Michael J. Hall, Ph.D., an economist in the Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has taken outstanding initiative in designing and executing processes that reformed crucial technology transfer reporting across the federal government. Hall’s streamlined reporting method and his coordination of the project eliminated a four-year submission backlog in compiling and publishing the annual Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Summary Report to the President and Congress (the Summary Report).  

The Summary Report details the technology transfer activities of each of the 11 federal agencies that conduct Research and Development (R&D) efforts to ensure that the nation’s investment in innovative research is transferred from those laboratories to the American people. The report chronicles each participating agency’s invention disclosures, patent applications, patents issued, active licenses, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and other collaborative R&D relationships, among other data.  

Technology transfer is a crucial, time-sensitive and fast-moving field. The delay in issuing the mandated annual Summary Report led to concern from the White House, Congress and participating agencies. These critical stakeholders needed more timely data to develop and implement technology transfer policy, thereby fulfilling their mission of promoting economic growth and the development of new technologies. 

When Hall took over this project in 2021, the Summary Reports for fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 had not been compiled or published. He wasted no time instituting new processes for data management, interagency coordination and project management. Rather than compiling and publishing one report at a time, Hall’s approach implemented parallel collection and analysis of the annual data for multiple years. 

One of Hall’s most vital innovations was to establish regular communication with the other participating agencies and Department of Commerce bureaus. This communication helped him monitor and facilitate ongoing progress, and his coordination with the review and clearance organization aided efficient processing. 

Due to Hall’s efforts and innovative processes, four Summary Reports were published in 15 months – roughly three times faster than the previous four years’ publishing rate. Hall’s accomplishments brought the entire federal Research and Development community back on schedule with the mandated reporting of the outcomes and impacts of billions of dollars. He provided valuable information to the White House, Congress, the United States Trade Representative, and science policymakers, thereby promoting economic growth and the introduction of new technologies into the marketplace for societal benefit.  

Hall achieved this success at the same time as he continued to fulfill his established professional responsibilities researching federal technology transfer activities and their economic impact, providing economic advice and guidance to the federal technology transfer community and participating in economic-related working groups and communities of practice. During the last phase of remedying the reporting backlog, Hall simultaneously provided support and advice in the fields of economics, data analysis and evaluation metrics.