• When one of our customers was acquired by a larger company, they insisted that, as part of the acquisition agreement, Collins & Company would continue to represent them before the federal government, regardless of who the larger company hired. They were so insistent about this condition that the larger company finally acquiesced. Collins & Company has been proud to represent the interests of our customer as an independent business and as part of a larger company.

• For many years, the important national security function of mapping our nation’s 95,000 miles of shoreline was funded sporadically, and only at the discretion of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the fall of 1999, under direction from a client, Collins & Company worked closely with the Deputy Under Secretary of NOAA to create a defined line item within the Administration’s budget for shoreline mapping. By arranging for our client to present information on the status of shoreline mapping, we were able to demonstrate that significant progress could be made utilizing new technologies if some funding were dedicated for this purpose. Throughout the budget’s development, Collins & Company continued its work through regular communication with the Deputy Under Secretary in order to monitor progress and provide any other information necessary. For fiscal year 2001, $1.5 million was requested by the Administration for shoreline mapping. To ensure success, Collins & Company worked closely with staff of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, State, and Justice, and as a result, the request was fulfilled in the appropriations bill. For fiscal years 2002 and 2003, NOAA again requested funding - $1 million. Collins & Company again worked closely with appropriations staff in order to emphasize the great need that existed for this program, and it was subsequently funded at a level of $2 million each year. And FY2004 saw the program reach its highest funding level in memory, with almost $3.5 million provided for the mapping of our nation’s shoreline.

• The first responders at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon worked heroically following the terrorist attacks of September 11. However, given more advanced equipment and real-time information, these first responders perhaps could have worked more effectively. Through Collins & Company’s strong understanding of its customers and the products and services they offer, in the aftermath of these attacks, we identified the strategic need for better tools and information and a way for our customers to fulfill this need. Collins & Company proposed that three of its small, high-tech customers, who had no previous association, work together to produce the Airborne Rapid Imaging for Emergency Support (ARIES) system. This creative and innovative way to assess needs and solve problems is one of Collins & Company’s strengths. Once developed, ARIES will gather data through aerial mapping, transmit that data at very high speeds to the ground through an ultra broadband wireless system, and rapidly process the data into tactical displays that enable emergency personnel to manage equipment use, locate underground utility lines, hotspots and fires, identify the volume and stability of rubble piles, and array that information within a mobile command and operations center. The result will be a valuable decision-making tool for the nation’s first responders. This project has been embraced by the New York State Office for Technology and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness has provided $3 million for the development of a program to demonstrate the technology. Looking to the future, fiscal year 2005 and beyond, Collins & Company has already arranged for its clients to provide detailed briefings to various federal government officials, as the budget development cycle takes over one year. Collins & Company has also set-up similar briefings for Members of Congress and high-ranking congressional staffers and is working with these Members and staff to build long-term support for the project.

• With some of our defense customers, Collins & Company works as part of a team of advocates building support for particular projects. One such project team is the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) built by one of our clients. Collins & Company has worked on this project since 1995, and played a significant role in securing appropriations in the range of $250-$300 million annually. In fiscal year 2002, the President’s budget request included a request for production funding for building a J-STARS, but did not include a request for long lead funding for future systems. Collins & Company worked successfully to obtain an additional $49 million for long lead funding for future systems by providing concise, targeted information regarding J-STARS contributions to military effectiveness to key Members of Congress and their staff.

• While we sometimes operate in teams, as explained above, frequently Collins & Company is the primary advocate, developing and implementing a federal relations strategy for our clients. One of these clients builds the Tactical Component Network – an infrastructure that efficiently and effectively nets together all sensors and weapons that exist or are being developed into a theater-wide collaborative tracking network. In fiscal year 2001, working with senior Members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and their staff, Collins & Company generated the support to secure $10 million for the program – when no funding had been requested by the President. At the same time, Collins & Company arranged meetings with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition to build budget support for this critical Navy requirement in fiscal year 2002 and beyond. In fiscal year 2002, the Company encouraged and facilitated an interaction between the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Members of the Subcommittees on Defense that resulted in an appropriation of $35.5 million in the final Conference Report. For fiscal year 2003, Collins & Company built the support to secure a $32.75 million appropriation for Tactical Component Network and was again successful in securing funding in fiscal year 2004.

• A client worked with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California State Department of Conservation (CalDOC) to develop the GeoSAR system – a new airborne radar mapping system designed to map large areas at high resolution and, for the first time, to create terrain models of the true ground surface, beneath the vegetation canopy. The GeoSAR system was developed for both civilian and military applications. By working closely with Members and staff of several appropriations subcommittees, as well as with various agencies and departments of the federal government, Collins & Company has worked with the client to overcome the difficulties associated with employing dual-use technologies, and successfully secured $70.7 million over 6 years for use nationwide. Collins & Company continues to work with congressional staff and federal agencies to build on past support in order to expand the program and its applications in the future.
  

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