they simply didn’t know who to talk to. The OnRamp Hubs offer an opportunity to take innovative ideas and inventions and make connections directly through the National Security Innovation Network and the Defense Innovation Unit to the Secretary of the Defense and consequently to all of our six services.”
The OnRamp Hub: Ohio provides tailored services to its customers, including problem scoping, technology identification via data analytics, DOD process guidance, prototyping, testing, evaluations, certifications and technology transition.
“This is a way to speed up the whole process, a way of getting new technology developed and into the hands of our war fighters,” says Bartman. “There has been a huge frustration out there in the way the current process has worked as far as the time needed to bring on a new program.
“Digital engineering has become something of an industry buzzword. A lot of work in technology today revolves around trying to figure out ways to save money by doing all the research and development work in the digital realm before you start bending metal or welding things together. That gets very expensive and is much easier and cheaper to do in the digital world first.”
While DOD will benefit from the new technology being brought to the forefront at the OnRamp, all of industry and business is sure to benefit as well.
“A lot of the new technology that we are talking about is actually what we call dual purpose,” says Bartman. “In other words, it can be used by the DOD as well as the commercial sector.
“I am talking specifically about things like AI, which the DOD is already heavily invested in,” adds Bartman. “The DOD is heavily invested in AI and how it can give us a significant advantage when it comes to conflicts with peer adversaries that we might have around the globe.”
The OnRamp Hub: Ohio is located at the Arcade Innovation Hub in downtown Dayton and is open for business. Additional On Ramp Hub: Ohio locations will be launched in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus later.
“The first contract is for one year, and the OnRamp is a test project,” says Bartman. “We believe we can demonstrate the effectiveness of the program, which will lead to further funding and further activities for the Dayton area as well as the state of Ohio.”
Parallax has individuals who are working on the program right now, “but we fully expect that once we show how this works and how it is better integrated into the DOD ecosystem, we will be able to expand the program, which will lead to new jobs and additional hires in the Dayton area.”
