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Applications Open for the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell

ben4prez

ben4prez

Well-Known Member
pilot
For the past few months, I've been part of an organization called the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC). The goal is to give junior leaders an opportunity to have an outsized impact on the Navy at a young age -- those who understand modern technology helping to shape the future outside normal channels.

We're looking for applicants for FY14 who are intellectually curious, think outside the box, and arent afraid to skewer established orthodoxy. Ideally O-3/E-6 and below. Here's the application:

https://www.nwdc.navy.mil/ncfi/cric/default.aspx

Its a group of JO's who have RDT&E money and the ability to take on projects that WE feel the Navy needs. We get to travel looking at some of the most innovative civilian, academic and military organizations in the country (we decide where to go, and who to meet with, leveraging our own networks). From those ideas and interactions, we manage projects that should cost no more than $2 mil and can be created in less than 18 months.

Projects we are working on:

1. 3D Printing for the Fleet
2. Crowdsourced Wargaming
3. Putting Google Glass on Ships
4. Suspened Underwater Raw Fiber
5. "Other" projects

Places we've visited:

1. Carnegie Mellon Robotics Lab and Digital Media Center
2. HBS iLab Innovation Center, Harvard Design School
3. QualComm Innovation Team
4. MIT Lincoln Labs and Hand Gesture Lab
5. Pax River Rapid Prototyping facilities

Some People We've Seen

1. CNO
2. Clayton Christensen of HBS
3. Andy Marshall (Office of Net Assessment)

This is a voluntary, very unique collateral duty with incredible access and networking opportunities. Events are once per month, for 2-3 days. You get a letter from our 2-star to your command requesting your participation if selected. I first started doing this while a Navy FRS IP at VMFAT-101 last fall, and it was/is awesome.

This is multi-community, but we need more aviators! Happy to answer any questions as they come up!
 
L

llnick2001

it’s just malfeasance for malfeasance’s sake
pilot
Does the Navy foot the bill for travel to the monthly get together? What kind of time commitment does it entail outside of the monthly gatherings? This seems like a cool program. I'm glad this kind of thing is being promoted.
 
Renegade One

Renegade One

Well-Known Member
None
ben4prez said:
For the past few months, I've been part of an organization called the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC). The goal is to give junior leaders an opportunity to have an outsized impact on the Navy at a young age -- those who understand modern technology helping to shape the future outside normal channels.
Click to expand...
I guess the CNO's "Strategic Studies Group" is/was too old-fogey? :cool:

I like the fact that it's a "virtual/collateral duty" opportunity…won't take anyone off of the track they should be on as a JO. Sounds like a sweet opportunity for those inclined and selected…and a good chance to make a difference, if the heavies will pay attention.
 
ben4prez

ben4prez

Well-Known Member
pilot
To address a couple things:

1. Time committment outside of monthly ideations are the time you want to take to respond to our flurry of listserv emails, and then whatever it takes to get your idea off the ground.

2. the CNO's SSG, from what I understand, is more like a think tank. the CRIC is a do-tank. We go out there and give the fleet tangible things to play with/experiement with.

3. The heavies are, interestingly, paying attention. Our Admiral gets more questions about we 15 crazy JOs than the rest of our command combined. That is an important aspect though: how do you get senior leaders in touch with innovative junior people without their ideas being flattened and warped by middle management -- many of whom are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. Flag advocates are an absolute requirement for our success, and forunately ours (a fellow aviator) is a tireless advocate.
 
ben4prez

ben4prez

Well-Known Member
pilot
Renegade One said:
May be too early yet, but is there a "for instance…" you can share?
Click to expand...

Well, my personal project, involving additive manufacturing (3D Printing) is planning to create 2 coastal hubs with machines and technologists. We're getting ships to give us lists of items they think could be printed, and working with the tech guys and NAVSUP to make it happen. Lots of opportunity for sailor innovation there...already had one sailor request a tuning tool he couldnt find off the shelf (and cost $599 through Navy procurement), so he is working with the folks at NUWC in Keyport, WA to print him a suitable part. Read more here:

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20...7/3-D-printers-will-create-parts-gear-sailors

For the Google Glass project, we're working with a West Coast military development center to create apps for the device, then put them on ships for sailors to evaluate. We also are trying to create a way for sailors to create their own apps for evaluation and integration, leveraging the crowdsourcing culture.

We're in our first year, so everything is "planned," but key to our efforts are direct engagement with the waterfront with iterative development in a rapid and responsive way. Best of all, its junior leaders who are passionate about their projects, so they are finding creative ways to get their projects moving.
 
lowflier03

lowflier03

So no $hit there I was
pilot
So how is it that the first time people hear about this is on a forum like Airwarriors? Sounds like an endeavor that might actually be beneficial to the fleet (unlike the billions of wasted dollars on other bs stuff) yet no one knows about it.
 
phrogdriver

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
The Corps could use something like this. I wonder if there's something out there that's similarly under publicized. For $2M, there's lots of COTS that go "boom."
 
ben4prez

ben4prez

Well-Known Member
pilot
lowflier03 said:
So how is it that the first time people hear about this is on a forum like Airwarriors? Sounds like an endeavor that might actually be beneficial to the fleet (unlike the billions of wasted dollars on other bs stuff) yet no one knows about it.
Click to expand...
Well, we've only been around for 8 months. Hopefully as our (your!) projects hit the Fleet, it'll become more widely known. We're working informal networks now, but expect an official announcement within days.

At first, CRIC members were literally recruited by people I knew, and others that were a bit crazy/disruptive. We want to leverage the wealth of talents well beyond my own limited network. To be sure, this is a program that flies in the face of everything you may believe about the Navy (as I did). But I assure you it is very real, and one of the most interesting/eye opening things I have had the honor to take part in.
 
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