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22 EXPANDING THE USES OF NA VAL OCEAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



the NASA DTT program. The stated mission of the NASA DTT program is to 

 focus directly on industrial development and growth to secure national economic 

 competitiveness for space technology. The Navy's mission of national defense is 

 significantly different from NASA's mission of space exploration; however, the 

 mechanisms and procedures used by NASA may provide useful models and 

 lessons for ONR technology transfer efforts. 



NASA has recently undergone a significant change in position regarding 

 domestic technology transfer. This change was driven by a top-down formula- 

 tion of strategic goals for achieving the stated mission of NASA's DTT program. 

 One of the goals is to share "the harvest of space technology with the U.S. 

 industrial community" through domestic technology transfer (John Mansfield, 

 NASA, personal communication, 1995). The significance of this approach is the 

 priority attached to DTT and the high level of commitment to achieving it. Along 

 with the strategic goal, quantitative objectives (or metrics) have been set to pro- 

 vide NASA a target for expected levels of performance. Performance is then 

 measured against these goals by examination of detailed information collected 

 for this purpose (e.g., number of inquiries received on the Internet, number of 

 commercial partnerships, financial contribution to commercial partnerships). 



Keys to the success of the NASA plan for facilitating technology transfer 

 include specific actions and activities in six areas: 



• Policy — NASA established new poUcies for technology investment; part- 

 nerships; SBIR grants; federal, state, and local alliances; and R&D procurement. 



• Metrics — NASA developed a set of commercialization measures (or 

 metrics) of performance. Data collection tools and reporting processes were also 

 developed. 



• Marketing — NASA targets specific technology segments, as well as 

 broad-based technology diffusion, using a variety of marketing mechanisms (e.g., 

 industrial consortia, NASA Advanced Materials Centers, the Tech 2005 Confer- 

 ence, and Innovation Magazine). 



• Business Practices — NASA developed seven principles of operation de- 

 signed to be compatible with the way the private sector conducts business (e.g., 

 contractor-developed technology commercialization, small business technology 

 development, and regional alliances with industry and universities). 



• Training and Education — NASA employees in field centers and head- 

 quarters are trained to conduct commercial technology transfer. 



• Electronic Network — An electronic network links NASA field centers 

 and headquarters with each other and with the commercial sector. 



The new NASA initiatives appear to have achieved a clearer focus on the 

 DTT process and results. Since 1992 technology partnerships have increased 

 from 328 to more than 3,000 and investments have increased from $174 million 



