APFIT- What is it? And What Do You Need to Know About it?

Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) was first addressed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2022, in Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Software and Technology and Section 834.

The program is intended to be a resource to help innovative technologies pass over the infamous valley of death. It is similar to TACFI/STRAFTI; however, where TACFI/STRATFI is limited to the USAF, APFIT is open DoD wide.

APFIT is an OSD (Office of Secretary of Defense) level program. Its rollout happened quickly in the summer of 2022, but the quick timeline led to a lot of confusion and sloppy efforts. Still, Congress in the first year of its running.

USD R&E Heidi Shyu was involved in selecting the winners, some of which included a technology for doubling the field of view of night-vision goggles, a new sensor for detecting underwater mines, and a low-cost actuation system for munitions to hit moving targets.

Interested in Learning More?

APFIT is a new and relatively unknown program. Are you interested in finding out how it might benefit your unique federal strategy?

Feel free to reach out to our experts to learn more.

How Much is Awarded

Nomination requests for funding are statutorily limited to $10M-$50M.  

In FY22, Guidance was provided that USD(R&E) favored 10x $10M awards versus fewer, larger awards. Qualified individual nominations requested as little as $10M, and as much as $45M. USD(R&E) selected 10 projects, each to receive $10M, regardless of requested amount.  

For FY23, It was recommended that all nominees submit nomination materials scoped to support a $10M request. A secondary set of nomination materials can be submitted to support a larger funding request, NTE $50M, if desired 

Is Your Company Qualified for APFIT Funding?

Are you interested in pursuing APFIT funding in future rounds, but don’t know if you qualify?

If you answer yes to these four questions, you could be a candidate:

1. Do you have an established technology that can use procurement dollars (in other words, are you providing a solution, not further developing one)?
2. Have you won less than $500 million in DoD contracts?
3. Are you a small business or a non-traditional defense contractor?
4. Do you have programmed procurement funding in future fiscal years (planned program of record several years down the road)?

**in order to be considered you must be nominated by a DoD Program Office.

What many don’t know about the 2023 version of APFIT is that it has already come and gone; the submission round is already over. If you’re just hearing about it now, you should start prepping for the FY24 program, which will likely start in late 2023.

So what do you need to do to be ready for FY24?

• Build the right relationships.
• Have the right funding conversations as part of a program of record.
• Research and plan for the application process.
• Be on the lookout for the release of the next iteration (as we mentioned, it tends to be a quick turnaround).

Want more information about how to prepare for the next round?

There is a lot of optimism around the future of this program as an opportunity for companies to secure procurement funding moving forward.