Venture capital and strategic investment for developing government mission capabilities

A wide range of military capability improvement efforts have benefited from development and procurement methods that accommodate urgent operational needs. Changes in the threat environment suggest a need for a fresh examination of the adequacy and suitability of acquisition methods for the coming decade. This report examines one class of acquisition method, known as government venture capital (GVC), or government strategic investment (GSI). The research extracts general observations from previous cases and from a partial economic model of the GSI type of initiative. Taken together, these analyses will help government acquisition managers to judge more thoroughly the suitability of strategic investment methods for motivating future government mission{u2013}oriented innovation by private firms. The report does not explicitly compare GSIs and alternatives for their efficacy in advancing government mission objectives. If it had, it is likely that the main advantage of GSI would be improved access to information about alternative approaches available in the commercial market, resulting from the close relationships the GSI structure engenders between government and business.