Economic Impact Research and Assessment of Federal Laboratory Contributions to Standards Development | 2018 NIST TPO 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2018 NIST TPO 01

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), within the U.S. Department of Commerce, issued a discretionary funding opportunity for a cooperative agreement titled "Economic Impact Research and Assessment of Federal Laboratory Contributions to Standards Development" (Funding Opportunity Number: 2018 NIST TPO 01; CFDA: 11.620). The purpose of the award is to support a focused research effort that examines how NIST and other federal laboratories have influenced a specific technology field through their work on developing, transferring, and supporting documentary standards or other types of standards. In practical terms, the project is meant to connect federal lab standards-related R&D and engagement to real-world economic outcomes, and to do so in a way that is rigorous enough to be useful for policy and program evaluation.

Under this opportunity, the funded organization is expected to choose one technology area where standards have played an important enabling role and where NIST and other federal laboratories have clearly contributed. After selecting that technology area, the awardee must propose three specific, relevant standards-related programs within that area for deeper analysis. These programs should be tied to standards development, standards adoption, standards transfer, or the technical underpinnings that make standards possible (such as measurement science, reference data, testing methods, interoperability frameworks, or validation approaches). While the applicant proposes the three candidate programs, the final set of programs to be studied is determined in consultation with NIST, reflecting the cooperative nature of the agreement and the expectation of ongoing engagement with the agency.

The core deliverables revolve around producing three case studies, one for each selected program. Each case study is expected to document what the program did, how it connected to standards outcomes, how the standards were disseminated and used, and what impacts followed for industry, government, and/or consumers. Where feasible and appropriate, the awardee must go beyond qualitative narrative and conduct a quantitative, retrospective economic impact assessment for each of the three programs. That implies using established economic evaluation methods to estimate benefits such as productivity gains, reduced transaction costs, improved quality and reliability, avoided duplication of effort, accelerated innovation or time-to-market, improved interoperability, enhanced safety, or better market functioning due to reduced information asymmetries. Because the opportunity emphasizes retrospective impacts, the work is expected to rely on evidence that can be observed or reasonably estimated from historical adoption and outcomes, rather than speculative forecasts.

In addition to the three program-level case studies and impact estimates, the awardee must perform a broader literature review aimed at identifying the overall national economic impact associated with standards in the chosen technology area. A key requirement is attribution: the literature review should assess what portion of the national economic impact can be attributed to contributions from federal laboratories as a whole, and what portion can be attributed specifically to NIST. This does not necessarily mean claiming sole causality, but rather carefully tracing and defending how federal lab contributions (technical work, measurement methods, reference materials, participation in standards bodies, testbeds, or validation tools) influenced the standards ecosystem and thereby contributed to measurable economic outcomes. The intent is to produce a clearer picture of the federal role in standards-driven economic value creation, separating out federal laboratory contributions from those of private sector consortia, standards development organizations, and other stakeholders.

Administratively, this opportunity is issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically signals substantial federal involvement during performance, such as collaborative planning, review of methods, alignment on program selections, and iterative feedback on findings. The expected number of awards is one, indicating a single awardee will conduct the full scope of work across the selected technology area and the three programs. The posted award ceiling is listed as 0 in the source data, which generally means the ceiling was not specified in the summary field and applicants would need to consult the full announcement or NIST guidance for budget expectations. The original posting date was July 10, 2018, and the original closing date was August 23, 2018. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, suggesting the competition may have been open to a range of research-performing entities (often including universities, nonprofits, and other qualified organizations) depending on the detailed eligibility criteria in the full notice.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to produce credible, well-documented evidence about how federal laboratory engagement in standards development translates into economic impact, using a combination of targeted case studies, quantitative impact analysis where possible, and a synthesis of existing research to support attribution at the national level for the chosen technology domain.

• The Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Economic Impact Research and Assessment of Federal Laboratory Contributions to Standards Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.620.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 10, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 23, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 2018 NIST TPO 01

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