WASHINGTON — To reach its acquisition goals, the Navy wants to make it easier to partner with small businesses.
Speaking from the Sea-Air-Space Exposition to a Facebook Live audience, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts outlined his views on the important role small businesses play in Navy acquisition programs.
“Small business is an incredible source for innovation, for adaptability, for agility, and resilience,” Geurts said. “My main goal [is to figure out], how do we leverage small business for things they are really good at?”
Geurts emphasized the importance of small business in achieving U.S. security goals. Looking at the National Defense Strategy for guidance, Geurtz summarized the document to be one focused on how the United States will continue to compete and win as a nation.
“Winning teams figure out how to use all the players available, use them for what their strengths are, continue to grow them, and expand,” he said. “Small business is a big piece of that equation for us.”
One way small businesses can get connected to the right program is by clearly communicating their technological capabilities and ability to execute awarded contracts.
“If you’re a small business you’ve got to let us know what your capabilities are,” Geurts said. By clearly communicating capability, businesses “make it easy for [the Navy] to know what capabilities you have so we can be fully informed in putting a program together,” he added.
Daniel Cebul is an editorial fellow and general assignments writer for Defense News, C4ISRNET, Fifth Domain and Federal Times.
