The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) Office of Science and Technology Cooperation (STC) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for technology transfer activities in the Indo-Pacific region. The agreement awarded will use FY18/23 reclassified Economic Support Fund (ESF) resources, subject to the availability of funds.
This project will advance economic ties between the United States and the countries of the Indo-Pacific region, and seek to foster innovation, including to address environmental and climate-based challenges, by sharing U.S. best practices and norms in the disciplines of technology transfer, intellectual property (IP), and innovation with international scientific communities. Taking scientific and technological ideas from the lab to the marketplace is one of the foundations of modern economic growth. Yet many in the scientific community in the Indo-Pacific region are unaware of how to best protect their work from competitors seeking either economic or security benefits. Many are also unaware of risks posed by certain practices that maximize benefit to only one party in a deal. Predatory practices take away incentives to innovate, harm the integrity of the scientific enterprise, and make it more difficult for U.S. companies to compete in Indo-Pacific markets on legitimate terms.
Primary organizations can submit one application in response to the NOFO. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact fundopps@duke.edu as early as possible.
Deadline: April 10, 2023
Project Objective 1: Improved institutional and individual capacity by international partners to engage in tech commercialization, intellectual property, and innovation practices by providing training and exchanges based on U.S. practices.
Project Objective 2: Countries develop IP processes consistent with international best practices necessary for the transparent and predictable enforcement and protection of IP, thus enabling IP rights to flourish.
Priority countries for this award include: South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka; Southeast Asia – Burma, Cambodia, Lao, Thailand, Vietnam; Pacific – Fiji, Papua New Guinea
OES welcomes applications from U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations subject to section 501(c) (3) of the U.S. tax code; and private, public, or state institutions of higher education.