Schowengerdt

Slide1: 

Partnering for Affordability and Sustainability Dr. Frank Schowengerdt Director Space Partnership Development NASA Headquarters Presented at the Federal Laboratory Consortium Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting September 14th, 2005

Outline: 

Outline Research and Development Contexts Old Paradigms, New Realities Affordability Sustainability Industry/University/Government Partnerships NASA’s Experience with Dual-Use Partnerships Examples of Dual-Use Partnerships Summary

Research and Development Contexts: 

Research and Development Contexts Final Market Initial Investment Public Private Mixed Public Private Mixed Commercial R&D Traditional Technology Transfer Procurement Government R&D Partnerships

Old Paradigms: 

Old Paradigms The dissemination of information (libraries, databases, magazines). Commercialization. Privatization. Technology push (“spin-out”). Technology pull (“spin-in”). Often an isolated, marginalized operation. Tech Transfer as:

New Realities: 

New Realities Mission agencies increasingly procure technology. Many large companies have closed their research labs. Many large companies increasingly procure technology, either through purchase or buyout. The World has Changed Federal R&D has declined relative to non-Federal R&D. Most of the Nation’s R&D is now done in small businesses and universities.

Affordability: 

Affordability Agency mission priorities invariably come first. And yet many federal agencies seek to break new ground in their missions, “to go where no one has gone before.” Thus we must find ways to do R&D more affordably. One way is through leveraged partnerships. * Budget of the United States Government, Historical Tables, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005. http://www.thewhitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy05/pdf.hist.pdf R&D is a declining percentage of the federal budget: from 11.7% in 1967 to 5.0% in 2003*

Sustainability: 

Sustainability The public looks for tangible benefits from its federal agencies, even where missions are not defined in terms of public benefit. Those benefits are critical to program sustainability. Sustainability is closely related to affordability because companies won’t bring money into a project unless they see commercial applications. Sustainability coupled with affordability implies dual-use research and technology development. NASA’s vision for space exploration is an example: "We must remember that for most people (going to the Moon and Mars) isn't even close to what matters most. Sure, they're interested, but space doesn't define their lives as it does ours. We forget this at our own peril.“ (Jeff Krukin, Space Review, Sept. 2004)

The Importance of Partnerships: 

The Importance of Partnerships Partnerships are key to affordability. Benefits to the public are key to sustainability. You can’t have one without the other. What’s missing? The Universities. The Universities add flexibility, a buffer between the company and the federal government, cost effectiveness, prestige and a critically important educational component.

University Participation Brings: 

University Participation Brings Even Greater Affordability (Source: "Technology Transfer: Bringing Innovation to NASA and the Nation." Report of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), November 2004, p. 34.) RPC data for FY03 have been added.

The Educational Component: 

The Educational Component The Technical Workforce Crisis Source: National Science Foundation, "Science and Engineering Degrees: 1966-2001" (NSF 04-311).

Sustainability through Education: 

Sustainability through Education "Scientific and technical manpower may be the most critical problem NASA faces in sustaining this vision.“ (John Douglass, President, The Aerospace Industries Association, at the 1st Exploration Conference, Orlando, February 2005) One of the most important societal benefits of R&D is education. R&D agencies must have access to a strong pool of scientists and engineers who are knowledgeable in appropriate disciplines. At present, we are not making a strategic investment in this aspect of higher education commensurate with the need in fields of greatest importance to our future.

Industry/University/Government Partnerships: 

Industry/University/Government Partnerships Examples in: DARPA DOC DOD DOE NASA NIH NSF USDA Many States

NASA’s Experience with Dual-Use Partnerships: 

12 Centers Located at Universities around the country, all strategically aligned to NASA needs 107 Industrial, 51 Academic, 48 Government Partners, Leveraging NASA dollars > 2 to 1, Six Commercial Spin-Off Firms Created FY04 27 Patent Applications 213 Refereed, 100 Non- Refereed Publications 13 B.S., 27 Masters’, 17 Ph.D. Degrees 174 payloads flown in 20 years on Shuttle, Mir and ISS NASA’s Experience with Dual-Use Partnerships The Research Partnership Centers

Slide14: 

Autonomous Medical Care Medical Informatics Technology Applications Center (MITAC), an RPC at Virginia Commonwealth U. NASA Microsoft, TeleVital, Olympus, QRS Diagnostics, U.S. Surgical Corporation, Computer Motion Telemedicine for Exploration Telemedicine in rural and underserved regions of the U.S., Romania, Mongolia, Kenya, Brazil, Ecuador, Caribbean 14 Dual-Use Partnership Example

Slide15: 

Dual-Use Partnership Example Hybrid Satellite Networks Center for Satellite and Hybrid Communications Networks (CSHCN), an RPC at U. of Maryland NASA Hughes Network Systems, ViaSat, Lockheed-Martin, Telcordia, Boeing, CISCO, CECOM, DISA. Hybrid Satellite/Wireless Communication between Astronauts & Robots Internet over Hybrid Broadband Networks on Earth

Slide16: 

Dual-Use Partnership Example Ultra-High Definition TV Imaging Space Technology Center (ISTC), an RPC at Florida Atlantic U. NASA Panavision, BellSouth, Ecliptic, U.S. Navy Digital Video with 8-Times Resolution of HDTV, for Shuttle Inspection, Homeland Security Apps. Commercial Cinema

Slide17: 

Summary The R&D context in which tech transfer is done has changed. Tech transfer must change, from simply transferring technologies from where they’re created to where they’re needed, and into a dynamic, synergistic partnering context that blurs the distinctions between creation and transfer, and with that the distinctions between “spin-out” and “spin-in.” Tri-partite partnerships, wherein universities bring together government and industry users, can help agencies achieve their mission goals, and are proven and powerful engines for technology and economic development that also address the Nation’s technical workforce crisis.