Federal Actions to Accelerate Innovation from Lab to Market
NASEM Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR)October 24, 2019
Tracy C. HancockOffice of Science and Technology Policy
www.ostp.gov@WHOSTP
A U.S. Founding Father on Technological Innovation
“A full view having now been taken of the inducements to the promotion of manufactures in the United States…It will be of use to advert to…the encouragement of new inventions and discoveries at home, and of the introduction into the United States… particularly, those which relate to machinery.”
- Alexander Hamilton, in Report on ManufacturesDecember 5, 1791
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Priorities for The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
The mission of OSTP is to ensure America is the world leader in science and technology. To that end, our work focuses on:
• Unleashing Discovery and Innovation
• Building the Workforce of the Future
• Advancing America’s Values in Global S&T Leadership
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Vision for Modernizing Federal Government
https://www.performance.gov/
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Lab-to-Market Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goal
Improve Transfer of Federally-Funded Technologies from Lab-to-Market
https://www.performance.gov/CAP/lab-to-market
Walter CopanUnder Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Michael KratsiosU.S. Chief Technology OfficerWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy
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The Challenge
How do we ensure US investment in R&D is translated from discovery to real-world impact to achieve agency missions?
Source: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Science and Engineering Indicators 2018
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Goals
• Improve the transition of federally funded innovations from the laboratory to the marketplace by reducing the administrative and regulatory burdens for technology transfer and increasing private sector investment in later-stage R&D;
• Develop and implement more effective partnering models and technology transfer mechanisms for Federal agencies; and
• Enhance the effectiveness of technology transfer by improving the methods for evaluating the ROI and economic and national security impacts of federally funded R&D, and using that information to focus efforts on approaches proven to work.
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StrategiesIdentify regulatory impediments and administrative improvements in Federal technology transfer policies and practices
Increase engagement with private sector technology development experts and investors
Build a more entrepreneurial R&D workforce
Support innovative tools and services for technology transfer
Improve understanding of global science and technology trends and benchmarks
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Participating Agencies Interagency Contributors
National Science and Technology Council Lab-to-Market Subcommittee
Interagency Working Group for Technology Transfer
Interagency Working Group for Bayh-Dole
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Managers Working Group
Entrepreneurial Training Interagency Working Group
Federal Laboratory Consortium forTechnology Transfer
OSTP Lab-to-Market Priorities
10https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FY-21-RD-Budget-Priorities.pdf
Federal Actions to Accelerate Innovation from Lab to Market
Paul ZielinskiDirector, Technology Partnerships Office
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NIST and Tech Transfer
• Policy coordination, technology transfer regulation
• Lead for Interagency Workgroup for Technology
Transfer (11 agencies)
• Interagency Workgroup for Bayh-Dole
• Annual reports for the President, the Congress, and
OMB on technology transfer across federal agencies
• Lead in Lab-to-Market NSTC Subcommittee
• Host Agency for the Federal Laboratory Consortium
for Technology Transfer (FLC)
NIST has a unique role in promoting and reporting on the overall strength of federal technology transfer efforts
Unleashing American Innovation Symposium, April 19, 2018
Credit: Peter Cutts
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Return on Investment Initiative
As part of the President’s Management Agenda, the U.S. seeks to enable even greater
“Return on Investment” (ROI)
from the Federal government’s $150 billion annual R&D investment.
Lab to Market CAP Goal
NSTC L2M Subcommittee
IAWGTT, IAWGBD, FLC
ROI Green Paper
• Developed with support of the Science and Technology Policy
Institute (STPI) and with White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy
• Carefully considered extensive stakeholder inputs
• Addressed review with interagency working groups
• Published as NIST Special Publication 1234 on April 24, 2019
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15 key NIST findings to inform actions that will remove
existing impediments to innovation at the public-private
sector interface, and streamline and accelerate technology
transfer 15
Stevenson-Wydler Legislative Proposal
A number of the ROI findings would require legislative change to implement:
• Copyright in Federal lab software
• Extend CRADA information protection period
• S-W regulatory authority
• Royalty payments to Federal employees
• Presumption of government rights
• Clarify CRADA authority
• Expansion of ACT
• Expansion of OTA
• Expansion of Foundations
• Reporting and metrics
Bayh-Dole Regulatory Action
Primarily Deregulatory; other potential actions:
• Further defining “reasonable terms”
• Clarifies “government use” rights
• Provides for a formal release process after a contractor has taken corrective actions after breaching a reporting requirement
• Permits up to 3% of funding to be used for IP protection
• Creates a parallel Federal report for extramural invention information
iEdison Rebuild
Pursuant to NAS and other public recommendations, NIST is in the process of assuming responsibility of the iEdison system for extramural invention reporting by funding recipients.
NIST and NIH are working closely on IT and security evaluations and developing a plan to bring a secure and operational system online at NIST and incorporate added functionality to the system to streamline operations.
Lab-to-Market CAP Goal Strategies
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