DC Dispatch
______March 20, 2015
House Science, Space and Technology Cmte Actions
(5 tech-related -- including tech commercialization -- bills pass Cmte)
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed: five technology-related bills recently. According to Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) in the committee’s press release, “‘[T]hese are all good bipartisan bills. H.R. 1119 directs the Administration to take steps to cut through administrative red tape to ensure our nation’s research investments are efficient and effective. H.R. 1156 will improve economic and national security and support U.S. foreign policy goals. H.R. 1162 promotes increased utilization of prize competitions within the federal government to create technological breakthroughs. H.R. 1158 shows this Committee stands together in wanting to further open up the capabilities and talents of the Department of Energy (DOE) to private sector innovators. And H.R. 874 calls on DOE to develop a pathway towards the next generation of supercomputing systems, also known as exascale systems.’” Of particular interest to our community are probably:
H.R. 1162, the Science Prize Competitions Act: “a bill to make changes to provisions authorizing prize competitions under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980”, and
H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015, a bill to “improve management of the National Laboratories, enhance technology commercialization, and facilitate public-private partnerships.”
(Original Sources: House SS&T Committee web site)
NSF Science and Engineering State Profiles: 2014
NSF has released: it latest data on state S&E profiles. From the State S&E web site, “[S]tate Profiles is an interactive website providing access to state-level data on science and engineering personnel and finances and state rankings. State Profiles displays up to 10 state profiles of the user’s choice. Data are available from NSF-sponsored surveys on employed science, engineering, or health (SEH) doctorate holders; science and engineering (S&E) doctorates awarded, including by major S&E fields; SEH graduate students and postdoctorates; federal R&D obligations by agency and performer; total and industrial R&D expenditures; and academic R&D expenditures, including by major S&E fields. Data available from other sources include population, civilian labor force, per capita personal income, federal expenditures, patents, small business innovation research awards, and gross domestic product.” The data covers 2003 to ‘present’ (which in many cases means 2012 or 2013 as latest data). (Originals Sources: NSF web site)
New Study on Innovation Impacts from Federal R&D
(With focus on NIH)
A new study from Battelle: focused on NIH research found that “[W]hile innovation outputs across NIH vary depending on mission, goals, etc., NIH funded research produced an average of5.9 patents per $100 million in R&D expenditures from 2000 ‐ 2013 – or at a rate of one patent per every $16.9 million in NIH funding.” See the full report here. SSTI has prepared a brief overview of the report. They note that “[U]sing data from the NIH RePORTER database and Thomson Reuter's Thomson Innovation Patent research system, the authors examined the patent output and citation rate for research funded by NIH. Data for other federal agencies relied on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) data and budget information from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). As the title of the study, Patents as Proxies Revisited: NIH Innovation 2000-2013, suggests, Battelle relies on patent production as a proxy for the impact of research. A 2014 study by Michael J. Kalutkiewicz and Richard L. Ehman recommended patent generation per dollar and future citations of patents as a useful gauge of the impact of research supported by the federal government. Together, these indicators depict the quantity and quality of the research being done. Several caveats, however, are offered. The work of NIH is not specifically geared toward stimulating commercializable technologies or patenting. Much of the work supported by NIH is meant to create a foundation for future discoveries, rather than an immediate product. This is also true of other research agencies, including the Department of Defense, which supports classified research that may not be patented. Though patents may be an imperfect proxy, the analysis done by Battelle offers a useful intermediate metric for estimating the economic impact of federally supported research. Non-defense discretionary programs generated two to five times more patents per dollar than defense agencies (acknowledging that some defense activities are classified). NSF, NIST and DOE far outrank other agencies in patent generation per dollar. NIST leads in patent citations, which Battelle attributes to patent and citation activities of NIST's Advanced Technology Program. NIH ranks fifth in patenting efficiency, but fourth-lowest in citations. Cross-agency numbers are not provided, but the study includes a useful graphic for comparisons.” (Original Sources: Battelle web site, SSTI web site)
State STEM and Innovation Report Cards, 2015
The Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA) has released: its latest “STEM on the Hill™ State STEM Report Cards series [which] illustrates the importance of scientific and engineering research and STEM Education to state and local economies, job growth, innovation, competitiveness, our standard of living and U.S. national security.” From the web site, “[A] variety of measurements, including data from ASTRA, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), MyCollegeOptions™ and key U.S. Government statistical sources provide context to these reports. These metrics help users compare their own state with others. Of note for our 2015 series is the addition of STEM Job categories, earnings and demographic data by state, as well as projections of STEM Job trends by state through 2024.” See the site for links to download state pdf profiles. (Original Sources: USinnovation web site)
GAO Report on Conference Attendance at S&T Events
(For DOE and DOE)
A recent GAO report highlights: the impact on conference attendance for DOE and DOD since each agency implemented their respective new conference travel policies. From the study, “[DOD] and [DOE] officials cited reduced attendance at science and technology conferences by scientists and engineers since DOD and DOE implemented their conference policies. These policies, responding to [OMB] requirements, established processes for senior-level review and approval of conference requests based on department-wide cost thresholds. Following policy implementation, DOD's Army Research Laboratory officials stated that conference attendance by personnel decreased from about 1,300 attendees in 2011 to about 100 attendees in 2013. At DOE, a Sandia National Laboratories official estimated that Sandia attendance at a key conference declined by about half from 2011 through 2013. DOD and DOE officials noted other factors that may have affected conference attendance, such as OMB's mandatory reduction in travel, and sequestration. The length of DOD's and DOE's conference review and approval processes, which has increased since implementing their policies, poses a challenge to timely decision making about conference requests that DOD and DOE have yet to fully mitigate. Information provided by DOD and DOE officials indicates the length of their conference review and approval processes has increased from a period of weeks to as much as 9 months after implementing their policies, in part, due to the multiple levels of review required.” (Original Sources: GAO web site)
Senate Confirms Michelle Lee to Head USPTO
Michelle Lee was confirmed (and sworn in): as the Director of the PTO in early March. From a blog post on IP-Watchdog, “[L]ee has been serving as Deputy Director of the USPTO since January 2014. Previously, she served at USPTO as the Director of the Silicon Valley Office from 2012 to 2013.Immediately prior to becoming Director of the Silicon Valley Patent Office, Lee was the Deputy General Counsel and Head of Patents and Patent Strategy at Google Inc.” (Original Sources: IP-Watchdog blog)
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Note: The DC Dispatch is a periodic update of selected items of interest to the FLC and technology transfer community -- i.e., current legislation, trends, reports, policy and other developments potentially affecting technology transfer or related activities -- designed to keep the community informed of relevant issues on a timely basis. Information is gleaned directly from a variety of sources (newsletters, email alerts, web sites, direct participation at events from the FLC DC Representative’s office, etc.) -- with original sources, contacts and links provided.
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Contact: Gary K. Jones, FLC DC Representative,