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GAITHERSBURG, Md. — As part of its efforts to improve the transfer of federally funded technologies from lab to market, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public feedback on the Interagency Edison System (iEdison) — an online platform where organizations that have received federal funding report their inventions. NIST plans to modernize and streamline the system to improve user experience, enhance functionality and increase security to ensure sensitive business information is protected. The updates will make it easier for government grantees and contractors to comply with the Bayh-Dole Act and its reporting requirements.
Every year the federal government invests more than $100 billion in research and development (R&D) through grants and funding agreements with the nation’s universities and other nonfederal organizations, resulting in more than 7,000 inventions reported via iEdison each year. The iEdison platform, which is used by 35 federal agencies, was created in 1995 and has been managed by the National Institutes of Health. It will transition to NIST management as part of the modernization effort.
“A modern iEdison system is critically important to efficiency in research administration and reporting of inventions that ultimately create value for society and the economy,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter G. Copan. “We commend the NIH for operating iEdison for so many years, and we look forward to working with them and with stakeholders to identify and deliver the system enhancements needed by the U.S. research community.”
In its 2016 report reviedison reporting federally funded inventions
