2: Private Investment
Accelerate private investment in and development of high-risk, broad-impact technologies Other Information:
While private sector funds nearly 70 percent of the nation’s R&D, market pressures often deter firms from investing in particular
types of technology. Private industry never has accounted for a large percentage of the nation’s basic R&D, because firms
must be able to appropriate returns within a timeframe and at a level satisfactory to investors. For the same reasons, industry
tends to avoid investing in certain types of enabling technologies: infrastructural technologies, which require distinct competencies
and are broadly applied; multi-use technologies, which benefit multiple segments of an industry or group of industries; and
high-potential breakthrough technologies, which typically involve risk levels and timeframes that far exceed the horizons
of individual firms. These enabling technologies are the focus of the Advanced Technology Program: ATP works with industry
and universities to identify and promote investment in technologies with significant potential for broad-based economic benefits
but inadequate levels of private investment. The Program uses joint ventures and teaming arrangements to combine private investment
and the best available scientific and technological talent in industry, universities, and government.
Objective(s):
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