SSTI Digest

The House Committee on Small Business approved a bill to extend the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program until September 30, 2007. H.R. 2392, introduced by Representatives Taalent, Bartlett, Kelly and Velazquez, also was referred to the House Committee on Science for consideration. The ASME International Capitol Update reports a House floor vote on the bill is expected in Mid-July. H.R. 2392 also clarified that companies retain proprietary rights to data developed under the SBIR program for four years following the last federal funding received, which then could include Phase III awards. Other provisions in the bill addressed minor housekeeping issues related to SBA reporting requirements. No other topics of current debate were addressed in the bill, such as whether or not to increase the set-aside percentage from 2.5 percent or to allow agencies to use some portion of the set aside to cover administrative costs. A copy of the bill can be downloaded from http://thomas.loc.gov

Ohio's investment in technology-based economic development will top $50 million in FY 2000 as a result of the biennial budget passed by the Ohio General Assembly this week. Spending for the programs will grow nearly 35 percent from $40.4 million in FY 1999 to $54.4 million in FY 2000. Most of the increase is as a result of the Ohio Technology Actions Grants (TAGs) Program, growing from $1.9 million in FY 1999 to $14.75 million each year for FY 2000 and 2001. The Technology Action Grants (TAGs ) provide funding to companies, universities and collaborative partnerships for projects which: leverage federal and industrial support; provide a potential return on investment to the state's economy; are able to become independent of state funds within a short time period; and, focus on regional or statewide clusters of technology strengths or needs. The TAGs will be administered by the Governor's Office for Science & Technology with staff support from the Department of Development and the Board of Regents. New this year for the TAGs will be a Technology Action…

International collaboration in science and technology through joint research and development projects and activities offers opportunities for the US and foreign governments to leverage research dollars and increase productivity. A recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), Federal Research: Information on International Science and Technology Agreements (GAO/RCED-99-108), identifies: 1) the number of international S&T agreements active during fiscal year 1997; and, 2) the number of these agreements that resulted in research projects or other activities. GAO found that in FY 1997, the seven agencies it reviewed participated in 575 international science and technology agreements with 57 countries, 8 international organizations, and 10 groups or organizations and/or countries. More than 90% of the international S&T agreements resulted in research projects or other research-related activities such as consultations among scientists and exchanges of data and personnel. The distribution of agreements by agency was:…

The Computing Research Association (CRA) has released an in-depth look at the information technology (IT) worker situation in the United States, The Supply of Information Technology Workers in the United States. Working with four other professional IT-related societies, CRA conducted a critical review of the information available on the supply of IT workers, the broader definition of an IT worker, traditional and nontraditional sources for IT workers, the long term and short term demand for IT employees, and suggested ways to positively affect the supply of IT workers. One of the surprises in the report is the conclusion that while a preponderance of secondary or circumstantial evidence may suggest a national IT worker shortage exists, there was no conclusive evidence to quantitatively corroborate a worker shortage over a tight labor market. Job-specific shortages, geographically limited availability or temporary increases in demand (e.g., Y2K problems) may exist but the report concludes great fluctuation and fluidity occurs in local, industrial or regional supply…

Research and development (R&D) spending in the United States reached an estimated $220.6 billion in 1998, reflecting an inflation-adjusted increase of 5.3 percent over 1997, reports the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the recently released National Patterns of R&D Resources: 1998. Industry, not government, is responsible for most of the growth, according to the report. Industry has provided the largest share of financial support for U.S. R&D since 1980, found Steven Payson, report author and Senior Science Resources Analyst with NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies. Preliminary 1998 estimates show industry R&D spending increased in real terms 7.7 percent over 1997 to $143.7 billion, or 65.1 percent of the total. Federal support increased 0.8 percent to $66.6 billion, for a record low of 30.2 percent of the total. Payson estimates that nearly all ($140.8 billion) of the industry R&D funds was devoted to R&D performed by industry itself, with the remainder directed toward academic R&D ($1.8 billion) and R&D performed by other nonprofit…

The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Education and Human Resources has released A Report on the Evaluation of the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. The report (NSF 99-115) was prepared under contract by the COSMOS Corporation. Among the report's findings are: The EPSCoR states increased their aggregate share of federal academic R&D awards from 0.25 percent per state in 1980 of total awards to 0.40 percent per state in 1994. In contrast, the non-EPSCoR states' share declined modestly over the same period. A "per state" unit of analysis was used to assess changes in R&D because the number of states participating in the program changed over time as new cohorts of states were added to the program. (See accompanying table) The total share of federal academic R&D expenditures the five states designated as EPSCoR eligible received was 1.25% in 1979. In 1994, the total share the 18 states and 1 territory designated…

The Colorado Advanced Technology Institute (CATI) has been abolished effective June 30, 1999. CATI was the state's lead organization on technology-based economic development since its creation in 1983. Responsibility for CATI programs is being transferred to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. CATI funds appropriated for FY2000 will be split between the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and the recently created Office of Innovation and Technology in the Governor's office, which is expected to focus on communications and information resources within state government. CATI staff have either accepted new positions with CCHE or other organizations or retired.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is seeking candidates for the United States Innovation Partnership (USIP) Fellow. The Fellow will serve a one-year appointment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to help foster science and technology cooperation between the states and the federal government. Specifically, the Fellow will be a technology professional with first-hand knowledge of and experience with state government operations as well as a broad understanding of federal science and technology programs. Among the qualifications necessary for becoming a White House Fellow are: an advanced degree or equivalent work experience; clear understanding of the roles of federal R&D programs and state S&T programs; leadership and organizational skills necessary to direct, manage and coordinate administrative and programmatic activities; and, the ability to discern opportunities for state-federal technology programs and to…

Candidates are sought for a Senior Executive position (Salary $100,000+) to provide visionary and high level leadership for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, a new statewide technology transfer and commercialization nonprofit organization. Resume and salary requirements must be submitted no later than July 12, 1999. The full description can be found on the SSTI website (http://www.ssti.org) following the "Job Corner" link. [Note: The position is filled]

Maine Governor Angus King, Jr. and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Gary Bachula signed a letter of partnership last week that links the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) with a variety of organizations in Maine. Bachula heads the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration (TA), which includes NIST. This is the first such partnership between NIST and a state and is anticipated to serve as a pilot for possible expansion to other states if successful. "I am excited about the prospect of this new teaming arrangement, which should yield positive returns not only to Maine, but to other parts of the country which will benefit from the results of this cooperation. It is a perfect fit for inclusion under the umbrella of the U.S. Innovation Partnership," Bachula said. Building on several existing relationships Maine has established with NIST, the partnership outlines seven new initiatives to explore for further cooperation, including: NIST and TA will offer technical assistance to Maine in designing an infrastructure to maximize…

The Department of Defense (DoD) has released the program description and request for proposals for the FY 2000 Commercial Operations & Support Savings Initiative (COSSI). COSSI, a joint program of the Army, Navy and Air Force, is designed to develop and test a method for reducing Defense operations and support costs by inserting commercial items into fielded military systems. COSSI funding available for this RFP is anticipated to range between $75-$100 million, dependent on the FY 2000 Defense appropriation. A reserve of 15-20 percent of the total funds available is to be set aside for joint projects - projects with application in more than one service. Selected proposers will develop, manufacture and deliver prototype "kits" to the military for installation into a fielded DoD system. Each kit will consist of a commercial product, item or a combination of commercial items, that has been adapted, qualification-tested and readied for use in the appropriate military system. To be considered for funding, projects must demonstrate considerable cost savings for DoD. Proposers must…

The Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) of the Department of Energy has released the "Multi-Layer Ceramic Fuel Cell Research" Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to solicit basic and applied research applications to advance the art of high temperature solid state fuel cell design and manufacturing. The agency anticipates awarding a total of $1.8 million in first-year funding through the solicitation. There is a mandatory 20 percent cost share required for each proposal. The contemplated award instrument is a cost-reimbursement cost sharing contract. The solicitation is open to individuals, educational institutions, large and small businesses or all other organizations. The focus of the BAA is manufacturing processes resulting in lower cost fuel cell stacks or improving cell/stack robustness, life reliability, availability and maintainability. Proposals will not be accepted for building large fuel cell stacks or tube bundles, demonstrations and integrated systems testing. While the deadline for the BAA is June 7, 2000, the FETC expects to conduct three proposal…