Federal Funding of Civilian Research and Development, Volume 1.
Abstract
As a part of its program with respect to the funding of civilian research and development by the Federal Government, the Experimental Technology Incentives Program of the National Bureau of Standards awarded a contract to Arthur D. Little, Inc. to conduct a study whose purpose was 'To better understand how federal funding of civilian research and development has functioned as an agent of technological change in the private sector. The fundamental conclusion reached in the study was 'Federally-funded civilian research and development is not sufficient to bring about technological change in the private sector to any significant extent.' This is true because R&D cost is a small part of the total cost of bringing technological innovation into the marketplace. The study finds that this fact is often overlooked by federal policy makers in both the Executive and Legislative Branches. It is cited as one of the reasons why many United States companies with proven records of developing and marketing new products often shun federal R&D funds, and why so many federal R&D projects are shelved. The authors suggest that the results of the study indicate that federal funding of civilian R&D should be formulated in the larger context of the complex process of technological innovation. This volume provides a summary of the study.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA327605
Entities
Organizations
- Arthur D. Little