The VCSI vision is to become a self-sustaining, world-class R&D center that blends local resources with national assets to provide science and technology innovations and solutions to meet critical NASA and DoD mission requirements. We will accomplish this vision in a four-step process that will take a minimum of 10 years to accomplish. VCSI will capitalize on our national investment in R&D by integrating the skills, experience, and research assets of government, university, industry, and R&D organizations (Figure 1). VCSI will be a membership organization with member firms from the North Alabama corridor and strategic partners (universities and R&D organizations) from across the state, region, and nation. Member firms and strategic partners will be aligned with the strategic focus areas of VCSI, which in turn are aligned with the critical science and technology objectives of local NASA and DoD customers. In addition to using the virtual assets of its member firms and strategic partners, the VCSI will also develop in-house technical assets in a few key areas of emerging technology that are aligned with future customer requirements. By focusing on research for development and application at the beginning, the VCSI will validate our business model and manifest the value of collaborative research for all member organizations, strategic partners, and customers.
Elements of the long term VCSI vision include:
- Creating a nationally recognized, not-for-profit R&D organization in Huntsville
- Further branding the region as an innovative, high-tech R&D center Integrating local assets with national assets to provide solutions and applications
- Creating a hands-on learning environment for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators
- Enabling the Vision for Space Exploration, Operationally Responsive Space, Future Combat Systems, Tactical Missiles, Army Aviation, the Global Earth Observing System of Systems, Missile Defense, etc
- Creating long-lasting value for Huntsville by capturing additional federal funds for science and innovation
Initially, VCSI will focus on collaborative R&D activities, translating low-level technology into high-level technology applications to be supplied to customers by its member and partner organizations. However, in the future, VCSI also aspires to develop hardware and software products aligned with critical customer mission requirements and in collaboration with our respective member organizations and strategic partners to optimize use of their technical assets and capabilities.
In both the near- and long-term:
VCSI will capitalize on our national investment in R&D to address the requirements, challenges, and opportunities of tomorrow for key federal clients. VCSI will combine the skills, experience, and assets of leading members of the R&D community to meet important mission requirements in a cost-effective and customer-responsive manner.
As noted above, VCSI is being established as a membership organization. In addition to building teams and capabilities in response to customer needs, we will also provide key member benefits that include preferred vendor status, networking, business development, product development, learning opportunities, and access to intellectual property and emerging technologies. By combining the capabilities of our member organizations and strategic partners, VCSI will address technical challenges beyond the capabilities of any one organization. In so doing, we will greatly enhance the technical insight and capabilities of our members and strategic partners, and provide additional business development opportunities for these firms and universities within or external to the framework of VCSI.
- Download our strategic plan.