federal_register: 2010-6606
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| 2010-6606 | Commercialization of University Research Request for Information | Notice | In September 2009, President Obama released his national innovation strategy, which is designed to promote sustainable growth and the creation of quality jobs. Two key parts of this strategy are to increase support for both the fundamental research at our nation's universities and the effective commercialization of promising technologies. The Federal government supports university-based research for a variety of reasons. Expanding the frontiers of human knowledge is a worthy objective in its own right. Basic research that is not motivated by any particular application can have a transformative impact. As President Obama noted in his National Academy speech, "It was basic research in the photoelectric field that would one day lead to solar panels. It was basic research in physics that would eventually produce the CAT scan. The calculations of today's GPS satellites are based on the equations that Einstein put to paper more than a century ago." Yet it is often transferring viable research discoveries to the marketplace that can pose the greatest challenge to innovators and entrepreneurs. As a result, the Administration is interested in working with all stakeholders (including universities, companies, Federal research labs, entrepreneurs, investors, and non-profits) to identify ways in which we can increase the economic impact of Federal investment in university R&D and the innovations being fostered in Federal and private proof of concept centers (POCCs). This RFI is designed to collect input from the public on ideas for promoting the commercialization of Federally funded research. The first section of the RFI seeks public comments on how best to encourage commercialization of university research. The second section of the RFI seeks public comments on whether POCCs can be a means of stimulating the commercialization of early-stage technologies by bridging the "valley of death." Background: Federally-funded research has contributed to economic growth, job creation and improvements in our quality of life. In the information and communications sector, for example, university-based research has played a key role in the development of technologies such as the Internet, electronic design automation, mass storage, speech recognition, parallel computing, computer graphics, and workstations. In the life sciences, university research has led to new tools to diagnose, prevent and treat diseases. With respect to POCCs, innovative technologies developed at POCCs arise primarily from not-for profit research institutions such as hospitals and foundations as well as from Federal laboratories and the private sector. The Federal Government funds much of this early-stage research and also provides funding and incentives to entrepreneurial businesses to bring new technologies to the marketplace. For example, the NSF Engineering Research Centers Program provides core funds to move fundamental research through proof-of-concept testing and additional incentive funds to speed the translation of research further into the realm of project development in partnership with start-ups and other small businesses. State and local governments also provide resources to promote new business development. Despite these resources, too many technologies fail to cross the "valley of death" of product development between the research laboratory and commercialization by the private sector. The Administration has already taken a number of steps to promote and encourage the commercialization of federally funded research: <bullet> The President's FY11 budget proposes to double the National Science Foundation's Partnership for Innovation program. This will allow the NSF to provide grants that will increase the engagement of faculty and students across all disciplines in the innovation and entrepreneurship process; increase the impact of the most promising university innovations through commercialization, industry alliances, and start-up formation, and develop a regional community that supports the "innovation ecosystem" around universities. <bullet> On February 24, 2010, led by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the Administration organized a forum to explore issues related to commercialization of university research. <bullet> Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, has indicated that translational medicine is one of his top five priorities. For example, NIH is making it easier for academic researchers to move from fundamental research to the creation of assays that can be used to screen hundreds of thousands of candidates for drug development. <bullet> Seven agencies are providing almost $130 million to support an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster in energy efficient building systems design. In addition to funding research, this will provide support for business development, public infrastructure, education, and workforce development. The National Economic Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy will use the input from this RFI to shape the Administration's future policy on the commercialization of federally funded research. RFI Guidelines: Responses to this RFI should be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 26, 2010. Responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically as an attachment to an e-mail sent to NEC_ General@who.eop.gov with the subject line "Commercialization of University Research." Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or issue a grant. Information obtained as a result of this RFI may be used by the government for program planning on a non-attribution basis. Do not include any information that might be considered proprietary or confidential. | 2010-03-25 | 2010 | 3 | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/03/25/2010-6606/commercialization-of-university-research-request-for-information | https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2010-03-25/pdf/2010-6606.pdf | Science and Technology Policy Office; National Economic Council | 464,340 | In September 2009, President Obama released his national innovation strategy, which is designed to promote sustainable growth and the creation of quality jobs. Two key parts of this strategy are to increase support for both the fundamental research at... |