The audit report “NASA’s Monitoring of Contractor Compliance With New
Technology Reporting Requirements” (IG-03-006) has been posted to the
NASA Office of Inspector General Web site at
http//www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/ig-03-006.pdf
Since the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958
(the Space Act), NASA has been an important source of much of the
Nation’s new technology. The Agency extends the commercial application
of its technology by transferring the technology to private industry
for commercial use to the maximum extent possible. To facilitate this
objective, NASA contractors are required to promptly report inventions,
discoveries, improvements, and innovations made in the performance of
any work. Prompt reporting also allows NASA to provide the widest
practicable and appropriate dissemination, early utilization,
expeditious development, and continued availability of new technologies
for the general public. The Office of Inspector General did not
examine the potential transfer of such technologies to foreign partners
because these transfers would occur in a later phase of NASA’s
technology commercialization process. Transfers of technology to
foreign partners are generally subject to export control laws and
regulations such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Results of Audit
We found that NASA did not follow up with contractors that were
required to submit reports for 6 (55 percent) of the 11 active
contracts and for 1 of 4 completed contracts reviewed. NASA managers
had not emphasized to new technology representatives and contracting
officer’s technical representatives (COTRs) the importance of
monitoring contractor compliance, and new technology representatives
and COTRs were not sufficiently trained in new technology reporting
requirements. As a result, the Agency could not be assured that new
technologies, developed under contracts totaling $9.8 billion, were
transferred to private industry for commercial use, thereby potentially
reducing the Nation’s return on its investment in aerospace research.
Recommendations
We recommended that NASA management emphasize requirements to follow up
on contractors’ reporting of new technologies. We also recommended that
the Directors for Goddard Space Flight Center, Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center and Langley Research Center incorporate new technology reporting-
related responsibilities into position descriptions and performance plans
for new technology representatives and direct COTRs to perform new
technology reporting-related duties delegated to them by contracting
officers. Finally, we recommended that the Center Directors direct COTRs
and new technology representatives to coordinate activities to ensure
that contractors submit the required reports and that the Centers train
new technology representatives and COTRs on new technology reporting
requirements.
Management’s Response
Management concurred with the recommendations and has planned or
completed corrective actions.
To comment on this report, please send e-mail to igrelease@hq.nasa.gov
