Accelerating Federal Technology Transfer (AFTT) Program
Funding Agency:
- Department of Commerce/EDA
The NIST’s Accelerating Federal Technology Transfer (AFTT) Program is seeking applications from eligible applicants for activities to help promote, educate, and facilitate federal technology transfer. Under the AFTT Program, members of the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s (FLC) Executive Board, including NIST, will collaborate with the awardee on the development of outreach and educational programs, tools, and best practices that will enhance the ability of the academic and private sectors to engage with Federal laboratories in technology transfer and research commercialization. Specifically, the awardee will collaborate with the FLC’s Executive Board, including NIST, in the areas of technology transfer and research commercialization by: developing the necessary tools and services to promote the utilization of Federal intellectual property, user facilities, and other R&D resources by non-federal partners; creating a suitable education and training infrastructure in technology transfer for the relevant stakeholders; and engaging industry, academic, and state and local government communities to facilitate access to federal R&D collaborations and federal technology transfer opportunities on both a regional and a national level.
The Federal Government invests approximately $225B in research and development (R&D) each year. Of this, approximately $80B is spent at over 300 federal laboratories2 across the country performing research, development, testing, and experimentation. The Federal Government requires private sector partners for the results of this research to be fully utilized and made available to the public through new products and services. Technology transfer (T2) is the process by which (a) non-federal partners enter formal collaborations with federal laboratories to gain access to unique capabilities and facilities and/or to advance the development of a technology, or (b) the results of federal research efforts are transferred to a private sector entity for commercialization and ultimately, public use. Federal laboratories of a certain size are mandated by legislation to have T2 offices staffed with professionals who complete the T2 activities (i.e., patenting, licensing, establishing formal research collaborations, etc.), in ways that support each agency’s mission3.The professional organization for federal T2 is the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC)4.
In Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), NIST anticipates funding one (1) award for up to $4,000,000 per year with a project performance period of up to five (5) years. As discussed in Section II.2., NIST also reserves the option to provide additional multi-year funding and extend the original period of performance of the award for up to an additional five (5) years.
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, May 28, 2024
Applicants must submit all questions pertaining to this funding opportunity in writing to john.bittman@nist.gov with ‘2024-NIST-AFTT-01’ in the subject line.