Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 4.djvu/71

 PUBLIC LAW 103-337—OCT. 5, 1994 108 STAT. 2705 SEC. 257. DEFENSE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE 10 USC 2358 COMPETITIVE RESEARCH. note. (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.— The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, shall carry out a Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) as part of the university research programs of the Department of Defense. (b) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.— The objectives of the program are as follows: (1) To enh£ince the capabilities of institutions of higher education in eligible States to develop, plan, and execute science and engineering research that is competitive under the peerreview systems used for awarding Federal research assistance. (2) To increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that institutions of higher education in eligible States receive from the Federal Government for science and engineering research. (c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—In order to achieve the program objectives, the following activities are authorized under the program: (1) Competitive award of research grants. (2) Competitive award of financial assistance for graduate students. (d) ELIGIBLE STATES.—(1) The Director of the National Science Foundation shall designate which States are eligible States for the purposes of this section and shall notify the Director of Defense Research and Engineering of the States so designated. (2) The Director of the National Science Foundation shall designate a State as an eligible State if, as determined by the Director— (A) the institutional average amount of Federal financial assistance for research and development received by the institutions of higher education in the State for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the designation is effective, or for the last fiscal year for which statistics are available, is less than the amount equal to 60 percent of the national institutional average amount of Federal financial assistance for research and development received by the institutions of higher education in the United States for such preceding or last fiscal year, as the case may be; (B) the State has demonstrated a commitment to developing research bases in the State and to improving science and engineering research and education programs at institutions of higher education in the State; and (C) the State is an eligible State for purposes of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research conducted by the National Science Foiuidation. (e) COORDINATION WITH SIMILAR FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—(1) The Secretary shall consult with the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the planning, development, and execution of the program and shall coordinate the program with the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research conducted by the National Science Foundation and with similar programs sponsored by other departments and agencies of the Federal Government. (2) All solicitations under the Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research shall be made to, and all awards

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