Barbara E. Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                                        
April 16, 1991
(Phone:  703/557-5609)
 
RELEASE:  91-55 

PROPOSALS REQUESTED FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTERS

      NASA has issued a request for proposals to establish six 
Regional Technology Transfer Centers (RTTC), each funded at 
about $1 million annually, to replace 10 Industrial 
Applications Centers (IAC), whose contracts expire this year.
 
      The deadline for receiving proposals is June 17.  
Selections for negotiation for contract awards is targeted for 
late summer, with the RTTCs expected to become operational 
early in 1992.
 
      The restructuring of the IAC program represents an 
effort by NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, Headquarters, 
Washington, D.C.,  to upgrade and revitalize the current 
network and is intended to accomplish several objectives 
including:
 
      * Broadening the geographical coverage of the network to 
include all the contiguous states by establishing a regional 
structure similar to the six Federal Laboratory Consortiums 
for Technology Transfer (FLC);
 
      * Forming linkages with state and local government 
technology transfer activities to leverage NASA's resources 
and avoid duplication of effort;
 
      * All federal laboratories within the FLC in the 
agency's technology transfer effort; 
 
      * Establishing close ties with NASA's Centers for the 
Commercial Development of Space in their respective regions, 
as their technology "marketing" agent;
 
      * Providing a "full-spectrum" of services by all of the 
network participants; and 

      * Encouraging partnerships or consortia of universities 
and state organizations within a designated region to 
represent that region as one of the new RTTCs.
 
      Additionally, it is anticipated that the new regional 
approach will align the centers closer to the needs of 
particular industries, local businesses and entrepreneurs, and 
by establishing a "presence" in each state in each region, be 
able to reach prospective clients and market federally 
developed technology more effectively.
                            -end-