Nanotechnology Lawyer & Attorney : Porter Wright Morris & Arthur : Nanotechnology Law Report - Germanium nanobead image provided by UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy

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Today's issue of the Federal Register carries a request for information  (RFI) from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as part of the effort to gain input from stakeholders in creating a new National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan, to be issued in December 2010.

The RFI seeks responses from the stakeholder community to sets of questions under six categories:

A. Goals and Objectives

    A1. What specific and measurable objectives should be
established to help achieve the four stated NNI goals?
     A2. Are there other overarching goals that would enable
the NNI to better support the vision of a future in which the ability
to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution
in technology and industry that benefits society?
 

B. Research Priorities

    B1. What are the most important gaps in the NNI R&D
portfolio (i.e., specific underfunded areas ripe for success) that
should be addressed to achieve the NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2, 3,
and/or 4)?
     B2. What nanotechnology R&D areas should NNI member
agencies pursue under the Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives model of
close and targeted program-level interagency collaboration to help
accelerate nanotechnology innovation?
B3. What are the most important scientific and technical
challenges that would need to be met to realize the NNI goal(s) (1, 2,
3, and/or 4) and objectives?
 

C. Investment

    C1. What types of research and development investments
(e.g. support for individual investigators, small teams, centers,
research infrastructure, etc.) should the NNI agencies create, sustain,
and/or expand to achieve the NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2, 3, and/
or 4)?
C2. What relative distribution of research and development
investment among the PCAs is needed to achieve the NNI goal(s) (1, 2,
3, and/or 4), and why?
C3. What is the appropriate balance for investment in
nanotechnology among US private and public entities (i.e., government,
corporate R&D, and venture capital) to achieve the NNI goal(s) (please
specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4), and why?
 

D. Coordination and Partnerships

    D1. How could the NNI strengthen interagency coordination
and collaboration towards specific NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2, 3,
and/or 4) and objectives?
    D2. What improved mechanisms may be utilized to facilitate
innovative cross-disciplinary research supporting the NNI goal(s)
(please specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4)?
    D3. What are the most effective roles of the government,
industry, academia, and other stakeholders in achieving this NNI goal
(1, 2, 3, and/or 4)?
    D4. What new forms of collaboration between stakeholders
should be explored to facilitate nanotechnology-based innovation into
applications?
 D5. What existing activities in the public and private
sector could the NNI develop or model to achieve the NNI goal(s)
(please specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4)?
 D6. What partners or types of partners would need to
collaborate (i.e., government, specific foundations and industry
groups, new ideas for consortia) to accomplish the NNI goal(s) (please
specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4)?
    D7. What are effective mechanisms to leverage and/or
coordinate US-funded research and development with international
efforts?
    D8. What mechanisms could NNI use to regularly engage
experts in academia and industry and other organizations for input on
its approach to addressing specific NNI goals (please specify 1, 2, 3,
and/or 4)?
    D9. What is the role of public engagement in achieving
specific NNI goals? In what ways can the Federal government best engage
with citizens to ensure the sustainable development of nanotechnology-
based products with the broadest economic and societal benefits?
 

Evaluation

    E1. What specific criteria (e.g., nanotechnology
publications and citations, nanotechnology patent activity,
nanotechnology-related job creation, relative international
nanotechnology investments) should the NNI use to evaluate its progress
towards the NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4) and in what
priority order?
    E2. Which organizations (e.g., government committees,
independent organizations, international bodies) should perform the
evaluation of progress towards the NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2, 3,
and/or 4)?
    E3. How can NNI best balance fundamental and applied
research and development towards the NNI goal(s) (please specify 1, 2,
3, and/or 4)?
 

Policy

    F1. What new, or existing, specific policies should the
NNI agencies develop or adjust to support the NNI goal(s) (please
specify 1, 2, 3, and/or 4) and to realize the broader economic and
societal benefits associated with advances in nanotechnology?
    Examples: Policies that impact and/or support the NNI goals might
address procurement, incentive prizes, technical documentary standards,
international collaboration, targeted investment, permanent resident
cards for foreign graduates from accredited US academic institutions,
etc.
    F2. What best practices can be drawn from nanotechnology-
and innovation-related policies in other sectors and countries?
 

Responses and/or questions may be sent to either NNISStrategy@ostp.gov  or to

Office of Science and Technology Policy,

ATTN: Nano RFI,

Executive Office of the President,
725 17th Street,

Room 5228,

Washington, DC 20502.

Phone: (202) 456-
7116,

Fax: (202) 456-6021.
 

Responses to the RFI need to be submitted by 11:59PM August 15, 2010.