Newswise — Launched in late 2015, the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) is keeping pace with the innovation community to tackle the hardest problems challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operational missions. SVIP expands the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s reach to find new technologies that strengthen national security with the goal of reshaping how government, entrepreneurs and industry work together to find cutting-edge solutions.

SVIP, based in California’s Silicon Valley, reaches out to innovation communities across the nation and around the world to harness the commercial R&D ecosystem for government applications, co-invest in ideas, and accelerate transition-to-market.

The S&T SVIP issued its first Innovation Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) — HSHQDC-16-R-B0005 — in December 2015. The OTS describes the overall program framework and eligibility criteria. Individual calls describing specific technical areas and use cases will be issued under the Innovation OTS in the future.

Open calls on OTS HSHQDC-16-R-B0005 include:

Join us for a Facebook Live discussion on July 18 at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT to learn more about this innovative program, its open funding opportunities and how your company can get involved. Note, this will be a live event on S&T’s Facebook page. Simply follow S&T and the live event will be at the top of your stream on July 18 at 2 p.m.