Frequently Asked Questions

A consortium is an association of two or more companies, organizations, or governments pooling resources to achieve a common goal.

We’re an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that formed a member-led consortium of US based entities that provide the Government advice in developing and executing ground vehicle system technologies by performing certain prototype research and development efforts in ground vehicle systems technology areas.

The NAMC provides services to both its members and Government partners to efficiently compete and award prototyping projects. NAMC performs these services utilizing its in-house staff and consultants and does not employ a Consortium Management Firm (CMF) or Consortium Administrative Organization (CAO).

The NAMC and its members undertake research projects, as selected, funded and technically supervised by the U.S. Government.

NAMC has over 500 member organizations from industry and academia, ranging from large defense primes to small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. NAMC comprises a diverse and specialized membership base. You can learn more about our members in the NAMC Member Directory.

Membership dues are a flat $500 annual fee per company. Click here to learn more.

Membership in the NAMC not only gives you access to requirements only competed to our members, but also gives you access to hundreds of other potential clients within our membership, teaming opportunities and the ability to collaborate with the Government on challenges facing our warfighters.

NAMC membership is open year-round, and the $500/year membership fee is prorated based on the time of year you apply. We operate on the Government fiscal year (Oct 1–Sep 30). Click here to learn more.  

Your membership will automatically be renewed on October 1st. You will be mailed a renewal letter/invoice. You can make your payment through Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or a check payable to NAMC. We also accept Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments.

All members are charged the same amount for membership. There are no other fees assessed of our members, and membership events are free to attend.

While NAMC does not allow foreign companies to become members, their U.S. subsidiaries are permitted to join. NAMC membership is restricted to U.S. companies with a valid DD2345 to ensure we are able to share military critical sensitive information. Foreign companies are allowed and encouraged to team with NAMC members on projects, but distribution statement waivers must be requested before any solicitation documents are shared with a foreign company.

NAMC members must be able to contribute technically to projects competed through the consortium. Capability statements submitted with a membership application should focus on the organization’s technical expertise.

According to statute, a nontraditional defense contractor is defined as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the Department of Defense for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the Department of Defense that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to section 1502 of title 41 and the regulations implementing such section.

All notifications about any project coming through NAMC are sent to our mailing list (we ensure that all appropriate team members are included) and can also be found on the member portal of our website. We send Special Notices/Intent to Announce, solicitations, requests for information (RFIs), Q&A listings, teaming opportunities, modifications, etc. through eventual award.

Per above, we have been hosting virtual industry sessions that also allow for directly asking the government any questions you may have on the projects. While the government also posts the initial special notice on SAM.gov, these projects are all exclusive to NAMC—perks of the consortia.

Check out all of our projects here, including a walk-through of our various project platforms.

NAMC has general membership meetings twice a year, usually on the margins of other industry engagements to limit travel. We also host virtual industry sessions with our government stakeholders for the projects that come through the consortium, on average once a month. And schedule regular virtual training touch points on topics of value to our membership. We plan to retain a virtual aspect for our events to allow our members from across the country to participate. 

Check out our latest events here. 

Teaming is a top priority for NAMC, and we facilitate it a couple of ways, all the while staying neutral as a platform for our members. We send out announcements for our members to join the teaming lists when a project is released, we have virtual networking (video chats) after our industry sessions, and we have a member directory that has a POC for each company that you can reach out to inquire about partnerships. 

We also have a lot of members that reach out to certain companies following their awards to propose teaming and showcase their capabilities. 

Another way we provide a platform for members to showcase capabilities is through our Member Spotlight, which we distribute twice a month and share on our social media platforms. Find more info here. 

As mentioned above, we usually have two general membership meetings a year, providing ample opportunity to network. One is normally held virtually and one in person, with an ability to join virtually. NAMC members are required to attend at least one membership meeting per year to remain in good standing. Our virtual meetings utilize various platforms to provide ample networking and discussion.

An OTA is a legally binding instrument used to engage industry and academia for a broad range of research and prototyping activities. They are not standard procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements and as such are generally not subject to the federal laws and regulations that apply to government procurement contracts (e.g., FAR/DFARS).

There are 12 key capability focus areas within the NAMC:

- Architecture, Security, and Modularity (ASM)
- Autonomy (AUT)
- Collaboration (COL)
- External Systems (EXT)
- Fuels & Lubes (F&L)
- Mobility (MOB)
- Modeling & Simulation (M&S)
- Petroleum and Water Systems (PAWS)
- Platforms (PLA)
- Powertrain (PWR)
- Survivability (SUR)
- Testing & Evaluation (T&E)

It depends.  A primary objective of OTAs is to incentivize nontraditional defense contractors (NDCs) and small businesses.  If the Prime is a NDC or Non-profit or the entire team consists of small businesses, there is no cost share. Traditional Primes that show significant NDC or small business participation on a project meet the statute, and cost share is not required.  However, Traditional Primes without significant NDC or small business participation on a project must provide one third (1/3) cost share.

Significant participation can refer to any of the following: supplying a new key technology or product; accomplishing a significant (1/3) amount of the effort; causing a material reduction in cost or schedule; and/or causing an increase in performance.

Each project is unique, and IP rights are subject to negotiation on a project-by-project basis.