Commerce
Secretary Don Evans announced today the release of The Advanced
Technology Program: Reform with a Purpose, a report that
presents six recommendations for improving the program.
"Technologies
developed through the Advanced Technology Program (ATP)
have significant potential to bring economic growth and
benefits to the entire nation. I feel strongly that implementation
of these reforms will provide ATP with the proper tools
and direction it needs to be effective in the Twenty-first
Century."
Dr.
Arden Bement, Director of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, which oversees the ATP, recognized the challenges
the program faced while expressing his support for the reforms.
"During
my time as the chairman of the ATP's Advisory Committee,
I saw first hand both the program's potential to catalyze
dramatic advances in technology that strengthen our Nation's
economy, and the costs of the controversies that have hampered
its mission and contributed to the perception of instability.
I applaud Secretary Evans for his willingness to meet these
issues head-on. I expect the reforms proposed in this report
to put the ATP on a stable and productive footing for the
future," Bement said.
Dr.
Charles Wessner of the National Academy of Sciences added,
"I personally believe this report is a well-researched
and constructive effort. The report reflects a number of
recommendations made by the National Research Council. As
such, the report is a positive step in the overarching goal
of improving and sustaining the program. One of the concerns
of the NRC report was the need to enhance the dialogue and
this report certainly does that."
The
proposed reforms would:
1.
Recognize the significant value of the resources that institutions
of higher education offer by allowing universities to lead
ATP joint ventures;
2.
Offer universities increased incentive to participate in
developing commercially relevant technologies by allowing
them to negotiate with joint venture partners over the rights
to hold the intellectual property that results from research;
3.
Limit large companies' participation in ATP to joint ventures;
4.
Reinvest a percentage of revenues derived from awards back
into ATP to fund additional high-risk research and help
stabilize the program;
5.
Identify the scientific or technological barrier to product
development during deliberation on funding decisions and
explain why the removal of that barrier will allow the technology
to move forward without further government support.
6.
Determine, where appropriate, whether additional private-sector,
non-proprietary input would improve the ability of ATP's
selection boards to assess funding requests.
The
report may be reviewed in full at http://www.atp.nist.gov/atp/secy_rept/.