The number of projects funded varies with the total program budget.
General competitions are open to all technology areas.
Past general competition awards have covered a very broad spectrum of technologies in agriculture, biotechnology, microelectronics, machine tools, advanced automotive manufacturing, advanced materials, information and communication technology, flat-panel display manufacturing, and other areas. Each focused program competition concentrates on a set of technology and business goals. Focused program competitions enable the ATP to channel significant support to clusters of related projects, each attacking a critical element and reaping the benefits of this synergy. 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.