The Program will provide monitoring and evaluation of areas of critical national need and its investments through periodic analyses. It will develop methods and metrics for assessing impact at all stages. These analyses will contribute to the establishment and adoption of best practices.

Results stemming from the analyses required by § 296.30 will be disseminated in periodic working papers, fact sheets, and meetings, which will address the progress that the Program has made from both a project and a portfolio perspective. Such disseminated results will serve to educate both external constituencies as well as internal audiences on research results, best practices, and recommended changes to existing operations based on solid analysis.

(a) Under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, NIST has the authority to enter into cooperative research and development agreements with non-Federal parties to provide personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources except funds toward the conduct of specified research or development efforts which are consistent with the missions of the laboratory. In turn, NIST has the authority to accept funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment and other resources from the non-Federal party or parties for the joint research effort. Cooperative research and development agreements do not include procurement contracts or cooperative agreements as those terms are used in sections 6303, 6304, and 6305 of title 31, United States Code.

(b) In no event will NIST enter into a cooperative research and development agreement with a recipient of an award under the Program which provides for the payment of Program funds from the award recipient to NIST.

(c) From time to time, TIP may conduct public workshops and undertake other educational activities to foster the collaboration of funding Recipients with other funding resources for purposes of further development and diffusion of TIP-related technologies. In no event will TIP provide recommendations, endorsements, or approvals of any TIP funding Recipients to any outside party.

The Director shall submit annually to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives a report describing the Technology Innovation Program's activities, including a description of the metrics upon which award funding decisions were made in the previous fiscal year, any proposed changes to those metrics, metrics for evaluating the success of ongoing and completed awards, and an evaluation of ongoing and completed awards. The first annual report shall include best practices for management of programs to stimulate high-risk, high-reward research.