Japan's Key Technology Center Program
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International Technology Research Institute World Technology (WTEC) Division WTEC Panel Report on Japan's Key Technology Center Program Irwin Feller, Panel Chair George Gamota Richard Harris Paul Herer Patti O’Neill-Brown Oskar Zaborsky September 1999 International Technology Research Institute R.D. Shelton, Director Geoffrey M. Holdridge, WTEC Division Director and ITRI Series Editor 4501 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21210-2699 WTEC Panel on Japan’s Key Technology Center Program Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Department of Commerce of the United States government. Irwin Feller (Panel Chair) Patti O'Neill-Brown Penn State University Japan Technology Program N250 Burrowes Bldg. U.S. Dept. of Commerce/Room 4410 University Park, PA 16802 14th & Constitution Ave, N.W. Washington, DC 20230 George Gamota ITRI Associate Director Oskar R. Zaborsky 17 Solomon Pierce Road Marine Biotech & Biosystems Lexington, MA 02173 Engineering Laboratory University of Hawaii at Manoa Richard E. Harris Hawaii Natural Energy Institute National Institute of Standards and Technology 2540 Dole Street Division 814.00 Honolulu, HI 96822 325 Broadway Boulder, CO 80303 Paul Herer National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22230 INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE World Technology (WTEC) Division WTEC at Loyola College (previously known as the Japanese Technology Evaluation Center, JTEC) provides assessments of foreign research and development in selected technologies under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Loyola’s International Technology Research Institute (ITRI), R.D. Shelton, Director, is the umbrella organization for WTEC. Elbert Marsh, Deputy Assistant Director for Engineering at NSF’s Engineering Directorate, is NSF Program Director for WTEC. Several other U.S. government agencies provide support for the program through NSF. WTEC’s mission is to inform U.S. scientists, engineers, and policymakers of global trends in science and technology in a manner that is timely, credible, relevant, efficient, and useful. WTEC’s role is central to the government’s effort to measure its performance in science and technology. Panels of typically six technical experts conduct WTEC assessments. Panelists are leading authorities in their field, technically active, and knowledgeable about U.S. and foreign research programs. As part of the assessment process, panels visit and carry out extensive discussions with foreign scientists and engineers in their labs. The ITRI staff at Loyola College helps select topics, recruits expert panelists, arranges study visits to foreign laboratories, organizes workshop presentations, and finally, edits and disseminates the final reports. Dr. R.D. Shelton Mr. Geoff Holdridge Dr. George Gamota ITRI Director WTEC Division Director ITRI Associate Director Loyola College Loyola College 17 Solomon Pierce Road Baltimore, MD 21210 Baltimore, MD 21210 Lexington, MA 02173 WTEC Panel on JAPAN’S KEY TECHNOLOGY CENTER PROGRAM FINAL REPORT September 1999 Irwin Feller, Panel Chair George Gamota Richard Harris Paul Herer Patti O’Neill-Brown Oskar Zaborsky ISBN 1-883712-54-8 This document was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Commerce (DOC), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. government under NSF Cooperative Agreement ENG- 9707092, awarded to the International Technology Research Institute at Loyola College in Maryland. The government has certain rights to this material. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States government, the authors’ parent institutions, or Loyola College. ABSTRACT This report reviews Japan’s Key Technology Center Program (JKTC) with the objectives of comparing JKTC to U.S. programs, assessing the potential for initiating similar programs in the United States, and identifying opportunities for enhanced collaboration between the United States and Japan. The panel found that differences in U.S. and Japanese economic and technological development policies would prevent a practical implementation of the JKTC model in the United States. However, selected aspects of the JKTC model hold potential for the design of U.S. technology development programs. A notable feature of the JKTC model is the latitude allowed firms in the choice of research trajectories and project management activities once they have received a JKTC award. Another appealing feature of the JKTC program is that all researchers work under one management chain and get paid from the new company. This links the staff members together, making it easier for them to form teams and work together. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the U.S. government sponsors of this study: the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Department of Commerce. Thanks also to Booz Allen and Hamilton Inc. for management and oversight on behalf of DARPA. We are very much indebted to our panel chair, Irwin Feller, for his dedication and leadership over the course of the study. All of the panelists are due credit for their contributions of time and intellect to the project. It was both an honor and a pleasure to work with this group. Finally, we are extremely grateful to all of our Japanese hosts for sharing their activities and insights with us. Sincerely, Geoffrey M. Holdridge WTEC Division Director and ITRI Series Editor International Technology Research Institute (ITRI) R. D. Shelton, Principal Investigator, ITRI Director George Mackiw, Deputy ITRI Director George Gamota, ITRI Associate Director J. Brad Mooney, TTEC Division Director Robert Margenthaler, BD Division Director World Technology (WTEC) Division Geoffrey M. Holdridge, WTEC Division Director Bobby A. Williams, Financial Officer Christopher McClintick, Head of Publications Catrina M. Foley, Administrative Assistant Aminah Grefer, Editorial Assistant Roan E. Horning, Web Administrator Michael Stone, Network Administrator Robert Tamburello, Student Assistant Sarah Mayne, Student Assistant Hiroshi Morishita, WTEC Japan Representative Edward Belfar, Editor Copyright 1999 by Loyola College in Maryland. This work relates to NSF Cooperative Agreement ENG-9707092. The U.S. government retains a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to exercise all exclusive rights provided by copyright. The ISBN number for this report is 1-883712-54-8. This report is distributed by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce as NTIS report PB99-142424. A list of available JTEC/WTEC reports and information on ordering them from NTIS is included on the inside back cover of this report. i FOREWORD Timely information on scientific and engineering developments occurring in laboratories around the world provides a critical input to maintaining the economic and technological strength of the United States. Moreover, sharing this information quickly with other countries can greatly enhance the productivity of scientists and engineers. These are some of the reasons why the National Science Foundation (NSF) has been involved in funding science and technology assessments comparing the United States and foreign countries since the early 1980s. A substantial number of these studies have been conducted by the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC), managed by Loyola College through a cooperative agreement with NSF. The purpose of the WTEC activity is to assess research and development efforts in other countries in specific areas of technology, to compare these efforts and their results to U.S. research in the same areas, and to identify opportunities for international collaboration in precompetitive research. Many U.S. organizations support substantial data gathering and analysis efforts focusing on nations such as Japan. But often the results of these studies are not widely available. At the same time, government and privately sponsored studies that are in the public domain tend to be “input” studies. They enumerate inputs to the research and development process, such as monetary expenditures, personnel data, and facilities, but do not provide an assessment of the quality or quantity of the outputs obtained. Studies of the outputs of the research and development process are more difficult to perform because they require a subjective analysis performed by individuals who are experts in the relevant scientific and technical fields. The NSF staff includes professionals with expertise in a wide range of disciplines. These individuals provide the expertise needed to assemble panels of experts who can perform competent, unbiased reviews of research and development activities. Specific technologies such as telecommunications, biotechnology, and nanotechnology are selected for study by government agencies that have an interest in obtaining the results of an assessment and are able to contribute to its funding. A typical WTEC assessment is sponsored by several agencies. In the first few years of this activity, most of the studies focused on Japan, reflecting interest in that nation’s growing economic prowess. Then, the program was called JTEC (Japanese Technology Evaluation Center). Beginning in 1990, we began to broaden the geographic focus of the studies. As interest in the European Community (now the European Union) grew, we added Europe as