Proposals for Projects to Develop New Technologies To: "USGS Employees" From: "Sharon A Bonney, Reston, VA" (Sharon Bonney) Subject: Proposals to Develop New Technologies - DOI X-Mailer: In Reply Refer To: October 15, 1996 Mail Stop 104 MEMORANDUM To: All Employees, U.S. Geological Survey From: Department of the Interior Technology Transfer Working Group Subject: Proposals for Projects to Develop New Technologies The Department of the Interior (DOI) is receiving income from royalties generated by industrial licenses on the FT-30 patent. These license agreements were completed in late 1994 after almost 18 months of negotiations. We anticipate receiving payments from these licenses over the next 3 to 4 years. The U.S. patent expires in 2 years (1998) and the foreign patents in 4 years (2000). Uses of royalty funds are defined in USC 63, Title 15, Section 3710c(B). It is the intent of the DOI Technology Transfer Working Group to disburse a significant portion of these funds to the Bureaus to support activities, within the scope of this law, that have potential for technology transfer and income generation through patents and licenses. Our prime objective is to use these funds as seed money for projects that have an excellent probability of generating new technology that has high utility for the private sector and will eventually generate additional royalty revenue to replace the present source as it diminishes over the next several years. By law, the majority of royalty funds returning to a Federal agency must be transferred to the laboratory (bureau) where the invention occurred. The majority share of new royalty income generated through this program will go to the bureau or bureaus where the inventions and/or licenses originated. The remaining funds will be put back into this "New Technologies" program to continue its sponsorship of technology development projects. This memorandum is a call for proposals for such projects. Proposals will be accepted for projects that: Develop technologies and/or intellectual property that has a high probability of transfer to the private sector. The technologies and/or intellectual property should reach maturity and be ready for transfer to the private sector in no more than 3 to 4 years. These funds also may augment existing projects that meet the aforementioned criteria, as long as the funds are used specifically to expedite the technology or property that is transferable to the private sector. Projects can be more than 1 year in length. The key factor is that there will be a product ready for transfer to the private sector in 3 to 4 years or sooner. Proposals for projects having the following characteristics will have the highest chance of success. These characteristics are listed in order of decreasing priority. 1. Projects with high visibility, high positive impact on the DOI, and a high probability of generating royalty income for the Department.. 2. A clearly defined end product - there must be a technology and/or product developed by the project that is transferable to the private sector in a manner that may generate royalty income to the Department (patent or license). 3. Multibureau projects - personnel from at least two bureaus are involved in the work. Involvement of personnel from more than two bureaus is encouraged. Both ongoing and new projects will be considered . A detailed proposal for a project using these funds must be submitted to your bureau's Technology Transfer Working Group Representative by November 29, 1996. Consider March 1, 1997, as the start date for your project. All proposals must be approved and signed at the bureau level before submittal to your Technology Transfer Working Group Representative. Bureau approval certifies that the resources (people, infrastructure, etc.) called for in the proposal will indeed be dedicated to the project if awarded. Proposals will be reviewed and recommended for award by an evaluation panel of Federal scientists outside of the DOI. HOW TO APPLY Prepare a brief proposal (no more than 10 pages) and submit it to your bureau's Technology Transfer Working Group Representative. The name and address of each bureau's representative who will receive your proposal is listed at the end of this announcement. Each proposal must contain the following information in order to be considered for funding: * Name, DOI affiliation, address, phone number, FAX number, and E-Mail address of principal investigator and all other participants. * A brief history and more detailed description of the technology and/or product under consideration for the funds. * A discussion of the potential utility of the technology or product to the private sector. This discussion should include evidence and justification of the potential value of the technology to the private sector, what the use would be, what private sector segment or industry would be targeted for transfer of the technology/product, and who the end users would be. A detailed explanation of the basis of all assumptions is required. In other words, what good is it and have you really done your homework? * A detailed plan of the project and how the subject technology or product is to be developed. This plan must state the objective of the project, how that objective will be accomplished, and what the state of the technology or product will be at the completion of the project. Also discuss the length of the proposed project. How long will it take for the proposed product to be ready for transfer? When ready for transfer, what will the product be and what will it look like i.e., is it a patent, license, software, or some other device? Specific tasks should be described to reach the objective. For each task, also discuss who will perform that task, and the time involved. * A detailed schedule for the entire project delineating the planned tasks and definitive milestones. These can be multiyear projects. The objective is to have the technology ready for transfer as a patented invention, or ready for licensing, in 3 to 4 years. * A detailed budget for the entire project. If these funds are to be used to augment an existing project, detail how the requested funds are to be spent and how they relate to other monies used for the project. For multiyear projects, detail the first year's budget and give reasonable estimates for each out year of funding. Break down the out year's budgets as much as is possible. Multiyear projects will have to recompete each year for the next year's funding based upon their progress and results to date. Funds can be used for all legitimate expenses including, but not limited to, salaries, travel, fabrication, testing, demonstration, and promotion costs. The budget should include all appropriate Bureau assessments. * A brief resume or statement of qualifications for each of the major participants in the project. All participants must be employees of the Department of the Interior. For more information contact your bureau's Technology Transfer Working Group Representative. They are: Bureau Name Phone No. FAX BIA Nancy Jemison 202-501-7861 202-208-3664 BOR Donald Ralston 202-208-5671 202-208-6252 BLM Dwight Hempel 202-452-7778 202-452-7708 FWS Freeman Walker 703-358-1938 703-358-2269 MMS Charles Smith 703-787-1559 703-787-1555 NPS Lindsay McClelland 202-208-4958 202-208-4620 OSM Doug Growitz 202-208-2634 202-219-3100 USGS Tony Inderbitzen 703-648-4450 703-648-5068