NIST Laboratory Programs 

Strategic Vision

Kent Rochford
American Innovation and Competitiveness Act Requirement

(a) The Director of NIST, acting through the Associate Director for 

Laboratory Programs, shall develop and implement a comprehensive 

strategic plan for laboratory programs that expands-

(1) interactions with academia, international researchers, and 

industry; and

(2) commercial and industrial applications.

(b) To advance, through cooperative efforts among industries, universities, 

and government laboratories, promising research and development 

projects, which can be optimized by the private sector for commercial and 

industrial applications, the comprehensive strategic plan shall-

(1) include performance metrics for the dissemination of fundamental 

research results, measurements, and standards research results to 

industry, including manufacturing, and other interested parties;

(2) document any positive benefits of research on the competitiveness 

of the interested parties described in paragraph (1);

(3) clarify the current approach to the technology transfer activities of 

NIST; and

(4) consider recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences.
Strong Planning Needed in Uncertain Times

Embarked on a process to identify 

high-level priorities to best position 

NIST in 10 years

• Current budget situation is likely not 

changing

• NIST will have to make choices to ensure 

that NIST remains positioned to meet our 

mission

• We must be purposeful and focused in an 

ever changing landscape of funding 

priorities and technical opportunities

Purposeful and 

Focused

If you don’t know where you’re 

going, you’ll end up 

somewhere else

- Yogi Berra
Values Core Capabilities

Bedrock of Our Planning

To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by 

advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways 

that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life

measurement science

Creating the experimental and theoretical tools – methods, metrics, 

instruments, and data – that enable innovation

standards

Disseminating physical standards and providing technical expertise to 

documentary standards that enable comparison, ensure interoperability, 

and support commerce

technology

Driving innovation through knowledge dissemination and public-private 

partnerships that bridge the gap between discovery and the marketplace

Perseverance 

Integrity

Inclusivity

Excellence

NIST is an organization with strong values, reflected both in our history 

and our current work. NIST leadership and staff will uphold these 

values to ensure a high performing environment that is safe and 

respectful of all.
How Did We Identify Priority Areas ?

• Multi-year NIST and Lab Plans

• Technical landscape scans and 

analyses

• Interviews with NIST Senior 

Leadership

• Interviews with “Friends of NIST”

– Former NIST Directors

– Former VCAT members

– Technical thought leaders

• Lab Director Offsite

Multiple inputs highlighted the 

same sets of issues

• Bioscience

• Quantum Science

• Internet of Things

• Data and Artificial Intelligence

• Systems-level thinking

• Democratization of Measurement
Laboratory Programs Strategic Vision

Provide a foundation of trust in new industries

• Enabling the future bioeconomy through engineered biological systems

• Unleashing the economic potential of the Internet of Things

Apply new technologies to revolutionize mission delivery

• Enhancing mission-critical research through AI and data

• Revolutionizing commerce through quantum measurements
Draft Plan Development

PCO staff held focus groups to gather feedback, 

engaging more than 50 NIST employees. 

Drawn from: 

• recent IMS winners, 

• recent Foundations of Leadership 

Program participants from the Lab 

Programs,

• recent Program Coordination Office 

rotators, 

• NIST Fellows. 

What will NIST’s contributions to each of the 

four areas of focus be in 10 years? 

What deliverables will be important? What will 

new industries and capabilities need to 

ensure societal, commercial, and regulatory 

trust and acceptance? What NIST products 

and outputs will deliver value?

What kinds of changes do we need to make to 

get there? Do we need different 

capabilities? Competencies?

What changes have to start today? What will be 

most important? What will be most 

challenging?
What Does This Mean for the Labs?

• Laboratory leadership has recognized 

the need to build new or strengthen 

existing capabilities in these areas

• The 4 new priorities will build on and 

cut across NIST’s expansive research 

portfolio

• NIST leadership will make focused 

investments at the lab and NIST-level 

to build competence in these areas

NIST’s Current 

Research Portfolio 

Remains Critical

• Adv Communications, Networks, and 

Scientific Data Systems 

• Adv Manufacturing and Material 

Measurements 

• Cybersecurity and Privacy 

• Health and Bio Systems Measurements 

• Physical Infrastructure and Resilience 

• Exploratory Measurement Science

• Fundamental Measurements, Quantum 

Science, and Measurement Dissemination

• User Facilities
Next Steps

Development and implementation:

• Phase I: Assign groups to produce draft plans

– Seeded with 1-page scope/background

– 8-9 stakeholders from across NIST / PCO Editor

– VCAT Check-in

• Phase II: Implement plans through:

– Operational plans developed by Lab Leadership

– Lead has regular check-ins with ADLP
VCAT Input

Bioscience

Quantum Science

Internet of Things

Data and AI

• Adv Communications, Networks, and 

Scientific Data Systems 

• Adv Manufacturing and Material 

Measurements 

• Cybersecurity and Privacy 

• Health and Bio Systems Measurements 

• Physical Infrastructure and Resilience 

• Exploratory Measurement Science

• Fundamental Measurements, Quantum 

Science, and Measurement Dissemination

• User Facilities

• 30-minute working session on each of four areas

– 10 minute PCO presentation

– 20 minute discussion

• Consider:

– Are these the right priorities?

– Are we approaching each priority the right way?

– What are important considerations in 

implementation?

– How do we balance with legacy programs?