New JPL Website Promotes Joint Technology Development
Of the ten NASA
research centers in the U.S., nine are owned and operated by the federal government. Only
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is owned by the government and operated by an outside
contractor, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Federal Laboratories that
are government owned and contractor operated are also known as Federally Funded Research
and Development Centers (FFRDC). This designation confers a unique status on JPL in terms
of the types of services it can offer to companies who are seeking to develop technology
into commercially viable products and services. JPL's position as NASA's only FFRDC means
that it can participate in various technology commercialization activities that are
generally not permitted at other NASA centers.
To capitalize on its FFRDC status, JPL seeks to establish
relationships with companies, as well as universities and other Labs, that are beneficial
to all parties. Through its Collaborative Technology Development Office, JPL emphasizes
the strategic use of several mechanisms for partnering with companies. The goal of such
collaborations is development of technologies that are valuable both to NASA and to the
corporate partner.
A new website from JPL's Collaborative Technology
Development Office provides details on the programs and opportunities that are available.
Collaborative programs include Strategic Alliances and Technology Cooperation Agreements.
Joint Funding Opportunities include the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program
of five federal agencies, the Advanced Technology Program from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology and various funding opportunities with private and government
sector sources.
To learn more about collaborative technology development
mechanisms available at JPL, and to find out if these mechanisms might make sense for your
company, please visit the new JPL website at http://collabtech.jpl.nasa.gov/.
|
