The defense bill contains fewer provisions related to research, technology, and entrepreneurship than initially proposed

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2024, signed in late December, ultimately contained fewer provisions related to research, technology, and entrepreneurship than the draft versions of the legislation initially proposed. Nonetheless, the final bill made some changes that could stabilize some of the department’s innovation activities in recent years and add some flexibility for companies and organizations engaging in technology transfer activities with defense institutions. Specifically, four sections worth noting in the FY 2024 NDAA are the following:

• Codification of the Office of Strategic Capital, which was launched in 2022, and a loan program to support emerging technology needs.
• Formalization of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which includes making the director a principal staff assistant to the Secretary of Defense, allowing DIU to use federal “other transaction authority” (OTA) agreements, and requiring DIU to provide support to multi-stakeholder research and commercialization partnerships.
• Requirement that each military department designate a principal technology transition advisor to advise on technology transfer and acquisition opportunities.
• Clarification that OTAs may be used to support prototyping projects.