The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

1. Implementing the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act in the Federal GovernmentBelinda L. Collins, Ph.D.Deputy Director, Technology ServicesNIST

2. The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) • All Federal Agencies should use consensus technical standards in lieu of agency unique standards • Agencies must report use of agency unique standards and provide explanation of use • Federal Agencies should participate in standards developing activities • NIST to coordinate Federal standards and conformity assessment activities with those of the private sector • Prepare Annual Report to Office of Management and Budget for transmission to Congress

3. Policies of OMB Circular A-119 • Encourage Federal Agencies to benefit from the expertise of the private sector • Promote Federal Agency participation in such bodies to ensure the creation of standards that are useable by Federal Agencies • Reduce reliance on government unique standards where private sector standards would suffice • No preference among types of standards (consensus versus non-consensus) • Use commercial off the shelf products regardless of source of underlying standard

4. Federal Use of Standards • Regulation • NIST has identified more than 10,000 citations of standards incorporated by reference • NIST currently evaluating citations for accuracy; developing database • Procurement • DOD, NASA and GSA maintain lists of standards suitable for use in procurement actions • DOD lists more than 9,069 standards • Despite duplication and overlap in lists, pattern of reliance on standards is clear

5. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act - 2000 Results • Federal Agencies reported doubling their use of private sector standards from FY99, for a total of 5453 reported uses in FY2000 • Since 1997, agencies increased cumulative reported use to more than 8750 standards • Agencies reported 2700 participants in one or more standards committee activities • Agencies reported using only 16 government unique standards in lieu of private • NIST published “Guidance on Conformity Assessment” in the Federal Register

6. Cumulative Number of Standards Used by 2000

7. Some Sources of Standards Used by the Federal Government • ASTM International • American National Standards Institute (ANSI) • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) • Underwriters Laboratories (UL) • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) • Society of Automotive Engineers • International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) • Internet Engineering Task Force • Information Technology Institute Council, • The Open Group • World Wide Web Consortium.

8. Agency Highlights in 2000 • EPA Rule Writers’ Guide • New procedures for identifying voluntary consensus standards led to their use in 77% of final rule makings; an increase of 42% over 1999 • DOD completed review of all 40,000 Milspecs and standards • 9,069 non-governmental standards now adopted (2002) • Any new requirement for a military document must undergo departmental review to determine if VCS would be more appropriate • 870 DOD personnel participate in standards bodies

9. Agency Highlights in 2000, NASA • NASA - Three phase approach • Establish a centralized system, integrate standards into NASA system, and build agency capabilities for a standards-based culture • Adopted over 1000 standards as NASA-preferred • Transition NASA standards to private sector system safety requirements - Example: Oxygen, hydrogen) • Replace NASA standards - Example: IEEE 12207 Software standard • Create agency-wide full-text system • Develop on-line standards update notification system • Document lessons learned in NASA information system

10. Agency Highlights - 2000 – Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) • NRC published management directive for use of and participation in standards activities • Developed internal standards web page • Training for staff • NRC hosts semiannual meetings with SDOs • Increase involvement of stakeholders in regulatory process; identify opportunities for NRC staff input • Encourage development of codes and standards needed by NRC (and DOE)

11. Agency Highlights - 2000 - DOE • DOE now uses over 1025 standards • 635 participants in 1353 activities • DOE approaches include • Standards policy to support standards-based culture • Departmental standards program • Use private sector standards for work smart standards, safety analysis reports, standards/requirement identification documents and contracts • Technical standards program home page which lists all orders and procedures, as well as technical standards used by DOE

12. Agency Highlights - NIST • Chair Interagency Committee on Standards Policy • Coordinate Federal standards and conformity assessment activities with those of the private sector • Web-based system for data input from Federal Agencies for Annual Report • Fifth annual report in preparation • Electronic database for identifying standards incorporated by reference in regulation • National infrastructure for laboratory accreditation through the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) • NIST/NACLA MOU recognizes NACLA process for recognizing competent laboratory accreditation bodies

13. Future NTTAA Activities • Publish Fifth Annual Report covering 2001 • Increase publicity, awareness • Provide assistance to regulatory agencies • Database of standards referenced in regulations • Create and implement Standards.gov • Enhance NTTAA Website • Develop portal for electronic access to government standards-related activities • Provide links to private sector activities • Workshops • Reporting, use of standards, coordination of conformity assessment activities

14. Desired Outcomes • Better documentation of Federal use of standards – Continued increase in use • Improved participation in relevant standards activities to meet agency needs • Web access to standards referenced in regulations and procurements • Improved linkage with standards developers, industry and states