ABSTRACT: Re-Examining Public and Private Roles under the NTTAA

Andrew Updegrove, Partner, Gesmer Updegrove LLP

1/04/2011
(Original Publish Date: 1/3/2011)

In 1995 the U.S. Congress institutionalized the "bottom up" standards development process championed by the private sector in the U.S. with the passage of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA). That Act directed government agencies to abandon the practice of developing "government unique" standards, to utilize private sector standards wherever practicable, and to participate in private sector standards development. That approach has served the country well, but today new forces, including globalization and increasing reliance on the Internet, present challenges that the private sector is ill-equipped to address. If urgent standards-dependent policy goals are to be achieved, government and industry will need to work together to rebalance the roles of the public and private sectors to capitalize on the unique capabilities of each. In this article I review the system engendered by the NTTAA and the forces that are now placing stress on the status quo, and offer suggestions in response to a recent NIST Request for Information that solicits "perspectives on the effectiveness of Federal agencies' participation in the development and implementation of standards and conformity assessment activities and programs."