Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2002. Information in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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NASA ANNOUNCES STTR PHASE I RECIPIENTS
NASA has selected 50 research proposals for Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) awards. Negotiation of the contracts will commence immediately.More than 200 proposals were submitted by small, high-technology businesses from all regions of the U.S. Proposals were peer reviewed for both technical merit and commercial potential.
Each of the 50 winning proposals will be awarded a fixed-price contract valued up to $100,000 with 12 months to complete their Phase I projects. Companies that successfully complete Phase I activities are eligible to compete for Phase II awards the following year.
The STTR program requires small businesses to conduct cooperative research and development by partnering with a research institution. The table below lists the number of companies and research institutions in each state that were involved in selected proposals. Because the company and the research institution are not required to be from the same state, state totals for the two categories may be different.
Of the 50 awards, only 21 comprise a partnership between a company and research institution located within the same state. Universities are the most common research partner, participating in 39 projects. Federal laboratories are partners in eight of the projects, and private research institutions are partners in three projects.
A complete listing of successful proposals is available on the web at http://www.alliedtech.com/STTR/97/selection
Company Research
Institution
Alabama 4
3
Arizona 2 3 California 9 4 Colorado 2 5 Delaware 1 0 Florida 0 2 Georgia 1 1 Illinois 1 1 Kansas 0 1 Massachusetts 2 4 Maryland 3 3 Michigan 0 2 Mississippi 2 0 Montana 2 0 New Hampshire 1 0 New Jersey 3 2 New Mexico 2 1 New York 1 2 North Carolina 0 1 Ohio 1 3 Oregon 1 1 Pennsylvania 1 4 Tennessee 1 3 Texas 2 1 Virginia 3 3 Washington 3 0 Wisconsin 1 0 Wyoming 1 0 Total 50 50
JAPAN'S PLAN TO DOUBLE ITS R&D BUDGET IS ON TRACK
Japan is on schedule to double the government's R&D investment by the year 2000, according to a June 13 National Science Foundation Issue Brief.
Japan originally declared in 1992 its intent to double the amount of funding provided for R&D. In line with this goal, the Japanese government approved an R&D budget increase of 12.5% in 1996 and a 6.8% increase in 1997. If this expansion continues, annual government R&D funding will be approximately $18 billion in the year 2000, double the 1992 budget in constant dollars.
In relative terms, Japan's total R&D investment (both public and private) is approximately the same size as the U.S. Japan invested 2.6% of its GDP in 1994 in comparison to the U.S. investment of 2.5%. However, the proportion of government funds within the nation's R&D budget is considerably smaller. The government of Japan provides only 20% of the total R&D budget, whereas the average industrial nation funds between 35-40% of the total budget.
The increase in the Japanese Government's spending is focused on strengthening Japan's human and physical infrastructure for basic science, particularly within universities. Japan plans to expand doctoral programs and create centers of excellence in research. Japan is also having more of a presence on the international research scene, participating in projects like the Human Genome Project, the European Center for Nuclear Research, and the Ocean Drilling Program.
A free copy of the issue brief can be obtained by calling 703/306-1773, or it can be located on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/issuebrf/ib.htm
MITCHELL CAUGHT IN DOWNSIZING
Apparently as a result of Secretary of Commerce William Daley's pledge to cut the number of political employees in the department, Graham Mitchell, the assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy, will lose his job at the end of September, according to published reports. It is unclear if the position is being eliminated.The Office of Technology Policy, headed by Mitchell, works in partnership with the private sector to develop and advocate national policies that maximize technology's contribution to U.S. economic growth, the creation of high-wage jobs, and improvements in quality of life.
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