Recent GAO reports on TBED Issues

Several recent reports and testimonies by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) address issues of importance to many state and local technology-based economic development initiatives. Highlights of six are provided below. The full reports and testimonies can be found at http://www.gao.gov/.

Technology Transfer: Several Factors Have Led to a Decline in Partnerships at DOE’s Laboratories (GAO-02-465) April 2002

This report outlines factors that have contributed to a recent decline in the number of cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), that Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories have entered into with businesses, universities and other partners. Surveying 12 DOE labs, the GAO looked at laboratories’ participation in and funding for technology transfer activities with non-federal entities during the past ten years. The GAO also sought lab managers’ views on barriers that limit technology transfer between DOE labs and potential nonfederal partners.

The results validated the decline in CRADA partnerships and also cited managers’ opinions as to barriers in the technology transfer process, including lack of dedicated funding, uncertainty of funding, and lack of commitment from the DOE for technology partnerships among other barriers.

The report includes several statistical tables showing tech transfer activities at the 12 labs for the past decade.

Lessons Learned from Previous Research Could Benefit FreedomCAR Initiative (GAO-02-810T) June 6, 2002

Jim Wells, Director of Natural Resources and the Environment, testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding lessons learned from previous research that could benefit the FreedomCAR Initiative. The FreedomCAR would focus a federal and industrial R&D partnership toward developing hydrogen fuel cells that would provide the ability to produce cars and trucks that are not dependent on petroleum and would have no polluting emissions.

Mr. Wells outlined four themes for Congressional oversight in regards to the FreedomCAR initiative based on past R&D work:

• Make sure the initiative performs research that the private sector would not undertake on its own
• The initiative should specify a clear and measurable goal
• A strategy should be devised to directly address that goal

  
  
  Will the products that will be produced from this research be bought by consumers

New Department Could Improve Biomedical R&D Coordination but May Disrupt Dual-Purpose Efforts (GAO-02-924T) July 9, 2002

Janet Heinrich, Director of Health Care - Public Health Issues, testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the effects on biomedical research with the proposed creation of the Department of Homeland Security. She states that the new department could improve coordination in biomedical research and development efforts.

Ms. Heinrich was concerned, however, over the transfer of control and authority of dual purpose research. Some research programs have broad-based missions and could not be easily separated into homeland security research and research for other purposes, she reported. Antibiotic research at the National Institutes of Health was offered as an example. Ms. Heinrich concluded her remarks by stating that the new department could help reduce wasteful duplication and increase efficiency, but she is concerned over broad-based control of proposal grants for biomedical research.

Highway Research: Systematic Selection and Evaluation Processes Needed for Research Program (GAO-02-573) May 2002

This report assesses two elements of the surface transportation research and technology program of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): the organization of the FHWA research and technology program; and, FHWA processes for developing research agendas and evaluating research outcomes versus the established best practices utilized for similar research programs.

While recognizing the FWHA research and technology program has potential to significantly improve the nation’s highway system, the GAO was somewhat critical of the agency's efforts:

• the organization of the FHWA’s research and technology program was complex and decentralized;
• processes did not always align with best practices of other research programs; and, as a result,
• it was unclear whether the FHWA is selecting the most meaningful research and whether research is having the intended effects.

The GAO recommended the agency develop a systematic approach to gather input from external stakeholders to help guide the agenda of the research and technology programs. Other recommendations included deploying a process that evaluates significant research that incorporates best practices in use at other agencies and generating plans for implementing these recommendations, including time frames and estimates of their costs.

Industry and Agency Concerns over Intellectual Property Rights (GAO-020723T) May 10, 2002

Jack L. Brock, Managing Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, testified before the Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy for the House Committee on Government Reform concerning industry and agency concerns over intellectual property rights. Mr. Brock discussed whether the government’s ability to contract with commercial companies for goods and services needed to support essential government services was restricted by concerns over rights to intellectual property.

He stated that a key issue in regards to acquiring new technologies from private companies was the government’s ability to successfully deal with intellectual property issues. Mr. Brock identified concerns from within the commercial sector and also within the public sector over the willingness to contract with each other. Some perceived private sector concerns included poor definitions of technical data the government needed, the government’s ability to protect proprietary data, and an unwillingness of government officials to exercise available flexibilities in IP rights negotiation.

Mr. Brock reported many of the agencies shared the same concerns as the private sector, adding that poor upfront planning and limited IP experience among federal contracting officers was also somewhat of a barrier.

Education Research: Education Should Improve Assessments of R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers (GAO-02-190) January 2002

The GAO analyzed three structural elements of Department of Education-funded research — the research and development centers, regional educational labs, and regional comprehensive assistance centers — to address three areas of concern to some members of Congress: the consistency of the activities of the centers with legislative mandates; collaboration of these centers with each other and the Department of Education; and, to what extent are practices by the Department of Education useful for assessing the performance of these centers.

The GAO found that, while the centers do collaborate with each other and the Department of Education, there were varying degrees to which centers followed legislative mandates. To a large extent, the Department of Education shapes the priorities that guide the research, the GAO concluded, but evaluation practices have provided limited information and have not been useful for making future funding decisions.

The report also concluded that regional labs were different from the other centers due to the lack of state or federal government oversight and commented on the unknown satisfaction of products and services of comprehensive centers. The report outlines recommendations for Congress as well as executive action by the Secretary of Education focusing on improved assessment techniques and accountability standards.