Mesuring Performance: The Advanced Technology Program and Private-Sector Funding.
Abstract
The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to assess the impact of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), which is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology within the Department of Commerce. ATP's purpose is to provide support on a cost sharing basis for industrial research and development projects that have a significant potential for stimulating economic growth and improving the competitiveness of U.S. industry. Federal funding for ATP has grown sharply, from $68 million in fiscal year 1993 to $341 million in fiscal year 1995. Recently, however, budget proposals have suggested eliminating ATP's funding for fiscal year 1996. GAO's objective was to examine, as one way to assess ATP's impact, whether research projects would have been funded by the private sector if they had not received funds from ATP. GAO also examined ATP's impact in terms of other goals of the program, such as aiding the formation of joint ventures. GAO agreed on this approach because of the difficulty of assessing the net impact of ATP's investments in technology on the economy. For example, it is difficult to establish a causal link between a successful project and government funding earlier in the project. Moreover, the impact of ATP should be measured not only by its effect on the firms that receive funding but also by its effect on other firms-a difficult undertaking that GAO's approach avoids.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA315072
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office