Advanced Technology Program Requests Proposals For 1997 General Competition

The Commerce Department today announced the opening of a general competition for new R&D; awards under the department's Advanced Technology Program. Approximately $20 million to $25 million will be available in first-year, cost-shared funding for the awards, which support the development by private industry of innovative, high-risk technologies with the potential for important, broad-based economic benefits for the United States.

ATP general competitions are open to proposals from any area of technology,including those currently the subject of special ATP focused programs. The ATP may run additional competitions in 1997. Deadline for the submission of proposals to the 1997 ATP general competition is 3 p.m. Eastern time, March 19, 1997. Details of the general competition were published today on CBDNet (http://cbdnet.access.gpo.gov), the electronic listings of Commerce Business Daily. (The notice will appear within a few days in the printed version of Commerce Business Daily.)

Advanced Technology Program awards are designed to help industry pursue risky, challenging technologies that have the potential for a big pay-off for the nation's economy. ATP projects focus on enabling technologies that will create opportunities for new, world-class products, services and industrial processes, benefiting not just the ATP participants but other companies and industries and ultimately consumers and taxpayers. The ATP's cost-shared funding enables industry to pursue promising technologies that otherwise would be ignored or developed too slowly to compete in rapidly changing world markets.

Both individual, for-profit companies and consortia including at least two for-profit companies may qualify for ATP awards. Non-profit independent research organizations, universities and federal laboratories also may participate as subcontractors or partners in consortia. Projects may run for up to three years for individual companies or up to five years for joint ventures. Proposed projects must focus on the development of high-risk, enabling technologies that underlie potential products, industrial process or services. The ATP will not support product development work.

To provide potential applicants with general information on the ATP, proposal selection criteria, the proposal evaluation process and other information, the ATP will sponsor a series of seven public meetings, scheduled for the following cities:

• Boston, Mass. Jan. 6
• San Francisco, Calif. Jan. 6
• Chicago, Ill. Jan. 8
• Phoenix, Ariz. Jan. 8
• Atlanta, Ga. Jan. 10
• Kansas City, Mo. Jan. 10
• Gaithersburg, Md. Jan. 13

Attendance at these Proposers' Conferences is not required to participate in the ATP competition. The format and content of all seven meetings will be the same.

Additional information on the public meetings and the ATP 1997 general competition and copies of the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit may be obtained from the ATP by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND, fax: (301) 926-9524, or email: atp [at] nist.gov (atp[at]nist[dot]gov). Additional information also may be obtained on the Internet from the ATP World Wide Web site: http://www.atp.nist.gov.

The Advanced Technology Program is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. A non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.