FAIRMONT, W.Va., Jan. 26, 2005 — West Virginia’s economic landscape is changing. From timber to coal, West Virginia’s economy has traditionally been based on our state’s natural resources. Adding to this solid foundation, small high tech and manufacturing companies are changing the state’s image. One hurdle these companies must overcome is finding business opportunities to facilitate their growth and the growth of West Virginia’s economy.
Many avenues exist to find these opportunities, but the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation Research and Development Group has developed a tool to provide West Virginians - and the world - a single location to find a wide range of technologies, opportunities, and research and development needs from the Department of Defense.
DoD TechMatch (http://www.dodtechmatch.com) is a web-based system designed to facilitate interactions between government, industry and academic communities. The system provides a single site where individuals and organizations can quickly access and search licensable patents as well as facilities available for commercial use through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). DoD TechMatch also provides a single location for business opportunities from FedBizOpps and Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) solicitations, as well as technology needs from various DoD programs. Bundled together, these features offer users valuable, relevant information and a starting point to develop a partnership with the DoD.
DoD TechMatch is an intuitive, easy-to-use tool. Currently, the site contains more than 2,900 patents available for licensing to industry for commercial products and manufacturing processes. The site has information about research and development laboratories across the United States; these labs have 748 unique facilities that are available for commercial use.
"For the first time, it is possible to go to one site for Naval opportunities, patents, conferences and needs," said Ted Lynch, President of Strategic Marketing Innovations. All DoD information can be viewed, sorted and searched by anyone. However, the real benefit of DoD TechMatch occurs by becoming a registered user.
Registering with DoD TechMatch is a free service open to anyone. Links on the homepage take users to a registration form where they choose their own username and password (five characters), and provide a valid email address and additional information. Next, users choose keywords from a three-tiered list related to their areas of interest or capabilities.
Users then choose sources of information from which they would like to receive matching needs and opportunities. Finally, the user is sent an authorization code via email, which they enter into the DoD TechMatch system to finalize the registration process. To assist users in the registration process, there is a "Contact Us" link available to ask any questions or to provide feedback about DoD TechMatch. The WVHTC Foundation’s R&D Group receives the emails and provides the necessary assistance to quickly find a solution to the issue or provide feedback to the user.
The DoD TechMatch system has all the pieces to become a powerful and important tool for DoD technology transfer and technology transition efforts. Industry, academic and DoD partners will benefit from the TechMatch concept. Tailored information will be pulled and pushed rapidly where needed and wanted. Business opportunities will surface and be acted upon, partnerships will be formed and flourish, and our armed forces will get technological capabilities they need.
The goal of the DoD TechMatch system is to become a focal point for technology transfer and transition efforts in the DoD. If initial Federal and industry response about the system is any indication of the future, DoD TechMatch will have an extremely positive impact in the world of technology transfer and transition.
For further information, contact Devanna Corley at 304-368-4539.
