Why should you reconsider partnering with National Labs

There is growing recognition that DOE's 17 national labs have not made technology transfer, commercialization, or metropolitan cluster development a top priority in the past few years. As a result, the Technology Transfer Society recognized at a recent meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities that these labs have struggled to "connect to the broader U.S. innovation ecosystem and deliver on their responsibility to contribute to regional and national economic growth". According to the Tech Transfer Society, there is a growing recognition among policymakers that it’s past time for lab reform, opening a window of opportunity to reshape the role of the labs as engines of national and regional economic growth.

As a result of this push, Congress has taken up bipartisan legislation to enhance lab flexibility when engaging with the private sector. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz has made lab reform a priority. And a Congressionally-mandated commission is assessing potential areas of reform, including technology transfer, lab management, private sector engagement, and budget consolidation.

What does this mean for your grant funded efforts? Matt Stepp, the Executive Director of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation’s Center for Clean Energy Innovation (CCEI), may be a good point of contact to start a discussion about a possible role for these labs as a partner in your future grant applications. He developed a presentation discussing some of the potential issues at the national labs and an overview of ongoing policy discussions. If you need help determining if this option is a good fit for your program, please feel free to contact us for further assistance. We can help you to determine which lab, what role they would take and how to integrate them actively into the program you are putting forward. Having a lab as a project partner will add tremendous value to the submission.