A Bedford-based nonprofit, MITRE, is the powerhouse behind a new initiative called Bridging Innovation, designed specifically to play matchmaker between startups and government agencies.
For the program, MITRE has partnered with essentially all of Massachusetts' major players: MassRobotics, MassChallenge, Gov. Charlie Baker’s cybersecurity advisory panel, the Massachusetts Military Asset Task Force, Techstars' Air Force Accelerator, Harvard Innovation Labs, MIT Engine and the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub.
“Government needs quick access to innovative solutions,” Russ Graves, MITRE's Bridging Innovation director, said in a blog post. “It can be a tool to help create a new solution. Or a product—anything from ‘smart’ clothing for warfighters to a new healthcare mobile application. But it’s tough for a startup to know what the government needs and how to cut through the bureaucracy to reach them.”
In the post, MITRE highlighted its work with MassChallenge and MassRobotics: most recently, the establishment of a "safety and security" track at MassChallenge, as well as introductions to government sponsors for startups Cleo Robotics and Pison, among others.
“From our perspective, MITRE is leading the way in being the bridge between the innovation ecosystem and the government community,” Christian Melton, senior partnerships manager and safety & security lead at MassChallenge, said in the post.
As Dave Moody, director of strategic development and a champion of Bridging Innovation, put it, that partnership literally emerged from the back of a napkin:
“One day, Charlie Benway [MITRE’s original Massachusetts Innovation Bridging Director], Russ [Graves] and I were brainstorming on a napkin with members of the MassChallenge team,” Moody said in the post. “And in less than a year, with the help of MITRE, BAE Systems, Draper Labs, and National Security Innovation Network, MassChallenge stood up a brand-new 'Safety & Security' accelerator for the federal government.”
Select startups in MassChallenge's 2019 cohort took part in the program's first-ever safety and security track last year, designed to connect the startups with government and military organizations, research and development centers and defense innovation groups with expertise in the space.
Read more about MITRE's Bridging Innovation program here.
