“The Agreements for Commercializing Technology (ACT) will cut red tape for businesses and startups interested in working with our nation’s crown jewels of innovation, the national laboratories,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that eight of the DOE laboratories researching energy efficiency and renewable energy development would take part in a pilot effort to move new technologies to market faster. ACTs complement the goals of the “Startup America” initiative and are part of a larger effort to support startups and small businesses.
This new approach to commercializing technology will make it easier for private companies to gain access to the National Laboratory facilities and expertise. ACTs reduce barriers surrounding intellectual property (IP) rights and create payment parameters that better match industry best practices. The National Laboratories are designed to allow multidisciplinary teams to tackle complex challenges, but they are not designed to maximize impact or to bring resulting technological advances to commercialization in a timely manner.
In today’s global economic environment it is important to ensure that U.S. investments in R&D result in innovation that benefits the U.S. economy. TechVision21’s Anita Balachandra noted, “We cannot assume that taxpayer-funded innovation will ultimately be developed and commercialized in the United States. Too often, they are developed and commercialized elsewhere which means that we are losing out on the economic benefits – direct and indirect jobs, cultivation of the supply chain, intellectual property that is generated in the production process–of innovations we’ve funded.” Globalization and increased competition exert strong pressures on the U.S. economy. One response is to make the tremendous resources of the federal laboratories more accessible to those who will ultimately translate cutting edge research into real products and with economic benefits. Recent statements from the White House indicate the Administration is thinking along these lines. In October, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies directing departments and agencies to improve the rate and impact of technology transfer and to specify what goals and metrics they will use to measure results. Secretary Chu also issued the Secretarial Policy Statement on Technology Transfer at DOE outlining ways in which technology transfer could be improved to maximize the impact of DOE research.
These first steps—such as the Agreements for Commercializing Technology—are important but do not address the shortcomings in the current system. It is time to look for a new model, one that responds to national challenges and improves U.S. economic competitiveness. If the U.S. is to remain competitive in this fast paced global economy, more of our federal R&D needs to be outcome driven.
Click here to access FAQs on this program at DOE.