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In the June 12, 1998 Issue:

NSF RELEASES ERC PERFORMANCE STUDY

A recent study found that 90 percent of industry participants benefitted in some way by participating in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) Program. Nearly a quarter of all firms reported having developed a new product or process as a result of their interaction with an ERC, and two-thirds reported that their firm's competitiveness had increased.

Industry participants reported five main benefits: access to new ideas, know-how, or technologies; technical assistance; interaction with other firms participating in the program; access to ERC equipment and facilities; and, hiring ERC students and graduates.

Not all companies received every type of benefit, but of the benefits realized by particular companies, among the highest-valued were the employment of ERC students and graduates, gains in intellectual property, and access to specialized equipment and facilities.

The study indicated that company benefit is directly related to the length and level of active involvement in a center. The longer a firm participates and the more direct personal interaction there is between corporate and center personnel, the more direct benefits the firm will have received and the greater the effect on company competitiveness. The study found that 80 percent of the firms that had been involved with an ERC for eight to ten years reported that their firm's competitiveness had increased due to its involvement with an ERC.

Overall, the study found that the ERC Program was impacting industry as it was originally designed to do. A majority of respondents indicated that their ERC involvement had influenced their firm's research agenda. Corporate personnel in firms hiring ERC students or graduates rated these employees as more productive and effective engineers than peers in the same firm..

In 1994, NSF's Engineering Education and Centers Division initiated a two-part study to examine the extent to which the ERC program is making progress towards its goals. The results of those studies have been summarized in an NSF publication entitled "The Engineering Research Centers Program: An Assessment of Benefits and Outcomes."

The ERC Program was created in 1985 to develop a government-industry-university partnership to strengthen the competitive position of U.S. firms in world trade and change the culture of engineering research and education in the U.S. A copy of "The Engineering Research Centers Program: An Assessment of Benefits and Outcomes" (NSF publication No. 98-40) can be found on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf9840/ nsf9840.htm.

PATH INITIATIVE UNVEILED

The Clinton Administration has unveiled a new initiative entitled Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) which it believes could save consumers $11 billion a year in energy costs by 2010 and reduce annual carbon emissions by nearly 24 million tons.

PATH joins the federal government, industry, and state and local government in a coordinated strategy to identify promising housing technologies and move them to market. Each group will play a critical role in the partnership:

Over the next decade, PATH aims to cut energy use by 50 percent in new homes, and by 30 percent in 15 million existing homes, while reducing the monthly cost of new housing by 20 percent. Energy use at home currently accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases. PATH is part of a comprehensive strategy to fight climate change through cost-effective steps that cut emissions while creating opportunities for economic growth.

To further promote this initiative, the President's FY 1999 budget proposes a five-year, $6.3 billion package of tax incentives and research investments. Included are $200 million in tax credits for the purchase of ultra-energy-efficient homes and $1.4 billion in tax credits for the purchase of energy-saving systems and appliances for buildings and homes. The budget also proposes $200 million to accelerate R&D for appliances and construction.

To encourage the use of existing technologies, PATH is creating a World Wide Web site where builders, suppliers and consumers can obtain information. The site is currently under construction, but is expected to be operational this month. The address will be http://www.pathnet.org.

SBIR STUDY UNDERWAY

SSTI has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the National Institute for Standards & Technology (NIST) to complete a study of state SBIR/STTR programs. The project is for the SBIR Working Group of the U.S. Innovation Partnership. As part of the study, SSTI will be interviewing state SBIR/STTR assistance providers and federal SBIR program managers over the next several weeks on a range of issues.

The final report, to be completed in August, will include an inventory of the services and assistance provided by the states, a description of how state programs have evolved based on their experience with the federal SBIR/STTR programs, measures for determining the impact of state SBIR initiatives, and recommendations on how states may best interact with the federal programs, with particular emphasis on commercialization of SBIR technologies.

The project will provide baseline data for the US Innovation Partnership SBIR Working Group as it considers and develops a proposal for leveraging state and federal SBIR efforts to bring SBIR-developed technology to the marketplace. For more information, contact Dan Berglund at SSTI at 614/421-SSTI (7784).

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