Advanced Technology Program Challenges and Opportunities (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Panel III: Research Perspectives on the ATP
Panel III: Research Perspectives on the ATP
Pages 70-85
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From page 70... ...
Hill's earlier remarks on the history of the ATP to be fascinating and consistent with his understanding of the ATP's origins. One thing that the ATP's history demonstrates is that the program did not enjoy widespread support when its authorizing legislation was passed.
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From page 71... ...
ASSESSMENT OF THE ATP Rosalie Ruegg National Institute of Standards and Technology An Early Start at Program Assessment As the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Director Ray Kammer mentioned, the ATP initiated evaluation from the beginning of the program and well before the passage of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
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From page 72... ...
However, both share a passionate interest in measurement, and NIST is an excellent place for measurement of all kinds. A System of Continuous Improvement An evaluation effort for the program was put into place for two reasons: first, as a management tool, to meet program goals and to improve program effectiveness; and, second, to meet the many external requests for ATP program results, requests that seemed to arrive fifteen minutes after the program was started.
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From page 73... ...
This should provide useful insights into project selection decisions. Measure Against Mission There are some basic principles to follow in setting up an evaluation program.
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From page 74... ...
The difference between the two curves indicates spillover benefits that extend beyond the ATP award recipients, as others benefit from the new technologies. Spillovers may include market spillovers, knowledge spillovers, and network spillovers.
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From page 75... ...
This conceptual piece is intended only to give an idea of how time figures into the unfolding of events surrounding ATP projects. From an evaluation perspective, the timeline means that, in order to meet pressing requirements for evaluation, we have had to make use of "indicators" of progress, as well as projections in estimating long-term impacts.
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From page 76... ...
Market spillovers in the form of consumer surplus benefits tend to be dominant on the direct path, and knowledge spillovers and network spillovers tend to be dominant on the indirect path. However, the interplay of the various spillover effects is complex.
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From page 77... ...
Better Tools for Assessing Technology Impacts We have found that evaluating a complex program such as the ATP requires all of the evaluation tools in the tool kit and then some to address the many questions raised by ATP management, industry, Congress, and others. Figure 2 summarizes the main approaches that we are taking.
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From page 78... ...
The in-depth case studies typically estimate returns to the direct award recipients (private returns) , returns to the nation (social returns, which include private returns and spillover effects)
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From page 79... ...
Because of the limited time, I will merely comment that completed ATP evaluation studies are listed in a Bibliography of Studies by Staff and Contractors of the Economic Assessment Office, which is available at our Web site.3 Much has been done toward evaluating the ATP; much remains to be done. Substantial Involvement of Outside Experts In formulating our evaluation program and identifying the important questions to address, we have had the advantage of advice from leading experts in the field.
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From page 80... ...
Many of the ATP's small-company award recipients are eager to present their newly acquired business opportunities to private-sector funders toward the end of their ATP projects. With the objective of strengthening future odds of success of the technologies it has funded, the ATP occasionally hosts events that bring together ATP awarders with potential investors and partners in commercialization.
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From page 81... ...
The data set at present looks at principal ATP awarders; this does not therefore include subcontractor ATP firms, but it is hoped that they will be included in the future. Overall, their data set at present includes 628 unique organizations (i.e., firms, universities, and national laboratories)
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From page 82... ...
In the data set, there are far more joint ventures than single-company ATP projects. For joint ventures, the post-ATP period shows an increase in patenting activity, but for single-company ATP awarders, there is no increase in patenting activity.
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From page 83... ...
The question is how to spend public funds properly. A Multidiscplinary Evaluation Approach In the evaluation of technology programs, this is an area of profound complexity in a technical sense because of the multidisciplinary nature of the task.
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From page 84... ...
Flamm asked why patents would be the appropriate measure of ATP outcomes. He noted that one could argue that increasing patent activity was not an ATP objective, but rather encouraging private investment, with public assistance, in projects that would have large spillovers for the economy at large.
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From page 85... ...
One-third of the terminations is due to a change in company management or strategy; something internal changed that caused the company to no longer pursue the project. A final class of projects was terminated for technical reasons; the R&D team believed that technical challenges were too great to be overcome in the context of the project.
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