Measuring performance
allows the Advanced Technology Program to:
- Track
performance over time to assess if goals are being met;
- Link
performance to budget decisions; and
- Address
management challenges.
ATP measures
outputs as short-run indicators of progress toward program
goals. ATP measures outcomes in the longer run to assess
ultimate economic impact of the program.
Each year,
ATP estimates the following performance results as measures
of key outputs and indicators of progress in meeting short-run
program goals:
- Funding
high-risk R&D;
- Fostering
collaboration; and
- Accelerating
development and commercialization of advanced technologies.
The table
below shows the ATP targets for
FY 2006 that the Department of Commerce will use to assess
actual performance and budgets, actual * measures of performance
for FY 2006, and the targets for FY 2007.
|
Performance
Measure |
Target
FY 2006 |
Actual
FY 2006 |
Target
FY 2007 |
Cumulative
number of projects with new technologies under
commercialization |
360 |
377 |
390 |
Cumulative
number of publications |
1,710 |
1,910 |
1,830 |
Cumulative
number of patents issued |
1,510 |
1,507 |
1,550 |
Percent
of projects reporting an increase in longer-term
and/or higher risk R&D |
95 |
96 |
95 |
Percent
of projects involving R&D collaboration |
85 |
85 |
85 |
Percent
of project participants reporting acceleration
of R&D cycle time |
85 |
86 |
85 |
Key
Results:
- Actual
results for FY 2006 are near or exceed the targeted levels for all measures.
- The level
of collaboration, longer-term/higher risk R&D, and
acceleration have been constant over time. These high
levels of acceleration of R&D and collaboration are
expected to continue in the future, indicating that ATP
is meeting its mission.
Background
These performance
measures are included in NIST’s budget submissions
to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of Management
and Budget. ATP’s performance results are based primarily
on:
- Survey
data from the Business Reporting System, and
- Status
Reports of completed projects.
In addition to
compiling actual performance results as of the end of a given fiscal
year, ATP forecasts results for the following seven years. These
forecasts are derived by computing the ratio of actual total outputs
for a given measure to the cumulative number of completed projects
over the history of ATP and applying this ratio to the anticipated
number of completed projects at each future date. The forecasts are
used by the Department of Commerce as targets for annual performance.
*Actual results for a given year are compiled and become available for reporting purposes by the middle of the following year.
Factsheet
1.A2 (May 2007 by Holly Jackson) |
