Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) was established by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and provides for day-for-day adjustment of patent term (i.e., the period of time a patent is in force) for certain USPTO administrative delays (“the 14-4-4-4-36 timeframes”) for certain patent applications.  The specified timeframes are to:  issue an Office Action within 14 months after application filing, respond to a reply or appeal within four months, act on the application within four months after a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) or from a Federal court, and issue the patent within four months after payment of the issue fee. Additionally, a 36-month timeframe applies if the USPTO does not issue a patent within three years of the filing date or national stage commencement, with certain exceptions.  Further, time consumed by interference or derivation proceedings, delays caused by placing the application under a secrecy order under 35 U.S.C. 181, or time consumed by a successful appellate review may result in positive patent term adjustment (PTA). Any positive PTA is offset by any period that an applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution. This measure reports the PTA for all mailed actions.

This indicator demonstrates that NCCoE work products are available to industry. Companies that participate in NCCoE projects partner with NIST through Technology Partnerships, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, and lnteragency Agreements. These partnerships are in-depth, active collaborations. The outputs of these projects become publicly available to the whole community in work products like NIST Special Publications, fact sheets, and demos.

Sound acquisition practices help guard against inefficiency and waste and improve the ability to obtain quality supplies and services that are on time and within budget. There are many ways to achieve savings through more effective acquisition practices, including: ending contracts that do not meet program needs; negotiating more favorably priced contracts; developing more strategic acquisition approaches; and reengineering ineffective business processes. This element will measure the Department’s progress in reducing spending through more effective acquisition practices.

The Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) is comprised of 175 stocks (down from 199 beginning in FY 2020) selected for their economic, ecological, and social importance, that represent 83% of total catch. Each stock is given a score between 0 and 4 (0=status unknown; 4=meets all sustainable fishing criteria). The index (scored on a 1,000 point scale) increases when NMFS determines that a stock is either no longer subject to overfishing, no longer overfished, or its biomass has rebuilt or increased to at least 80 percent of target.

BEA must continually develop new statistical products to keep pace with the ever-changing U.S. and global economies. The BEA Strategic Plan outlines the bureau’s plans for developing new statistical products. This indicator measures the bureau's progress toward achieving milestones of their development.

The Employee Engagement index consists of 15 FEVS questions that concentrate on factors that lead to an engaged workforce (e.g., supporting employee development, communicating agency goals).

This measure evaluates Global Markets’ effectiveness in helping companies achieve their export objectives. Global Markets offers U.S. companies a robust set of capabilities to help them achieve their international exporting goals, whether those goals are to set up an overseas distribution channel, gain easier access to challenging markets, or meet additional foreign buyers for their goods. Global Markets focuses on understanding clients’ exporting needs, and providing services to meet those needs.

This element/indicator measures the Department’s progress in managing risk through reducing the use of high-risk contracting authorities. High-risk contracting authorities, such as noncompetitive contracting, cost-reimbursement contracts, and time-and materials and labor-hour contracts, pose special risks of overspending. The Department’s high-risk contracting percentage for the base year (FY2009) was 53.4%, and OMB directed that we maintain a 10% reduction from the FY 2009 based on the share of dollars obligated under new contract actions that use high-risk contracting authorities for future FYs. The Department's target is 46.9%, which is a 10% reduction from the FY 2009 base. The target is depicted as a percentage. A percentage equal to or lower than 46.9% is favorable. Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) is the data source that is used for information pertaining to high-risk contracting activities and is the single source for U.S. government-wide procurement data.

Description Digital Coast is a web-based platform that provides geospatial data, tools, and training to coastal communities. This measure, obtained via web statistics, provides a locational context that allows the effort to broadly assess where its users are coming from. Given that the Digital Coast effort is national in scope, yet local in its approach to providing geospatial information to address coastal issues, such as coastal resilience, this measure provides valuable information that is used to direct outreach efforts and support content development. The number of communities using Digital Coast is based on Census-designated places within coastal states, including all Census-defined cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and incorporated municipalities.

This indicator reflects the value, relevance, and usefulness of NIST research facilities to industry users. NIST research facilities are unique capabilities that can be leveraged through partnerships with businesses, especially manufacturers, to accelerate discovery and commercialization of innovative products. This indicator counts the number of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements between industry and NIST laboratories, as well as the number of industrial institutions that use the NIST user facilities (NIST Center for Neutron Research and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology).