Collaboration Strategies within NASA: How to Create New Partnerships

In an effort to increase exposure to government and nongovernment business sectors, the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) Directorate at Johnson Space Center (JSC) has taken a systematic and strategic approach to infusing innovation techniques within the structure of how NASA does business. A two-pronged approach will be reviewed that depicts the ability to accelerate innovation within an organization such as NASA. Two specific initiatives will be highlighted: the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) and HH&P engagement and partnership opportunity management.

The NHHPC is a global convener of government, industry, academic, and nonprofit organizations that support the advancement of human health and performance innovations for spaceflight, commercial aviation, and challenging environments on Earth. The NHHPC serves as a catalyst within NASA and facilitates open collaboration, connections across business sectors, and best practice sharing among organizations. Results and lessons learned from NHHPC events will highlight how the NHHPC serves as a mechanism to engage, collaborate, and network with others as well as share ideas across many boundaries to increase innovation and change the way government can do business.

The HH&P Directorate is at the forefront of innovation and continues to drive advances in human health and performance. In an effort to efficiently meet the changing demands of the current landscape, the Directorate has led the way in improving the ability to engage external partners. This has been accomplished by implementing mechanisms to attract potential partners and providing a customer-focused collection process of proposed opportunities. To illustrate the importance of establishing a strong partnering network, we will also provide an overview of successful strategies that can be implemented.

In summary, these efforts will demonstrate the successful collaboration of government, industry, academic and nonprofit organizations.