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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Inspector General
Washington, D.C. 20546

February 26, 2003

RELEASE 2003-020: NASA'S MONITORING OF CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE WITH NEW 
TECHNOLOGY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

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{at}hq.nasa.gov 

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