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Commerce Responds to Sensenbrenner on ATP
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary William Daley has labeled as Amisleading@ a press release issued by the House Science Committee regarding the proposal review and selection criteria of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). [See August 27, 1999 issue of SSTI Weekly Digest.] In the release, Rep. Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of the Committee, questioned the program's commitment to ensuring federal grants were not displacing private capital.
The Department of Commerce disputes that criticism.
"With respect to ensuring that project applicants adequately demonstrate the need for Federal funding, the ATP requires applicants to provide convincing assurances at several stages in the review process,@ said Daley in a letter to Rep. Sensenbrenner. AATP rejects proposals that fail to make a convincing argument that the work could not be entirely funded by industry."
In 1998, ATP added Section 16 to the proposal cover sheet, instructing applicants to describe their prior efforts "to secure private capital to support this project wholly." For the 1999 solicitation, ATP additionally requested that applicants describe why private capital was not available to fully fund the project and to describe efforts to secure internal funding as well as other external resources.
A recent General Accounting Office correspondence report (GAO/RCED-99-258R) found that failure to complete Section 16 did not result in immediate disqualification from consideration for funding. The report went on to say that proposals went through a multiphase review process, after which on average 7-10 percent of the proposals received are selected.
In his written comments on the draft GAO report, Raymond Kammer, NIST Director, stated that applicants were provided three opportunities to present the need for public funding during the proposal submission and review processes: in Section 16 of the proposal cover sheet, in the proposal narrative, and during the oral presentations of the review process. Kammer wrote that no ATP proposals are funded which do not require federal support.
The GAO correspondence report, which includes Kammer's comments, can be received by calling 202/512-6000 and requesting GAO/RCED-99-258R. It is not available on the GAO website.