This document summarizes the mission and activities of SOFWERX, a Title 15 Partnership Intermediary Agreement between USSOCOM and industry/academic partners. SOFWERX aims to (1) accelerate delivery of innovative capabilities to USSOCOM and (2) facilitate capability refinement through exploration, experimentation and assessment of promising technologies. It does this by providing various mechanisms like projects, events and challenges to solve USSOCOM problems and releasing opportunities to its diverse ecosystem for submissions. SOFWERX emphasizes flexibility, quick wins for warfighters, and risk avoidance through its processes and partnerships outside traditional procurement.

2. Under a Title 15 Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA):
• SOCOM
• Inter Agency Partners
• Industry Partners/Fellows
• FFRDC’s/Labs
• Academics/Interns
• Hackers/Makers
“Big Tent” philosophy which includes:
+ =ERDCDoolittle
NPS CFIC MGM

3. A platform designed and
operated to help solve
challenging Warfighter
problems through increased
collaboration and innovation.
I. Create and maintain a platform to accelerate
delivery of innovative capabilities to USSOCOM
II. Facilitate capability refinement thru
exploration, experimentation and assessment
of promising technology
CHARTER

4. Challenges provided by:
• Components (398)
• TSOCs and SOF Units (80)
• HQ/J-Staff (38)
Mechanisms:
• Projects (226)
• Collaboration Events (73)
• Assessment Events (35)
• Tech Talks (28)
• Prize Challenges (25)
• Rapid Prototyping Events (7)
• Hackathons (7)
• Combat Evaluations (2)
IMPACTS
Knowledge Transfers (431)
Validations (211)
Collaborative Project Orders (45)
Consignments (72)
Transitions (34)
SOF
Challenge
Identified
SOFWERX
Mechanism
Applied
Opportunity
Released to
Ecosystem
Submissions
Due
~ 30 Days
After Release
Gov Downselects
~ 10 Days After
Submissions
Received
1-on-1 Event
with
Government
How it WERX

5. Lessons Learned
Adoption Profile
Psychographic
Social Technographic
2.5% 13.5% 34% 16%34%
16%
Social ProofScarcity
Innovators
Technologists
Creators
Early
Adopters
Visionaries
Early
Majority
Pragmatists
Late
Majority
Conservatives
Joiners &
Spectators
Late Mass
Skeptics
Inactive
The Tipping
Point
13.5% 34% 34%2.5%
Critics &
Collectors
• Maintain momentum.
• Pivot quickly when it doesn’t work.
• You can’t force adoption; the best idea
doesn’t always win.
• Find products for your customers, not
customers for your products.
• Own the numbers and don’t do
innovation theater.
• Execute fiercely and demand excellence.
• Build a team of committed stress
reducers.

6. Types of Innovation:
Consequence
NegativePayoff
Little Great
Likelihood
HighSpeed
SlowFast
• Incremental
• Serves existing customers or markets. It
may involve improved, refined, or
“incrementally better” products or
services.
• Adjacent
• Involves expansion to an adjacent business
or customer arrangement. This innovation
typically leverages the company's expertise
but does so in new or innovative ways.
• Transformational
• Requires the creation of entirely new
businesses to serve new markets and new
customers.
Risk Assessment:

7. How Are We Different?
• Flexible, non-FAR business
methodologies and processes
• ~86% of submissions come from the
SOFWERX non-traditional ecosystem.
~14% come from Sam.Gov.
• Neutral facilitation and ideation
• Easy to access & reduced barriers
Why SOFWERX?
• Quick Wins for the Warfighter
• Fail Fast / Cost and Risk Avoidance
• Refine/Inform Requirements
• Flexibility through additional contracting
mechanisms

8. Join the mission:
sofwerx.org/ecosystem