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search and development activities at the Foun-
dation, including effective practices for conver-
gence research; 
(B) identifying opportunities for and facili-
tating coordination and collaboration, where ap-
propriate, on use-inspired and translational re-
search, development, commercialization, and so-
cietal application activities— 
(i) among the offices, directorates, 
and divisions within the Foundation; and 
(ii) between the Foundation and 
stakeholders in academia, the private sec-
tor, including non-profit entities, labor or-
ganizations, Federal or State agencies, and 
international entities, as appropriate; 
(C) ensuring that the activities carried out 
under this section are not duplicative of activi-
ties supported by other parts of the Foundation 
or other relevant Federal agencies; 
(D) approving all new programs within the 
Directorate; 
(E) developing and testing diverse merit- 
review models and mechanisms for selecting 
and providing awards for use-inspired and 
translational research and development at dif-
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ferent scales, from individual investigator 
awards to large multi-institution collaborations; 
(F) assessing the success of programs; 
(G) administering awards to achieve the 
purposes described in subsection (b); and 
(H) performing other such duties per-
taining to the purposes in subsection (b) as are 
required by the Director. 
(5) RELATIONSHIP
TO
THE
DIRECTOR.—The 
Assistant Director shall report to the Director. 
(6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.—No 
other directorate within the Foundation shall report 
to the Assistant Director. 
(e) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) the 
Director shall establish an advisory committee to as-
sess, and make recommendations regarding, the ac-
tivities carried out under this section. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory committee 
members shall— 
(A) be individuals with relevant experience 
or expertise, including individuals from industry 
and national labs, educators, academic subject 
matter experts, including individuals with 
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knowledge of the technical and social dimen-
sions of science and technology, technology 
transfer experts, labor organizations, and rep-
resentatives of civil society, community organi-
zations, and other nongovernmental organiza-
tions; and 
(B) consist of at least 10 members broadly 
representative of stakeholders, including no less 
than 3 members from the private sector, none 
of whom shall be an employee of the Federal 
Government. 
(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall 
be responsible for— 
(A) reviewing and evaluating activities car-
ried out under this section; and 
(B) assessing the success of the Direc-
torate in and proposing new strategies for ful-
filling the purposes in subsection (b). 
(f) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Convergence Accel-
erator, the Growing Convergence Research Big Idea, and 
any other program, at the discretion of the Director, may 
be managed by the Directorate. 
(g) FOCUS AREAS.—In consultation with the Assist-
ant Director, the Board, and other Federal agencies and 
taking into account advice under subsection (e), the Direc-
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tor shall identify, and regularly update, up to 5 focus 
areas to guide activities under this section. In selecting 
such focus areas, the Director shall consider the following 
societal challenges: 
(1) Climate change and environmental sustain-
ability. 
(2) Global competitiveness and domestic job 
creation in critical technologies. 
(3) Cybersecurity. 
(4) National security. 
(5) STEM education and workforce. 
(6) Social and economic inequality. 
(h) TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director may award 
grants and cooperative agreements to institutions of 
higher education, or consortia thereof, for the plan-
ning, establishment, and support of Technology Re-
search Institutes in key technology areas, as deter-
mined by the Director. 
(2) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under 
this section may be used by a Technology Research 
Institute to— 
(A) conduct fundamental research to ad-
vance innovation in a key technology; 
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(B) conduct research involving a key tech-
nology to solve challenges with social, economic, 
health, scientific, and national security implica-
tions; 
(C) further the development, adoption, and 
commercialization of innovations in key tech-
nology focus areas, including through partner-
ship with other Federal agencies and Federal 
laboratories, industry, including startup compa-
nies, labor organizations, civil society organiza-
tions, and state and local, and Tribal govern-
ments; 
(D) develop and manage multi-user re-
search testbeds and instrumentation for key 
technologies; 
(E) develop and manage an accessible re-
pository, as appropriate, for research data and 
computational models relevant to the relevant 
key technology field, consistent with applicable 
privacy and intellectual property laws; 
(F) convene national workshops for re-
searchers and other stakeholders in that tech-
nology area; 
(G) establish traineeship programs for 
graduate students who pursue research related 
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