Government spin-off

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Government spin-off is civilian goods which are the collateral result of military or governmental research. One prominent example of a type of government spin-off is technology that has been commercialized through NASA funding, research, licensing, facilities, or assistance. NASA spin-off technologies have been publicized by the agency in its Spinoff publication since 1976.

The Internet is a specific example of a government spin-off resulting from DARPA funding. [1] [2]

In some fields, such as computer hardware, private sector development has outpaced government and military research, and the government procures commercial off-the-shelf products for many applications. [3]

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Spin-off may refer to:

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NASA spinoff technologies are commercial products and services which have been developed with the help of NASA, through research and development contracts, such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or STTR awards, licensing of NASA patents, use of NASA facilities, technical assistance from NASA personnel, or data from NASA research. Information on new NASA technology that may be useful to industry is available in periodical and website form in "NASA Tech Briefs", while successful examples of commercialization are reported annually in the NASA publication "Spinoffs". The Spinoff publication has documented more than 2,000 technologies over time.

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Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is an American manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components founded by Polish-born businessman Felix Zandman. Vishay has manufacturing plants in Israel, Asia, Europe, and the Americas where it produces rectifiers, diodes, MOSFETs, optoelectronics, selected integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Vishay Intertechnology revenues for 2021 were $3.24 billion. As of December 31, 2021, Vishay Intertechnology had approximately 22,800 full-time employees.

A research spin-off is a company that falls into at least one of the four following categories:

  1. Companies that have an Equity investment from a national library or university
  2. Companies that license technology from a public research institute or university
  3. Companies that consider a university or public sector employee to have been a founder
  4. Companies that have been established directly by a public research institution
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As the space race came to an end, a new rationale for investment in space exploration emerged, focused on the pragmatic use of space for improving life on Earth. As the justification for government-funded space programs shifted to "the public good", space agencies began to articulate and measure the wider socio-economic benefits that might derive from their activities, including both the direct and indirect benefits of space exploration. However, such programs have also been criticized with several drawbacks cited.

References

  1. Jack Francis Williams; Robert John Stimson (2001). International Urban Planning Settings: Lessons of Success. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 426. ISBN   0-7623-0695-5.
  2. "Living Internet: Lawrence Roberts Manages The ARPANET Program". livinginternet.com. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  3. ADAMS, GORDON (25 November 2013). "The future of the aerospace defense industry is not nearly as bad as the industry would have you believe". foreignpolicy.com. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.