Creating Impactful One-Pagers Using the Heilmeier Catechism
by Jeff Decker, PhD and Nilay Papila, PhD
Technology Transfer for Defense, Stanford University
In the realm of research and project management, clarity and precision are paramount. Communicating your project's objectives, significance, risks, and feasibility can often be challenging, especially when navigating complex technical terrain, and are deep in the technical weeds when doing so. This is where the Heilmeier Catechism comes into play.
The Heilmeier Catechism is a series of 8-questions to help researchers clearly and concisely communicate their research in a way that resonates with government program managers (PMs). We, at Technology Transfer for Defense, have used it for several years to craft one-pagers we send to program managers to set up an initial call to learn about the alignment of our research to the PMs vision of their program. This blog post walks researchers through the steps to help them begin correspondence with a potential funder.
Understanding the Heilmeier Catechism
Named after George H. Heilmeier, a former director of DARPA, the Heilmeier Catechism comprises a set of questions designed to guide the formulation and communication of project proposals. By addressing these questions, you can effectively convey the core components of their project in plain language that emphasizes why PMs should care about your research.
Key Questions of the Heilmeier Catechism
1. What are you trying to do?
Objective: Articulate objectives using plain language, avoiding technical jargon. This ensures clarity and accessibility to a broad, and sometimes non-technical, audience.
2. How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
Current Practice: Assess the existing methods or technology state-of-the-art in the field identifying the value the research might unlock for the PMs organization. Doing so provides context about the value the research might offer.
3. What is new in your approach, and why do you think it will be successful?
Innovation: Highlight the innovative aspects of your approach and explain why it has the potential to succeed where previous methods have fallen short (briefly mentioning previous attempts).
4. Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make?
Impact: Identify the stakeholders or beneficiaries of your project and articulate the potential impact or benefits it will deliver upon successful implementation. Demonstrating impact means communicating how it will be valuable in terms that resonate with the PM. For instance, research might improve the battery life of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), but the metrics of success impactful to the Defense Department are longer UUV missions resulting in more persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
5. What are the risks?
Risks: Acknowledge and assess the potential risks or challenges associated with your project, demonstrating a clear understanding of the obstacles that may arise.
6. How much will it cost?
Cost: Provide a realistic estimation of the financial resources required to execute your project, including both direct and indirect costs.
7. How long will it take?
Timeline: Outline the anticipated timeline for the project, including key milestones and phases, to give a clear picture of the time commitment involved. We recommend providing a table where impact, dollar amount, and timeline are stretch out so the PM can select which is a better fit for their program. For example, you might provide a timeline of 2, 3, and 5 years each with a more ambitious impact with a higher dollar amount.
8. What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success?
Evaluation: Define measurable metrics or criteria that will be used to evaluate the progress and success of the project at various stages, from inception to completion.
Creating Your One-Pager
Creating a one-pager involves crafting a concise document that effectively communicates the core of your project, facilitating quick understanding and evaluation by program managers. Begin with a clear, engaging title and include your name, affiliation, and contact details. Briefly describe the problem your project addresses and outline the current methods and their limitations. Summarize your innovative approach and its anticipated success. Identify the stakeholders and the potential impact of your project. Highlight key risks and your mitigation strategies. Provide a high-level budget estimate, a simplified timeline with major milestones, and define the success metrics to be used for evaluation. For further guidance, refer to the next section where we include a sample one-pager.
Sample One-Pager
Developing Next-Generation Defense Technologies
Prof. Jane Doe, Stanford University, Email: jane.doe@stanford.edu
Project Overview:
Problem Statement: Current defense communication systems are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks.
Current Practice: Existing systems lack advanced encryption methods, making them susceptible to breaches and compromising national security.
Innovation and Approach:
What is New: Introducing quantum encryption, a theoretically unbreakable method, to secure communication channels.
Why It Will Succeed: Quantum encryption leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to create virtually unhackable encryption keys, providing a robust solution against cyber threats.
Impact and Stakeholders:
Who Cares: DoD units, allied defense agencies, and national security organizations. Be as specific as possible. PMs LOVE when researchers are able to not only identify “the Navy” as the stakeholder, or even “the 7th Fleet”, but specific job titles that will directly benefit from the research once it is transitioned. With the UUV example, the researcher might mention a specific UUV platform (e.g., Remus), the operators, and the people that care about the intelligence the platform collects.
Difference It Will Make: Enhanced security and resilience of defense communication systems, significantly reducing the risk of cyber-attacks and potentially saving millions in breach costs. The Air Force currently uses “X” communications systems from Raytheon. The Army uses A communications system from L3Harris. Both rely on “Z” technology. The current project expects to enhance 123 enabling 20% greater connectivity with a 3x higher level of encryption over the current state-of-the-art.
Risks and Mitigation:
Identified Risks:
Technical feasibility and scalability of quantum encryption.
Integration with existing communication infrastructure.
Mitigation Strategies:
Conduct phased testing and development.
Collaborate with leading quantum computing experts and cybersecurity professionals to ensure technical viability and smooth integration.
Budget Estimate: Total Estimated Cost: $2 million over three years.
Timeline:
Year 1: Research and development of quantum encryption algorithms.
Year 2: Prototype development and initial testing phases.
Year 3: Full-scale deployment and comprehensive evaluation.
Success Metrics:
Midterm Evaluations: Successful laboratory tests demonstrating the effectiveness of quantum encryption.
Final Evaluations:
Field trials showing resilience against simulated cyber-attacks.
Deployment within three years with measurable improvements in security, validated by independent cybersecurity audits.
By following the Heilmeier Catechism and structuring your one-pager as outlined above, you can effectively communicate the core components of your project to program managers, ensuring clarity, engagement, and a compelling proposal that stands out.