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August 14, 2001

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CONTENTS

1) Upcoming Events

2) Current Releases

3) News from the Projects

Click on links for more detailed information

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UPCOMING EVENTS

The STEP Board will be holding a symposium on Productivity and Cyclicality in Semiconductors: Trends, Implications and Questions in Cambridge, MA on September 24, 2001. The agenda can be viewed at http://www4.nationalacademies.org/PD/step.nsf/files/Cyclicality.pdf/$file/Cyclicality.pdf

Contact: McAlister Clabaugh at mclabaug@nas.edu

On October 4, 2001, the STEP Board will be holding symposium to mark the Board's 10th Anniversary and is intended to frame the current and prospective policy agendas in areas of previous and ongoing STEP work. Session topics include Competition in Global Trade and Regional Development, Government and Industry Investment in Technology, Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy, and possibly sessions on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledg-Based Economy and Medical Innovations in the Changing Healthcare Marketplace. Agenda is not yet available.

Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu

The STEP Board will be holding a conference on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy: New Research on the Operation and Effects of the Patent System on October 22, 2001. Research commissioned by the STEP Board following their February 2000 conference on "Intellectual Property Rights: How Far Should They Be Extended" will be presented. Descriptions of the commissioned research can be found at http://www.nationalacademies.org/ipr
Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu

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CURRENT RELEASES

"Trends in Federal Support of Research and Graduate Education" (2001). Using public data, it details the significant shifts in the allocation of public research spending and graduate student support in the 90s and relates these shifts to state, foundation, and industry research funding patterns. The report describes how some fields' funding bases and some agencies' research portfolios have changed as well as how basic and university research funding have fared in

22 science and engineering fields. Links to the Executive Summary and full report, as well as additional data not included in the report can be found at http://www.nationalacademies.org/step

"The Advanced Technology Program: Assessing Outcomes" (2001). This report examines the operations of the ATP, reviews its extensive assessment program, and provides NRC Committee findings concerning the ATP's operations and recommendations for potential improvements to the program. The report includes a summary of a major conference held in April 2000 as well as seven papers, including surveys of the industry participants or users of the ATP program, a

summary of the results of fifty awards, detailed assessments of major joint ventures, and a description of the current selection process. Links to the report can be found at http://www.nationalacademies.org/step

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NEWS FROM THE PROJECTS

Medical Innovation in the Changing Healthcare Marketplace - Transcripts from the June 2001 conference on Medical Innovations can be found at http://www.nationalacademies.org/med_innovations and a report on the conference is forthcoming. Planning for a long-term study is currently underway.
Contact Philip Aspden at paspden@nas.edu

Government-Industry Partnerships - A report, Government-Industry Partnerships in Biotechnology and Computing: New Needs & New Opportunities will be available Fall 2001.

Contact McAlister Clabaugh at mclabaug@nas.edu