In Stay Sharp Episode 103, Supporting Government Programs with Digital Engineering, co-hosts Jonathan Scott and Juliann Grant welcome returning guest Steve Nichols, the Vice President and General Manager of Razorleaf Government Solutions, a group he helped found a decade ago. This is the second of two episodes on digital engineering (DE) and government, following Stay Sharp Episode 94: Navigating Digital Engineering in Government, which is especially relevant now that the Department of Defense is instructing suppliers to use digital engineering. Together, the trio dig into what you need to consider if you’re working on a government program.
Does That Mean You Need DE Too?
Steve’s answer is mostly yes, you’re probably going to have to support DE in some method. Fundamentally, he says, “For programs that have a digital engineering requirement to them, the supply chain—the folks that are supplying product, source, data, whatever services back to that contract—will most likely have to comply with some portion of that digital engineering requirement.” Of course, that depends on the contract and on your role, whether you’re a prime contractor or a supplier and what kinds of materials or components you’re providing. Your component may be something small, deep in an assembly, but if the lifecycle of the project you’re involved in (such as a fighter jet) is 30 years, there may be some form of cyber asset that must accompany the physical deliverable.
This doesn’t mean you have to run out and implement comprehensive DE right this minute, but you need to know what might be expected of you so it’s not a surprise down the line. If you’re a small business, DE could be an especially big ask. Steve notes that small businesses involved in government programs are typically teamed with larger companies, and some other team member might meet the DE portion of the contract so you don’t have to. If you’re the larger business providing DE expertise, you might be teaming with smaller businesses that contribute to the program in other ways. “Knowledge sharing is a two-way street,” Jonathan says, “because it could be that you as an organization are bringing more digital engineering know-how or capability than maybe even who you’re selling to or who you’re teaming with. Think about that as value you can bring to the table and share with that customer.”
Using and Pricing Your DE Expertise
If you do have DE experience, Steve suggests you use it to help shape government projects, saying, “Digital engineering success is really a conversation. The digital components of it are what you’re ending end up delivering and utilizing. But this is a conversation.” While this is a metaphorical statement, he also means it literally, sharing a variety of opportunities that exist for manufacturing organizations to talk with government program sponsors to help shape what DE aspects the sponsors will look for in their programs. “If digital engineering is a requirement for a program that you’re interested in, whether you think you’re going to be a prime contractor or a subcontractor to a prime, you have the ability to go in and talk to the government. Help share things that you’re doing, things that you see are best practices, and approaches that they should try to adopt in their program moving forward,” Steve explains.
Digital engineering is a double-edged sword when it comes to data rights and data sharing, which have long been a source of tension in the government/contractor dynamic. The government wants all the data so they can support and repair the product they’re buying, and the contractor wants to be paid for those rights. The important thing for both sides to understand is that, as Steve says, “The tension can be mitigated by a cost.” Manufacturers will need to be sure that they thoroughly understand the data-sharing requirements of a program, and price their bids accordingly.
What’s different about this situation now that DE is ubiquitous, however, is the ease with which data can now flow through a program. If your customer wants your data as part of their digital thread, your data likely exists in the supply chain, and there could be “spillage” in terms of where it goes. Steve asks, “If there’s a competitor to you that’s also working in this digital thread, how do you protect your intellectual property from your competition?” That’s one of the key points you’ll need to address in your contracts.
Learn More About DE and Government Programs
The full podcast contains more discussion and details on a variety of topics, including why Steve describes DE for government programs as “the long road,” what other means exist to “win friends and influence people” in government agencies, and more.
Be sure to check out Stay Sharp Episode 103: Supporting Government Programs with Digital Engineering and join us each week for a new podcast.
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