The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) is the dynamic intermediary between industry and government, facilitates the commercialization of innovative technologies from lab to market, and awards non-dilutive seed funding to U.S. small businesses in support of a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Nation.
-- Kortney Opshaug, Blue Ocean Gear & Richard Riels, Crab Raft
The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) is serving the U.S. economy by investing in impactful solutions, transferring innovative technology to the marketplace, and facilitating strategic partnerships to enhance and deliver on NOAA’s mission.
TPO routinely works in developing partnerships with private entities in marketing commercial technologies to improve NOAA’s data collection efficiency. This supports weather and environmental data collection that private companies could use to deliver novel weather predictions and climate information.
We fund innovative small business proposals for the development of technology, products, and services related to NOAA’s mission with excellent commercial potential.
We ensure rapid and impactful transfer of inventions and innovative technology developed by NOAA researchers to the commercial marketplace.
Public-private partnerships are vital for bringing private sector innovation and agility into the public realm and NOAA’s research and development enterprise.
Rooted in Federal Law, our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer (T2) programs capitalize on successful commercialization of innovative technologies in support of a strong and resilient U.S. economy.
References:
Federal Tech Transfer Act of 1986
Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982
TPO’s Ciceley Gibbs received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for providing expert support and guidance on two Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) that enabled a team to successfully outsource the acquisition of storm damage imagery.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) are partnering to investigate the benefits of estuary and nearshore habitat restoration for juvenile Chinook salmon populations in Washington state’s Puget Sound.
Hailios, Inc. and NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) are partnering under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA),
NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center partners with Daicel Chiral Technologies to use cutting-edge science to determine the age of fish.
Fishtechy, Inc. and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center are working together under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to leverage AI and smartphone technology to see if recreational fishing data can fill key gaps in U.S. fish stock assessments.