The Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) plays a key role in shaping an Army laboratory's approach to technology transfer by developing and promoting effective collaborations between government and private industry. The Army has a head representative for the ORTA at each T2 designated laboratory.
Army ORTA responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Assessing selected research and development (R&D) projects for potential commercial application;
- Providing and disseminating information on Army owned or originated products, processes, and services to state and local governments, schools, and potential private sector partners;
- Providing laboratory representation and support to the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for Technology Transfer, and cooperating with and assisting the FLC and other organizations that link the R&D resources of that activity and the Federal Government as a whole, to potential users in state and local government, academia, and U.S. private industry;
- Providing technical assistance to state and local governments, school systems, and nonprofit organizations;
- Participating in regional, state, and local public and private programs designed to facilitate or stimulate the transfer of technology;
- Providing technology transfer advice and expertise to scientific, engineering, and technical personnel within the laboratory and ensuring the technical staff receives technology transfer education and training;
- Coordinating technology transfer activities with patent counsel to determine rights to technical data, patent and licensing implications, and the commercial potential of patentable technology; and
- Preparing an annual technology transfer business plan.