In June, 2018, Arch Street participated in a stakeholder meeting at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland as part of NIST’s Return on Investment Initiative, an effort led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to “unleash American innovation” into the U.S. economy with a goal to maximize the transfer of Federal investments in science and technology to:
- meet current and future economic and national security needs in a rapidly shifting technology marketplace and enhance U.S. competitiveness globally, and
- attract greater private sector investment to create innovative products, processes, and services, as well as new businesses and industries.”
As part of this effort, NIST has released a draft green paper Return on Investment Initiative for Unleashing American Innovation [PDF] detailing steps to modernize the U.S. system of technology transfer and innovation. The actions outlined in the green paper would help maximize returns on the taxpayer investment in R&D. The document makes recommendations across five key areas:
1 – Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burdens
2 – Increasing Private Sector Engagement
3 – Promoting Entrepreneurship In Federal R&D
4 – Development of New Tech Transfer Tools
5 – Improved Metrics & Measurement of R&D Outcomes and Impacts
NIST will consider additional public feedback on the green paper by January 9, 2019, via roi@nist.gov. A final version is expected in early 2019.