S&T Protection

As the Department develops advanced technologies, it must use a rigorous, repeatable methodology to protect technology advantage. For example, the Department will establish and implement procedures to protect critical technology in science and technology (S&T), encompassing the lifecycle of basic and applied research, advanced technology development, prototyping, and technology transition to programs. This includes driving consistency across risk-based security reviews for fundamental research and Small Businesses Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. This also include working with the acquisition community to identify Programs of Record and S&T Projects that require enhanced protection to maintain U.S. technological advantage. The production, updating, and use of Technology Area Protection Plans (TAPPs) generate consistent protection of critical technology, provide foundational guidance for communicating about the technology to particular audiences, and inform protection and controls integrated with technology promotion activities. The implementation of the guidance and TAPPs have broad impacts across DoW and interagency-wide activities associated with critical technologies, including development of protection practices with DoW research performers (e.g., the DoW and national laboratories, academia, small businesses, and the broader industrial innovation base); international agreements; counterintelligence and law enforcement priorities and activities; export controls; and foreign investment screening through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).