NSF invests up to nearly $52M to align science and technology research and development investments with outcomes essential to U.S. competitiveness

The Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes awards will help the U.S. stage investments in key technology areas 

APTO Graphic
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced the first-ever Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes (APTO) investment to five awardees with a potential of up to $51.4 million over five years. The NSF investment will help organizations assess and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. research and development endeavors and create models and information for decision-makers to optimize investments and advance long-term U.S. competitiveness. 

"NSF is pleased to make this investment in technology assessment to better assess and predict the outcomes of research and development in the key technology focus areas named in the 'CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,'" said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). "APTO awardees will help decision makers identify the specific science and technology investments that will enable the nation to intentionally accelerate the development of key technologies that are essential to long-term national security and economic prosperity."  

Each APTO awardee has a cooperative agreement with NSF to assimilate data and/or create models that accurately describe past and future technology outcomes, such as their capabilities, production or use. These models will be able to predict future outcomes of specific technologies, as well as which investments would reliably change or accelerate those outcomes. APTO will bring together multidisciplinary teams to help develop the data, intellectual foundations and analytics necessary to inform decision-making. The awardees will complement each other's research and development efforts on technology outcome models to accurately describe three types of technology outcomes: technology capabilities, production and technology use. 

"The APTO awardees will expand on the existing knowledge base from academia and industry to better understand and predict the long-term evolution of specific technologies over a period of a few years to decades and specifically model how intentional, purposeful investments can change that evolution," said Thyaga Nandagopal, division director for Innovation and Technology Ecosystems within TIP.  

APTO awardees 

The awardees are listed in alphabetical order by the institution name below. The full award list can be found on the NSF website. 

For more information, visit the APTO program web page. 

Top