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Over 700 people participated in the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Summit held in Detroit, July 29 - August 1, 2024. The theme of the 2024 event was "Building Partnership and Strengthening Our Resilience" and featured leading authorities from federal agencies, industry, academia, and local government who shared their expertise and best practices.
Sponsored by the DoD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Summit is a unique opportunity for small businesses and prime contractors to network and engage with officials from small business program offices, and academic and economic development organizational partners.
We invite you to explore our post-event recap, information, and materials.
It's hard to believe that it has been a week since we concluded the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Summit in Detroit, Mich. I am so thrilled to hear how the energy and enthusiasm is influencing conversations and actions after the event.
We had an incredible week filled with dynamic speakers who imparted invaluable insights, recommendations, and best practices. The agenda was meticulously planned for the diverse audience of small businesses, government, industry, academia, and larger prime contractors. The focus was on business, and doing business, and the topics presented were crucial in providing clarity on the who, what, where, and why of the DoD Office of Small Business Programs’ mission.
Among the prominent speakers we welcome to the MPPSummit24 stage was Mr. Tom Perez, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Mr. Perez's keynote speech emphasized the importance of seizing the moment. His message resonated with me and so many others. The seize the moment message reverberated throughout the week, and now the next step is up to each small business to decide. How will YOU seize this moment?
Whether you were with us in Detroit last week or not, there will never a better moment than now to seize the opportunities and connections you made this week to advance your business goals.
The moment is now. Don't let it slip away.
My hope from MPPSummit24 is for attendees to lean into the opportunities gained at the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Summit. If you were not with us this year, join this call-to-action and lean into whatever events you participated in to forge new partnerships, secure new business, and seize new opportunities.
Where do you want to be a year from now? Two and three years from today? Whatever your goals, take what you gained, and add effort and perseverance.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Detroit for your dedication and engagement. Follow us on social media to stay informed of our future events and announcements about the 2025 DoD Mentor-Protégé Summit. Let's seize this moment to keep building partnerships and strengthening our resilience!
Best Regards,
Kasey Diaz Deputy Director Office of Small Business Programs
The Department of Defense (DoD) is proud to announce the fiscal year 2023 Nunn-Perry Award winners, recognizing excellence in the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program. The Program celebrated the accomplishments of this year's winners on August 1, 2024, at the Mentor-Protégé Summit in Detroit, MI.
"We are incredibly proud to recognize this year's Nunn-Perry Award winners," said Ms. Kasey Diaz, Director of the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program. "Their commitment to excellence in supporting and delivering capabilities across major defense programs is instrumental in advancing our national security objectives. These partnerships exemplify the collaborative spirit and innovative strategies that drive success in the Mentor-Protégé Program."
The Nunn-Perry Award is named for the contributions of Senator Sam Nunn and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, both of whom played critical roles in the implementation of the DoD Mentor- Protégé Program. Established in 1990, the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program assists DoD prime contractors in meeting their Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) subcontracting goals. The Program was made permanent in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This year the Program also expanded with a pilot initiative to provide developmental assistance to protégés performing in DoD reimbursable agreements with funding for projects supporting the advancement of engineering, software development, or manufacturing customization in support of the Warfighter.
Under the Program, mentor-protégé teams support the Warfighter by delivering capabilities across major defense programs. These teams include an experienced prime contractor that serves as the mentor to a small business, the protégé. They are also supported by an MPP partner organization such as a Small Business Development Center (SBDC), APEX Accelerator, Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Minority institution of higher education (MSI), women's business centers, or a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII).
The Nunn-Perry Award recipients exhibit exemplary protégé growth and development under their respective agreements.
Everyone is buzzing about the inaugural Pitch Perfect live event competition held July 31 where teams presented their product or service for a chance to land an accelerated Mentor-Protégé Agreement. The pitches showcased incredible collaboration between mentors and protégés, cutting-edge technology, and innovative business models targeting DoD critical technology areas and industrial base initiatives.
The presentations are available now through the event app or on the website. Follow these instructions for access: 1) Log into the event on the Cvent Events app, or on the website: https://cvent.me/eEqPLG. 2) Sign into the website using the email address used for registration. The code will be sent to your email account for verification. 3) From the landing page, select "Schedule" and then "ALL Sessions". 4) Select the session and click the "Resources " button on the right and the session's presentation(s) will appear.
A sampling of photos from the event are available now on the DoD Office of Small Business Programs’ Flickr account https://www.flickr.com/photos/dod-osbp and on our Facebook Page here https://www.facebook.com/BusinessDefense/photos_albums. Additional photos will be added to the Facebook albums by August 16 and announced on our social media accounts (follow OSBP on LinkedIn and Twitter).
The list of attendees is available in the Cvent attendee app and will remain active until November 1, 2024.
The date and location for the next MPP Summit will be announced early next year. Stay tuned for updates and be sure to compete the brief feedback survey sent to attendees to help us shape another valuable event.