NIST Economic Impact Studies NIST has been conducting economic impact studies on a regular basis since 1992, as a means to 1) provide management with information on the nature and magnitude of NIST research projects; 2) inform the policy and budget communities of the economic returns to society from NIST projects; and 3) fulfill GPRA requirements for performance evaluation data. NIST also uses these studies to evaluate completed and ongoing research and related projects, as well as to support strategic planning processes. In general, economic impact measures such as the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) and social rate of return (SRR) provide rigorous, useful and informative outcome data. However, they do not provide a comprehensive measure of all economic consequences associated with NIST research and services. Moreover, BCR and SRR outcomes cannot be compared across different impact assessments. For a number of fundamental reasons, each study is unique to the project, technologies, and industrial effects it seeks to illuminate:
Collectively, the entire set of economic impact studies conducted to date demonstrates that the rates of return on NIST infratechnologies consistently match or exceed rates of return to private investment in technology. In addition, these studies and other economic analyses suggest that public investment in infratechnologies complements private investment in proprietary technologies, which in turn generates higher rates of economic growth. Economic Impact StudiesStrategic Planning StudiesPolicy Studies
The Office of Strategic Planning and Economic AnalysisNIST Program Office Administration Bldg., Room A1000 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (301) 975-2663 NIST is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department See also: About NIST, A-Z Subject Index, NIST Home Page Date
created: 9/6/00 |