Research and Development Deliverables under Government Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements and CRADAs: University Roles, Government Responsibilities and Contractor Rights

Authors

• Danielle Conway-Jones, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Abstract

More than anything, the United States Government is committed to research and development that will ensure America's position as the leader of nations. Nowhere is this truer than in the development of weapons and weapons systems, for these have, until recently, been the tools of superiority. From the tanks of World Wars I and II, to the guided weapons systems of today, to the unmanned fighting and space exploration vehicles of tomorrow, continued superiority of this nation will depend heavily upon the research and development of new technologies and innovation that must have dual uses for both the military and commercial sectors.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the United States Government was the single largest source of funding for research and development.I During this period, the Government conducted extensive research and development in its own laboratories and in Government-owned laboratories run by contractors. The Government oversight agency, the General Accounting Office (renamed the Government Accountability Office under the George W. Bush Administration), estimated that Government laboratories spent $16.225 billion in Fiscal Year 1990 alone. Despite this investment in research and development and the immense productivity of these labs in developing patentable inventions, the United States Government began to lose its position as the leader in funding technology research and development. In fact, during the last decade of the twentieth century, technology leadership and funding shifted to private industry, where most research and development dollars are now spent. Representative Tom Davis cited statistics that the military's share of research and development has declined from 53% to 16% of the country's total spending from 1960 to 1999, while private sector research and development spending rose from one-third to two-thirds of the country's total spending during this time.

Recommended Citation

Danielle Conway-Jones, Research and Development Deliverables under Government Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements and CRADAs: University Roles, Government Responsibilities and Contractor Rights, 9 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 181 (2004)