Level 1 could be considered Basic Research, Level 2 termed Applied Research, and Level 3 is where we start getting into early stage prototyping, actually trying to build something.
When commercial companies and even seasoned Federal contractors seek to enter this IRAD space, it’s important to know these levels and where your capability or product fits in, because the buyers from this world not only use the Technology Readiness Level terminology but each agency tends to operate at a different level on the curve, with some overlap.įor instance, in my work pursuing and landing these type opportunities for FedTrax clients, I have found that the DoD Research Labs (Army, Navy, Air Force) tend to operate on the lower levels of the scale (1-3). Figure 1 – Technology Readiness Level Scale, courtesy of Innovation Seeds blog Figure 1 shows a TRL scale that is generic enough for the Government and private sector. You can Google and find NASA’s version, the DoD’s, and others. Technology Readiness Level Scaleīoth NASA and DoD have slightly different definitions for the nine (9) TRLs that show innovation ranging from a back-of-napkin idea (Level 1) to one that is fully deployed in a Federal mission space (Level 9). 3% in 2016), the DoD still controls a majority of that spend. Given the dwindling state of Federally funded IRAD in the past 50 years ( nearly 12% of Federal budget in 1966 vs. NASA coined the term in the seventies and defined things a bit more tightly in 1989, but TRLs have made their way into the lexicon of other Federal agencies that fund innovation, namely the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as the commercial sector. So, what is Technology Readiness Level and why do you need to know about it?Īccording to Wikipedia, “TRLs are a method of estimating technology maturity of Critical Technology Elements (CTE) of a program during the acquisition process.” That’s as good a definition as any, and in simplified terms provides a scale or rating of how ready your innovation is for prime time that is, operational use in a bona fide Government program. These innovation, research and development projects can provide an “in” to this lucrative space with lower barriers to entry than those presented to service providers, if and only if the company innovation teeters on the cutting edge. These opportunities can be particularly appealing to tech companies that boast commercial innovation and don’t typically do business with our Federal Government, if at all. I’ve shared this topic before as one of the three key ways to pursue Federal business, along with direct contract priming and strategic teaming. IRAD projects are investments that the Government makes to get the latest and greatest technological advancements toward their mission space.
Innovative tech firms that pursue Federally funded business opportunities need to be aware and familiar with a term used in the Innovation, Research and Development (IRAD) arena known as Technology Readiness Level (TRL).
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