DRAFT

March 19, 2004

Project 4: Engaging the Research Capacities of the Land Grant Universities and State Colleges

Purpose and Mission:

DOE/EERE has expressed an interest in expanding its outreach to the Land Grant and public research universities and colleges, yet continues to be concerned with the limited participation of the public university sector, identified as the NASULGC institutions, in the research and development initiatives of the department. DOE/EERE knows of the capacity of these institutions to conduct research and reach out to the public via their extension and/or continuing education networks, but is concerned by the limited access being made of DOE/EERE programs at these institutions. By way of background, the research and development (R & D) budget of DOE/EERE is approximately $1.3B per year, yet according to DOE/EERE estimates, less than 3% of its annual R & D budget is granted to NASULGC public institutions. There are questions regarding the reasons for this seemingly limited participation by the land grant and state universities nationwide in seeking and winning DOE/EERE support via the grants process. DOE/EERE seeks to increase the involvement with the land grant and public research institutions knowing of the capacity to conduct research on topics of mutual interest and the ability of these institutions to network and disseminate important and critical information on energy issues to the public

There is speculation on the part of DOE/EERE that this low rate of participation may be due in part to what is perceived as cumbersome intellectual property (IP) rights regulations of universities and colleges, particularly when multiple institutions and/or the private sector are involved. In addition, the announcement of RFAs may in some way be limiting participation either because they are not circulated widely enough and faculty at NASULGC institutions are unaware of the opportunities, or they are perceived to be beyond the realm of the faculty at these institutions.

Scope:

In order to understand these issues and develop recommendations for DOE/EERE regarding these limitations to being able to fully engage the research capacity of the faculty at NASULGC institutions, we will employ a 2-step process. To understand the nature and depth of the issues we propose the following:

• Survey university research administrators, grants and contracts officers, and the IP / technology transfer agents to determine if:
• IP Rights issues are a serious concern for faculty and universities negotiating DOE/EERE contracts
• The announcements of DOE/EERE RFAs are limiting or deemed inaccessible in some fashion that restricts or otherwise limits interest and participation
• The same or a slightly modified survey will also be administered to the following groups to determine the perceptions of bidders for DOE/EERE awards:
• Successful bidders (recipients) of DOE/EERE awards, for the years 2000-2003
• Unsuccessful bidders (those whose grant applications were denied) for DOE/EERE awards, 2000-2003

Requirements:

To complete this task the following will be required:

• DOE/EERE (Dr. James Fischer) to provide names and email addresses of successful and unsuccessful bidders for DOE/EERE grants that were announced with an RFA for the period, 2000-2003.
• DOE/EERE to provide list of universities grants and contacts offices notified of RFAs for the period 2000-2003
• Review of above protocol with J. Fischer, ASAP.

Timeline (Modified):

The goal will be to have a report in advance of the November 2004 NASULGC meeting in San Diego to share with the following:

• DOE/EERE Leadership and Assistant Secretary Garman (perhaps as early as 10/01/04)
• DOE/EERE Coordinating Committee and Project Teams
• NASULGC - BAA/PBD

Tasks: Completion Date:

• Outline the task and describe the process / solution 2/17/04
• Feedback on process from DOE/EERE 3/1/04
• Receive and review survey recipient list from DOE/EERE 4/1/04
• Design and pretest the on-line survey 4/15/04
• Administer survey (s) 6/1/04
• Tabulate and Evaluate Survey results 8/1/04
• Prepare report for DOE/EERE and NASULGC/BAA 9/15/04
• Present report and recommendations at NASULGC Annual Mtg. 11/04