ATP Will Award New Grants

NIST has announced plans to hold a new competition this year under its Advanced Technology Program (ATP). The program provides cost-shared awards to industry for high-risk research and development. NIST is still working out the funding level and the number of grants to be awarded, as well as the competition date, but it expects to have these details finalized this spring. The new competition comes three years after what was expected to be the program's final round of awards in September 2004. The Administration has tried for several years to phase out ATP by eliminating the funding for the program in its annual budget request. But the program has significant congressional support and annually wins back funding in the appropriations process. In fact, the $79 million in 2007 funding for the program is the result of the fiscal 2007 Joint Resolution passed by Congress in February. "NIST will use the ... funding provided for ATP as effectively as possible to run a new competition that meets the program's mandate, namely to accelerate development of innovative technologies with broad national benefit," NIST Director William Jeffrey says. A formal competition announcement will be posted in the Federal Register once all details are set.