Performance Measurement

The Advanced Technology Program, which is run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), seeks to provide support on a cost-sharing basis to research and development projects in industry. These projects are intended to stimulate economic growth and improve the competitiveness of U.S. industry. Funding for the program has risen from $68 million in fiscal year 1993 to $431 million in fiscal year 1995, more than doubling each year. The President has set a goal of $750 million in funding for the program by 1997. The agency has reported short-term results that it claims show the program is making an impact. This report (1) analyzes these short-term results and (2) reviews NIST's plans for evaluating the program in the future.

GAO found that as a result of ATP: (1) total U.S. research on advanced technologies for printed wiring boards has quadrupled; (2) participants have pursued research that they otherwise could not have pursued and have forged new relationships with companies, government, and academic laboratories; and (3) the number of joint research and development ventures in private industry has increased. GAO also found that: (1) the short-term results that NIST identified have limitations and some are overstated or lack adequate support; (2) although NIST plans to evaluate the number of technical milestones completed and joint ventures formed, these indicators may not reflect the long-term success of ATP; and (3) other NIST evaluation efforts under way include engaging the advice and services of leading economists in impact assessment and evaluation, but the results of such efforts are unknown.