The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) was established for the purpose of assisting U.S. businesses and institutions of higher education or other organizations, such as national laboratories and nonprofit research institutes, to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need.

TIP is aimed at speeding the development of high-risk, transformative research targeted to address key societal challenges. Funding could be provided to industry (small and medium-sized businesses), universities, and consortia for research on potentially revolutionary technologies for meeting critical national needs that present high technical risks—with commensurate high rewards if successful. The primary mechanism for this support would be cost-shared research grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts awarded on the basis of merit competitions.

Features

The major features of the Technology Innovation Program are established in the authorizing legislation. Some highlights:

 TIP is to make cost-shared awards of no more than 50 percent of total project costs to high-risk R&D projects that address critical national and societal needs in NIST’s areas of technical competence.

 Projects may be proposed either by individual, for-profit companies or by joint ventures that may include for-profit companies, institutions of higher learning, national laboratories or non-profit research institutes, so long as the lead partner is either a small or medium-sized business or an institution of higher learning.

  Awards are to be limited to no more than $3 million total over three years for a single-company project or no more than $9 million total over five years for a joint venture.

 TIP may not provide funding to any business that is not a small or medium-sized business, though those businesses may participate in a TIP funded project.

 To read the legislation authorizing the Technology Innovation Program, see P.L.110-69, Sec. 3012 Technology Innovation Program. 

 On March 7, 2008, NIST published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on proposed regulations which implement the TIP. The proposed regulation prescribe policies and procedures for the award of financial assistance (grants and/or cooperative agreements) under TIP. Comments are due April 21, 2008. [Federal Register Notice] 

 TIP Advisory Board Charter 

 Frequently Asked Questions