View all text of Subchapter III [§ 4121 - § 4127]
§ 4124. Centers for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership
(a)Designation.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall designate each science and technology reinvention laboratory as a Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership (in this section referred to as “Centers”) in the recognized core competencies of the designee.
(2) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a policy to encourage the Secretary of each military department to reengineer management and business processes and adopt best-business and personnel practices at the Centers of the Secretary concerned in connection with the capability requirements of the Centers, so as to serve as recognized leaders in such capabilities throughout the Department of Defense and in the national technology and industrial base.
(3) The Secretary of Defense, acting through the directors of the Centers, may conduct one or more pilot programs, consistent with applicable requirements of law, to test any practices referred to in paragraph (2) that the Directors determine could—
(A) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations at Centers;
(B) improve the support provided by the Centers for the elements of the Department of Defense who use the services of the Centers; and
(C) enhance capabilities by reducing the cost and improving the performance and efficiency of executing laboratory missions.
(b)Public-private Partnerships.—
(1) To achieve one or more objectives set forth in paragraph (2), the Secretary may authorize and establish incentives for the Director of a Center to enter into public-private cooperative arrangements (in this section referred to as a “public-private partnership”) to provide for any of the following:
(A) For employees of the Center, academia, private industry, State and local governments, or other entities outside the Department of Defense to perform (under contract, subcontract, or otherwise) work related to the capabilities of the Center, including any work that—
(i) involves one or more capabilities of the Center; and
(ii) may be applicable to both the Department and commercial entities.
(B) For private industry or other entities outside the Department of Defense to use for either Government or commercial purposes any capabilities of the Center that are not fully used for Department of Defense activities for any period determined to be consistent with the needs of the Department of Defense.
(2) The objectives for exercising the authority provided in paragraph (1) are as follows:
(A) To maximize the use of the capacity of a Center.
(B) To reduce or eliminate the cost of ownership of a Center by the Department of Defense.
(C) To reduce the cost of science, technology, and engineering activities of the Department of Defense.
(D) To leverage private sector investment in—
(i) such efforts as research and equipment recapitalization for a Center; and
(ii) the promotion of the undertaking of commercial business ventures based on the capabilities of a Center, as determined by the director of the Center.
(E) To foster cooperation and technology transfer between the armed forces, academia, private industry, and State and local governments.
(F) To increase access by a Center to a skilled technical workforce that can contribute to the effective and efficient execution of the missions of the Department of Defense.
(G) To increase the ability of a Center to access and use non-Department of Defense methods to develop and innovate and access capabilities that contribute to the effective and efficient execution of the missions of the Department of Defense.
(3)
(A) Public-private partnerships entered into under paragraph (1) may be used for purposes relating to technology transfer and other authorities described in subparagraph (B).
(B) The authorities described in this subparagraph are provisions of law that provide for cooperation and partnership by the Department of Defense with academia, private industry, and State and local governments, including the following:
(i) Sections 3371 through 3375 of title 5.
(ii) Sections 2194, 2563, 4001, 4021, 4831, and 4062 of this title.
(iii)Section 209 of title 35.
(iv) Sections 8, 12, and 23 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706, 3710a, and 3715).
(c)Private Sector Use of Excess Capacity.—Any capability of a Center made available to the private sector may be used to perform research and testing activities in order to make more efficient and economical use of Government-owned capabilities and encourage the creation and preservation of jobs to ensure the availability of a workforce with the necessary research and technical skills to meet the needs of the armed forces.
(d)Crediting of Amounts for Performance.—Amounts received by a Center for work performed under a public-private partnership may—
(1) be credited to the appropriation or fund, including a working-capital or revolving fund, that incurs the cost of performing the work; or
(2) be used by the Director of the Center as the Director considers appropriate and consistent with section 219 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note).1
1 See References in Text note below.
(e)Availability of Excess Capacities to Private-sector Partners.—Capacities of a Center may be made available for use by a private-sector entity under this section only if—
(1) the use of the capacities will not have a significant adverse effect on the performance of the Center or the ability of the Center to achieve the mission of the Center, as determined by the Director of the Center; and
(2) the private-sector entity agrees—
(A) to reimburse the Department of Defense when required in accordance with the guidance of the Department for the direct and indirect costs (including any rental costs) that are attributable to the use of the capabilities by the private-sector entity, as determined by the Secretary of the military departments; and
(B) to hold harmless and indemnify the United States from—
(i) any claim for damages or injury to any person or property arising out of the use of the capabilities, except under the circumstances described in section 2563(c)(3) of this title; and
(ii) any liability or claim for damages or injury to any person or property arising out of a decision by the Secretary to suspend or terminate that use of capabilities during a war or national emergency.
(f)Use of Partnership Intermediaries to Promote Defense Research and Education.—
(1) Subject to the approval of the Secretary or the head of the another department or agency of the Federal Government concerned, the Director of a Center may enter into a contract, memorandum of understanding or other transaction with a partnership intermediary that provides for the partnership intermediary to perform services for the Department of Defense that increase the likelihood of success in the conduct of cooperative or joint activities of the Center with industry or academic institutions.
(2) In this subsection, the term “partnership intermediary” means an agency of a State or local government, or a nonprofit entity owned in whole or in part by, chartered by, funded in whole or in part by, or operated in whole or in part by or on behalf of a State or local government, that—
(A) assists, counsels, advises, evaluates, or otherwise cooperates with industry or academic institutions that need or can make demonstrably productive use of technology-related assistance from a Center;
(B) facilitates technology transfer from industry or academic institutions to a Center; or
(C) assists and facilitates workforce development in critical technology areas for technology transition activities to fulfill unmet needs of a Center.
(g)Construction of Provision.—Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize a change, otherwise prohibited by law, from the performance of work at a Center by personnel of the Department of Defense to performance by a contractor.
(h)Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “capabilities”, with respect to a Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership, means the facilities, equipment, personnel, intellectual property, and other assets that support the core competencies of the Center.
(2) The term “national technology and industrial base” has the meaning given that term in section 4801 of this title.
(3) The term “science and technology reinvention laboratory” means a science and technology reinvention laboratory designated under section 4121(b) of this title.
(Added Pub. L. 114–92, div. A, title II, § 211(a), Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 764, § 2368; amended Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title II, § 231, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1690; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title XVII, § 1731(a)(45), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1814; renumbered § 4124 and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1843(b)(1), (d), as added Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(u)(4)(A), (C), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2153; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §§ 1844(b)(1), (c), 1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4245, 4246, 4294; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title II, § 215(d)(12), title XVII, § 1701(u)(5)(B), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1594, 2154; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title II, § 214, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 184.)