UC2 Mission

Serving as a conduit to the nation’s best researchers, the DoD UC2 seeks to attract those who can conceive – and potentially develop – new capabilities in cyberspace that are innovative, relevant, and can be easily incorporated into the fight against America’s cyber-adversaries. The academic institutions benefit by having a direct link to the DoD through which they can submit bold and creative ideas via a Request for Information (RFI) process. If promising RFI responses are judged to warrant investment, and should funding become available, a solicitation may potentially be offered.  

 

UC2 Vision

In today’s contested cyber environment, where global adversaries constantly attempt to leverage their cyber-related capabilities to compromise or disrupt U.S. networks, and consequently, jeopardize the execution of DoD missions, cyber superiority is essential for a successful outcome. To maintain this superiority, the DoD must adapt new defense strategies and significantly improve its cybersecurity implementations as quickly as possible. The DoD UC2 ensures that the search for solutions involves exploring innovative ideas and using them to develop, build, and field new capabilities.

 

UC2 Relationships

The DoD UC2 maintains a government advisory council and executive committee consisting of representatives from these bodies:

  • Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E))
  • National Security Agency (NSA) National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program Management Office (PMO)
  • National Defense University's (NDU) College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC)
  • U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM)

Members of the UC2 Executive Committee lead the consortium. Members of the UC2 Advisory Council lead the effort of identifying the topic areas for the RFIs and selecting the best responses.

Map

 

The NDU CIC, designated as the Administrative Chair of the UC2 in the NDAA 2022, Section 1350, manages the day-to-day business of the UC2. Assisted by the UC2 Support Center, currently the University of Idaho, the UC2 Coordination Center (i.e., the NDU CIC) acts as a liaison between the DoD and academia, coordinates the requests for information, and serves as a clearinghouse for responses. Specifically, it communicates with NCAE universities as well as non-NCAE universities, and maintains response awareness with the UC2 Executive Committee and the UC2 Advisory Council.