MILITARY STABILITY FOUNDATION
Project Purpose is to improve the retention of Alabama small and medium sized businesses that currently support the US Department of Defense. This project focuses on two primary tasks.
Task 1: Development of a sustainable Defense Industrial Base Mapping tool
The goal of the first task includes developing a mapping tool to provide a better understanding of the industries, businesses and the workforce connected to DoD contracts. For more information, refer to the Alabama Defense Industrial Base Mapping Tool.
Task 2: Providing market diversification services to defense-dependent organizations
The goal of the second task of this pilot project is to demonstrate how market diversification services can strengthen Alabama’s industrial base by reducing dependency on potentially declining customer sectors, i.e., defense contractors susceptible to DoD funding fluctuations.
SERVING and PROTECTING ALABAMA'S MILITARY COMMUNITY
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is working with the Department of Defense (DoD) to help defense contractors expand their businesses. The DoD objective is to improve the resiliency of the defense industrial base to ensure that suppliers are strong and available, should an urgent need for additional capacity arise.
The U.S. Department of Defense through its Office for Economic Adjustment is funding this project (Department of Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance No. 6U101201) to better map the defense industrial base supply chain in Alabama and provide diversification assistance to DoD contractors.
Specifically, greater insights into the capabilities of contractors and Alabama as a whole will allow for mapping the supply chain more accurately, providing companies with greater information about available resources, and identifying industrial needs. Additionally, it will provide meaningful data to help identify regional industry gaps and opportunities.
Risk to the stability of the military industrial base needs to be quantified before mitigation measures are designed or implemented. While each contractor is responsible for its own risk management, industrial sector risk should at least be assessed to minimize unexpected interruptions to industrial output.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is gathering input from DoD contractors to assess the supply chain strength and capture contractor perspectives and ideas.
Diversifying and expanding Alabama’s defense-related companies into new domestic markets, will help ensure long-term economic survival and continued ability to supply to U.S. defense forces. Defense contractors may receive assistance in key areas including: strategic management planning; sales and marketing support; product or service development; and quality control as defined in its assessment.
The types of assistance available include:
Follow the link to answer a few questions about your company and its capabilities. The questionnaire should require no more than 6 minutes to complete. Your responses will not be shared with anyone outside the project team and be used only in furtherance of the project's goals. UAH and the DoD greatly appreciate your time and help in this matter.
GO TO THE ONLINE FORM to complete the Questionnaire
(If the link does not open, copy this address to your browser - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AL-Mfg-Survey)
Requirements Include:
For additional information regarding market expansion services or contractor eligibility requirements:
Contact: UAH Office for Operational Excellence - Brian Tucker, 256-824-2957, Brian.tucker@uah.edu - www.uah.edu/ooe
Office for Economic Adjustment Alabama Department of Commerce