GOVERNMENT
GAO offers technology transfer solutions Programs to stimulate transfer of tech nology resulting from federally funded research and development to the civilian sector and to state and local government are again on the upbeat. So much so that a new level of enthusiasm and hope is emerging among some federal, state, and local government officials that at long last a coordinated, broad-scale technology transfer program may be in the offing. Not only is the Government pumping more money into technology transfer, but the White House Office of Science and Technology has been deeply in volved—although OST itself may vanish before its labors bear fruit. Also, the President had kind words for technology transfer in his R&D message last year. In Congress, a bill to resurrect the State Technical Services program, which would provide federal funds for coopera tive R&D, has been introduced amid growing support. And now the General Accounting Office, which has been studying technology transfer programs, has suggested some solutions to prob lems in the area. Many federal agencies, such as the Agriculture Department, Federal Avia tion Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have con ducted more or less modest technology transfer programs for years. NASA, for instance, has maintained a Technology Utilization Office since 1963 to dissemi nate "spin-off from the space program under a legislative mandate to share its technology with almost anyone. The program has modest funds but it has maintained activities that include ex tensive publication of NASA technol ogy as well as six regional dissemina tion centers or data banks. NASA has also set up technology application teams. These are operated for the agency by research organizations or educa tional institutions under contract to help match NASA technology to a specific user's problems. Another agency with an impressive record in technology transfer is USDA with its Extension Service, Cooperative State Research Service, and land grant university system. Also the National Science Foundation has an intergovern mental science program, and much of the current health of the U.S. nuclear industry is directly attributable to R&D efforts by AEC. Yet even with the success of these and other agency programs, albeit in many instances rather limited, complex prob lems have haunted the overall federal effort in technology transfer for years. Many of these problems, such as a lack of overall policy, organization, and co ordination, as well as difficulties with matching technology to problems, re main to be resolved.
The transfer of Department of De fense technology is apparently particu larly afflicted with problems. DOD has had good results in getting civilian use of defense technology in areas such as aircraft engines and fuels, radar, com munications equipment, and compu ters. But DOD has had poor results, as have most agencies, in areas where the civilian market is fragmented. One problem limiting DOD's tech nology transfer efforts has been the in terpretation by DOD officials that the Mansfield amendment, which limited DOD funding of R&D to that relevant to the military mission, inhibited an active role in technology transfer. GAO says the amendment should not inhibit DOD technology transfer. But GAO does feel that a lack of policy guidance on technology transfer is a major problem. Without specific enabl ing legislation, such as exists for FAA, NASA, and AEC, or "executive policy guidance" from the Office of Manage ment and Budget, most civilian agen cies, in GAO's opinion, will continue "only sporadic efforts to use available government technology." Such policy guidance may be a long time coming. OMB, responding to a
technology transfer policy recommended by GAO, has commented that it has long been the Government's policy to encourage technology transfer. How ever, OMB would not agree to provide written guidelines for active transfer efforts by federal agencies. GAO believes that one way of getting a better match between problems and the technological resources of the Fed eral Government would be to set up cen tralized technology transfer consulting teams. Patterned along the lines of the "excellent model" provided by NASA, GAO-proposed teams would consist of a core group of 10 permanent members with 15 to 20 others drawn from agencies on a rotating basis and serving for a year or two. GAO would attach the teams to a "technology-oriented agency with no vested programmatic or con flicting mission interests." To most federal observers such an agency doesn't exist. But GAO says there are two such agencies—the Na tional Bureau of Standards and NSF. Both would be appropriate focal points for technology transfer teams. Chances that such transfer teams will become part of the modus operandi of the federal technology transfer effort are far from good, however. All OMB will commit the Administration to is a comment that it may experiment with technology transfer teams, among other things.
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