We maintain consistent communications with our federal partners and support them in the process to develop the OFRN Areas of Interest. Further, OFRN funded teams have a standing relationship with a federal subject matter expert who has technical expertise and interest in the project’s research and output. The OFRN engages with its partners via meetings and quarterly briefings.
To achieve the Ohio Federal Research Network mission, we catalyze federal, academic, and commercial collaborations to support the future growth of Ohio’s workforce with a focus on the priority research initiatives of Ohio-based federal and state partners, including:
Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton (NAMRU-D)
National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC)
National Aeronautical and Space Administration’s Glenn Research Center (NASA-GRC)
The Ohio Federal Research Network team matchmaking service entails locating and connecting potential collaborators within the Ohio Federal Research Network to pursue federal and state R&D funding opportunities through collaborative innovation.
The OFRN utilizes networking and collaboration as solutions to innovation gaps present within Ohio-based federal entities. The OFRN’s networking and collaboration service identifies science and technology capabilities across academia, industry, and the government and builds strategic partnerships between each group to support federal missions. To achieve this objective, the OFRN has identified a key suite of networking and collaboration services that are available to our network partners:
Federal agency and congressional engagement strategies
Planning and execution of industry outreach events, communication, and PR for OFRN and its funded research projects
Team matchmaking to help those that need to find a required partner for a solicitation submission
Ohio industry, academia, and government collaboration on Advanced Air Mobility research and transition
The OFRN offers Education, Training & Proposal Navigation for SBIR & STTR proposal teams.
The OFRN education and training service offers in-person mentoring, training programs, and educational content that is focused on increasing academic and industry engagement and partnerships with federal and state agencies for science and technology research and development. The curriculum covers:
(1) How to apply for a current OFRN solicitation round SBIR/STTR Proposal Process Navigation
(2) Workforce development for meeting federal and state priorities reflected in a current solicitation
Each OFRN-funded R&D project is aligned with federal requirements, has a clear path to job creation, and capitalizes on Ohio’s investment involving multiple Ohio research universities and firms that provide cost-share to further leverage the Ohio investment and attract other Department of Defense and industry funding in Ohio. Therefore, each OFRN-funded R&D project inherently contributes to workforce development and has resulted in spinouts, the creation of high-quality jobs in Ohio, and commercialized technologies.
The achieve these workforce development objectives, the OFRN offers the following services:
1) Funding for R&D projects that lead to high-quality job creation and spinouts
2) Student Experiential Engagement (SEE) program, which recruits and hires student interns to work and learn throughout an OFRN-funded R&D project
Recordings of the information sessions can be accessed from the OFRN Round 6 solicitation site https://www.ohiofrn.org/solicitations/ohio-federal-research-network-round-6-solicitation
The OFRN Round 6 Solicitation site has a Matchmaking tool that you can utilize for finding a Round 6 partner. https://ohiofrn.org/matchmaking.
SIGN-UP to list skills sought for a required partner or to list your skills to join a team for an OFRN proposal.
To request an introduction, select PARTNER INQUIRY. Then 1) Check the ID# for the organizations with which you would be interested in meeting. As you make selections, the Partner IDs are automatically entered into the form at the bottom of the screen (note: the list is on multiple pages, apply the filter to view more than 3 pages at a time). 2) At the bottom of the screen, Enter your contact information and select Get Started. 3)
We will review your request and send an email to connect you with the selected organization.As mentioned in the 3/14/23 training regarding facilities and equipment, equipment purchases need to be realistic, supportable, essential to your research and fully utilized during your period of performance. If there is an essential need for equipment, it can be proposed but the point of this program is not to buy equipment. You are encouraged to look for alternative ways to get the capability so your funding can support your research.