The 2019 USSOCOM Innovation Foundry Summit is soliciting your ideas about what lies ahead for the world 10 years from now, and what challenges or opportunities will be presented to Special Operations Forces (SOF). We are interested in the impacts of technological innovation in the civilian society within the Texas Technology Ecosystem. What new or evolved technology will have the greatest impact, either as a challenge or as an opportunity, for SOF in 2029? How is daily life for humans around the world going to differ from today? What innovations will industry invent, which will shape society 10 years from now? How will technologies become disruptive by themselves or converged with other technologies? What are the Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic (DIME) actions and their Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, and Infrastructure (PMESII) effects created by this technological evolution? We want to know how you see the world in 2029 and the critical impacts it might pose for SOF.
To enter, submit a short summary paper (American Psychological Association (APA) Format, up to 2-5 pages total) describing any technology, how it will be proliferated and the basis for your position. The technology can be an advancement of an existing technology that exists today or a new technology that does not exist today. You should show how this technology will affect the world 10 years from now and what challenges and or opportunities it might present for Special Operation Forces at that time. Your solutions should at a minimum answer the following questions (not necessarily in order):
1 What technology lies ahead for the world 10 years from now, and what challenges or opportunities will be presented to SOF.
2 What are the impacts of technological innovation in the civilian society around the globe?
3 What new or evolved technology will have the greatest impact, either as a challenge and/or as an opportunity, for SOF in 2029?
4 How is daily life for humans around the world going to differ from today?
5 What innovations will industry invent, that will shape society l 0 years from now?
6 How will technologies become disruptive by themselves or converged with other technologies?
7 What are the PMESII effects created by this technological evolution?
8 How do you see the world in 2029 and the critical impacts it might pose for SOF?
Things to avoid:
1 The Seeker is not looking for a review article on the subject of futuristic predictions. Your submission needs to be about a possible technology based on facts and current research and not a summary of all speculations that exist.
2 The Seeker is not interested in pointing towards 3rd party ideas. They want your thoughts and not to just point out someone else’s. You can use others as references, but the bulk should be your own thoughts.
They are doing this via a prize challenge which is a conceptualized essay-written event, created by a “Seeker”, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), where participants, the “Solvers”, provide an answer or solution to a Prize Challenge question or concept ideation. Solvers, will attempt to solve a future task and/or a current physical/mechanical/conceptual limitation and provide a 3-5 page essay, based off of preset evaluation guidelines and their research, to answer the Prize Challenge question. Essays will be ranked against each other and inputted into an Order of Merit (OML) placement. USSOCOM will review and analyze the essays and award set rewards, once the event is closed.
Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on Mar 8, 2019. Late submissions will not be considered.
To apply, visit info.capitalfactory.com/ussocominnovationfoundry fir more information.