General SVIP FAQs:
Blockchain Release 2 FAQs
1. How long does it take for the government to decide and fund a company?
Please reference the SVIP Application Process section (p.5) in the Blockchain Call 2
Industry Day Slides.
2. Can we bring multiple team members into the pitch?
Yes
3. What are the eligibility criteria for a company?
Please refer to the SVIP OTS Section 4 for eligibility requirements
4. What if I want to propose a solution that is ready to go?
Please see How to Work with Us
5. What is the channel for 500 employee company?
Please see How to Work With Us
6. Would you consider a proposal that addresses multiple use cases simultaneously?
Yes. Please submit one application and articulate how your solution can address multiple
use cases within the 10-page application template.
7. If a startup applies for multiple use case will we be funded independently for each?
No. Please respond in a single application indicating how your solution can support
multiple use cases.
8. In the SVIP application Q 2.10 (Financial Health) and Q 2.11 (Customers) do not have
instructions. What sort of information is required here?
Financial Health: What is your annualized run-rate based on your current
weekly/monthly revenue? What is your current monthly burn rate? What is your month-
over-month revenue growth rate (USD)? How much revenue did you book in past 12
months? Are you cash flow positive?
Customers: How many active customers or users do you currently have? New customers
since the Phase 1 project began? Who is your target market, and has it changed since the
Phase 1 project began?
9. Are companies that have previously been awarded funding able to apply for these new
opportunities?
Yes
Yes
a submission?
No
10. Are you looking for new entrants and solutions?
11. Are the opportunities to bring other problem areas to DHSs attention that may not be directly
covered by your use cases (but obviously related)?
This Call is focused on the specific needs of the DHS Operational Components and
Programs as articulated in the call.
12. Would you be open to a rapid demonstration of a new product to discuss it for alignment prior to
13. At the end of Phase 1, what is your expectation in terms of TRL?
Please reference the call to see what is expected at the end of Phase 1.
14. Section 3.4 of the application asks about Prototype Maturity. If the proposed project is for an
add-on feature for an existing product, what sort of information is required here?
Please provide information that would allow DHS to decide as to how your product can
help to address one or more of the problem sets articulated in the call.
15. How do you handle patented technologies - will a non-transferable perpetual license suffice?
Please refer to the SVIP OTS Section 11 on licenses.
16. With solving the business problems being central to success, how does the program support
interaction with key business stakeholders as part of the requirements analysis process?
Awarded companies working on a specific use case will have direct access to the key
business stakeholders on a regular basis
17. Are there external partners available for specific domain knowledge (besides the DHS business
owners) to consult?
DHS will provide some introductions as appropriate. This is something that DHS expects
the startups to bring to the table.
18. When solving the business problems / use cases, typically how far do the prototypes go in terms
of demonstrating the business the e2e solution. For example, in the case of SSN would the
exposed APIs be integrated into DHS systems as part of the prototype?
As noted, any direct integration w/ DHS systems would happen only as part of a potential
Phase 4 Operational Pilot. A Phase 1 MVP would need to demonstrate the items
requested in the Call
19. What is the process for gathering requirements and developing the solution with the key
stakeholders of the use case?
is in place.
Phase 1 is 6 months. You would be engaging with key stakeholders as soon as an award
20. If a company is a reseller of a technology that is applicable to the use case, are they allowed to
apply as an implementation partner or would only the company behind the technology be able to
apply?
Typically, the developer of the technology is the entity that would normally apply as it
involves adapting their product and could impact their core IP. However, if it is a
teaming arrangement and the agreements are between the individual team members, if the
applicant meets the eligibility criteria, we will consider the application.
21. Who were the winners last time and what progress was made?
Please reference the DHS SVIP website.
22. Does the entire project team have to be US based?
No
Technical FAQs:
23. Are there technical needs with respect to Risk, Threat, Vulnerability and physical security
assessments, response and recovery?
Yes. Please reference the technical topic requirements of the call.
24. You mentioned that DHS do not care about Intellectual Property, but DHS is also requiring that
the solution is open, royalty free, and documented. How does this work?
The requirement is for APIs to be open, royalty free and documented. The solution itself
does not need to be.
25. DHS is requiring interoperability between different services. However, an underlying
infrastructure that could provide such an interoperability does not exist today. Building it could
take a lot of effort and maybe years. How do you plan to address that problem where you can
have services running in different cloud locations or even edge locations and need to connect?
DHS has already demonstrated a multi-platform interop. We are not seeking a common
underlying infrastructure.
26. Will companies have an idea of test data that will be made available for the unique identifier
challenge?
DHS will not be providing any test data.
27. Are there lessons learned from Phase 1? Is there any overarching view of DID standards and
direction for government?
Please reference the Technical Overview section in the Industry Day Slides
28. Given that the use cases span across multiple agencies, presumably with diverse computing
setups, and a common need for security primitives like key and secret management, what are the
plans for defining a platform to run all these solutions?
Please reference the Technical Overview section in the Industry Day Slides
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