“Tt is the policy of the Department of the 
Navy to promote military-civilian tech- 
nology transfer and cooperative develop- 
ment on a systematic basis. It will encom- 
pass (1) transfer of technology developed 
by the Department of the Navy for na- 
tional defense purposes to the civilian 
sector where such technology can be 
profitably utilized in nonmilitary applica- 
tions, and (2) identification of coming 
technologies in both military and civilian 
interest and exploration of feasibility from 
cooperative funding and/or development 
of such technologies.” 
In March 1972, the Chief of Navy Material was 
assigned responsibility “for the execution of mili- 
tary civilian technology transfer and cooperative 
development matters.” 4? A Director of Military- 
Civilian Technology Transfer and Cooperative De- 
velopment was designated by the Chief of Navy 
Material to administer the program under the guid- 
ance of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (R&D). 
Coincident with these developments, 11 Depart- 
ment of Defense (DOD) laboratories had been meet- 
ing informally to coordinate their efforts in the 
transfer of military-related technology to civilian 
users. In June 1972, these efforts resulted in the 
establishment of the Technology Transfer Labora- 
tory Consortium, authorized by the Deputy Secre- 
tary of Defense, “for the purpose of coordinating 
interaction with other Federal agencies and technol- 
ogy users in Federal, State and local levels, and 
coordinating civil-sector work being performed for 
others.” #8 
In 1974, this group was expanded to include other 
Federal agencies and was renamed the Federal Lab- 
oratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. At this 
time, the National Science Foundation assumed the 
task of coordinating Consortium activities with DOD 
support. Currently, the Consortium has a member- 
ship representing 74 Federal laboratories, both DOD 
and civil. While the work of the Consortium is not 
confined to the transfer of marine technology, the 
transfer of Navy ocean-engineering and marine tech- 
nology development is facilitated by the Consortium. 
Members of the Constorium act as “technology 
brokers” by bringing together groups that have a 
problem or need with those who have already solved 
it or are working in pertinent areas. These activities 
are especially useful to local governments that are 
frequently unaware of the assistance they might re- 
ceive from Federal laboratories. The Consortium 
publishes a variety of pamphlets and other material 
on its activities. 
42 OPNAVINST 5700.12 (March 17, 1972). 
43 Operating Policy of the Department of Defense Tech- 
nology Transfer Laboratory Consortium (June 21, 1972). 
In addition to its membership in the Consortium, 
the Navy operates a widespread information system, 
maintains direct communication between researchers 
and users, and prepares exhibits and demonstrations 
to make its technology known. Fifteen Navy hand- 
books on various aspects of ocean technology have 
been issued for public distribution. There are still 
problems, however, involving the transfer of classi- 
fied material relating to ocean technology. These 
problems have been the topic of Navy and NOAA 
discussion and will be considered on an individual 
basis. 
DOD requires that all scientific and technical work 
by defense agencies and contractors be reported to 
the Defense Documentation Center (DDC). Unclassi- 
fied and declassified reports (not subject to other dis- 
tribution limitations) deriving from this work are 
regularly transferred to the National Technical In- 
formation Service (NTIS) of the Department of Com- 
merce, where they are available to all agencies and 
to the general public. Classified planning documents 
or those which are “for official use only” are placed 
only in the DDC system where some degree of con- 
trol can be maintained, but where interested agencies, 
industry, or individuals can have access in accord- 
ance with their “need to know.” Many of the civil 
agencies similarly require that their work products 
be distributed routinely through the Department of 
Commerce NTIS system. 
The Departments of Commerce and Energy, 
NASA, and other civil agencies are also active in 
the transfer of technology. The Maritime Adminis- 
tration program, with its industry participation (see 
above), is a major conduit for technology transfer. 
The entire purpose of MarAd R&D is to produce 
technology for industry use. In addition to the formal 
transfer of technology between MarAd and industry, 
MarAd’s Maritime Research Information Service 
(MRIS) provides comprehensive information on 
maritime R&D. The MRIS is a system for the 
acquisition, selection, storage, retrieval, and dissemi- 
nation of references on proposed, ongoing, or com- 
pleted R&D. The system also processes technical re- 
ports and journal articles and provides abstracts on 
request. 
In NOAA, the Sea Grant Program maintains an 
advisory service at each Sea Grant college to provide 
information to users in the coastal region and in the 
fishing industry. The Nationa! Marine Fisheries Serv- 
ice (NMFS) is responsible for providing technological 
support to the fishing industry. The Office of Ocean 
Engineering is developing technology transfer proc- 
esses for the dissemination of information on ocean 
instrumentation, diving technology, and other aspects 
of ocean engineering. OOE also is working with the 
Navy to make unclassified information contained in 
classified Navy reports available for civil use, and 
with DOE in the development of -OTEC. Other 
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