DEFINING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES OF THE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MARKETPLACE Defining the Advanced Technology Challenges of the Electronic Commerce Marketplace March 9 and 10, 1998 National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) provides competitive, cost-shared awards for industry to develop high-risk, enabling technologies with broad-based economic benefits. The ATP seeks to help industry fill the gap between basic research and product development, and to invest in technology that wouldn't be developed in a competitive time frame without government cost sharing. Along with General Competitions, which are open to proposals from all technical areas, the ATP has also funded Focused Programs, each with specific business and technical goals. Key criteria for selecting program areas include: A potential U.S. economic impact, including the credibility of the program's proposed pathways to economic growth, the importance of the existing or potential sector affected, and the probability of subsequent commercialization; A good technical ideas that are "cutting edge," high risk, strategically important, and based on sound scientific and technical concepts; A strong industry commitment to participate, including breadth and depth of interest and willingness to share costs and work with the government and other partners; and A opportunity for the ATP to make a major difference by supporting work that is unique or complementary to other industrial and government efforts, that offers timely and significant acceleration of research progress, and that requires a critical mass of funding. Because a large number of technology ideas have been submitted to the ATP in the area of electronic commerce, specifically internet commerce, the ATP is seeking industry's input to determine whether a focused program in electronic commerce is warranted. The ATP will hold a two-day workshop for interested parties on electronic commerce on March 9n10, 1998, at NIST. The theme of the workshop is, "Defining the Advanced Technology Challenges of the Electronic Commerce Marketplace." To date, ATP has funded projects related to electronic commerce through General Competitions and through Focused Program competitions in Information Infrastructure for Healthcare, Component-Based Software, and Technologies for the Integration of Manufacturing Applications. Each project is cost-shared between industry and government, and ATP's average contribution is approximately one million dollars per year. The goals and objectives of this workshop are to identify technologies that can be developed to remove barriers and to create opportunities for businesses and consumers by accelerating the development of internet-based markets. This workshop will bring together information technology experts, financial and electronic payment experts, and supply-chain specialists from industry, technical consortia, and trade associations who are interested in participating in defining the scope of a possible ATP Electronic Commerce Focused Program. Academic institutions, non-profit research organizations, and government laboratories are also invited to participate. This workshop is not intended to promote specific technical approaches that might be submitted for funding to a focused competition. The workshop will provide a forum for discussion of technical and business issues of importance to industry and the marketplace for electronic commerce and will culminate in concepts for a potential ATP focused program. The ATP is a unique partnership between government and private industry to accelerate the development of high-risk technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits for the economy. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will have collectively developed the scope for a potential electronic commerce focused program and a list of possible high-risk technology ideas that the program may address. Potential technology ideas may include, but are not limited to: innovative solutions for acquiring, classifying, and storing information; finding, filtering, and analyzing information; securing information and auditing access; managing costs and financial mechanisms; interoperability; and new business models. Registration Contact Lori Phillips NIST Bldg. 101, Rm. B116 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 USA Telephone: (301) 975-4513 Fax: (301) 948-2067 ;Email: lori.phillips@nist.gov Technical Contact Shirley M. Hurwitz Program Manager, ATP NIST Bldg. 101, Rm. A415 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 USA Telephone: (301) 975-3278 Fax: (301) 926-9524 Email: shirley.hurwitz@nist.gov General information To add your name to the ATP mailing list, contact the ATP Office: Telephone: 1-800-ATP-FUND or 1-800-287-3863; Fax: 301-926-9524; Email: atp@nist.gov ATP Web-site http://www.atp.nist.gov Deadlines The registration fee includes workshop materials, coffee breaks, lunch, and a banquet. All mailed or faxed registration forms must be received by February 20, 1998. All requests for cancellation and refund must be submittedto Lori Phillips, in writing, prior to February 20, 1998. WEB: Advanced Technology Program, atp.nist.gov. E-MAIL: Advanced Technology Program, atp@nist.gov.

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