Recommended Management Plan for the New National Center

We commissioned this Study for the new Center's Board and management to consider so that the Center will be "plug-in ready" to start its important work as soon as Congress makes funding available. Here for your review and comment is an advance draft of a comprehensive Management Study designed to help expedite the launch of the new National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, the first new national research center authorized by Congress in many years.

Before we circulate the final version of our Management Study we welcome your comments and suggestions. We also solicit your ideas for names to be considered for the new Center's first Board of Directors . Please e-mail your responses to MRoper(at)FAS.org. no later than April 23. We look forward to reading them.

We are grateful for the exceptional work of the Study's executive director Kay Howell, ably assisted by Michelle Roper of the Federation of American Scientists, whose president Henry Kelly also played a key leadership role in carrying out this project. Funding for the Management Study for the Center was generously provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Congratulations to President Obama and the new Obama Administration!

We look forward to working with you!
See a new article here which discusses the positive effects of the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies on the economy.

Some Articles

Several recent news articles and op eds have highlighted the new National Center, and have made the case that the stimulus package under consideration by Congress and the incoming Obama Administration should include funding for innovative education technology programs that can provide both a short-term boost to the economy and a long-term economic gain for the entire nation. The new National Center fits the bill perfectly.

Furthermore, while the National Center will not exist until appropriations are made, the Digital Promise team has secured private foundation funding to write a management plan for the National Center, ensuring that appointment of a Board, staffing the National Center, and establishment of procedures for awarding grants and contracts can be accomplished quickly and smoothly. This makes the program "shovel-ready", so to speak, with the first dollar from the stimulus package.

Articles include:

• The Washington Post, Sun., Jan. 4, 2009, "More and More, Students Got Game – Teachers Turn to Simulations, Other Software for Variety of Lessons" by Michael Alison Chandler
• The New York Times, Sat., Jan. 3, 2009, "Unboxed – Innovation Should Mean More Jobs, Not Less" by Janet Rae-Dupree
• Science, 2 January 2009, "A Vision in Search of Funding" by Jeffrey Mervis

Management Plan

In preparation for the upcoming appropriations process, the Digital Promise team and the Federation of American Scientists are drafting a management plan for the new National Center. This work is being supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation. We are grateful for their continued generosity.

Support Needed

As you make plans to bring your "grassroots" to Washington this Spring, please plan to include advocating for FY 2010 funding for the new National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies.

We are thrilled that the new National Center, a Congressionally-originated non-profit organization in the Department of Education, was created in August with the enactment of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. However, the National Center cannot achieve its goal of transforming America's education, workplace training, and lifelong learning without appropriations from Congress. We will need your help to secure these appropriations. Our plan is to request funding of $50 million for FY2010.

So, as you plan your events in Washington this Spring, as well as other advocacy activities, please remember to include the Digital Promise Project. A summary of our request is available here. Briefing book and other materials are available on request. Please contact Janet Hall Werner at janet@hallgovrel.com for copies or if you have any questions.

All American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games

A new study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that virtually all American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games and that the experience is rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement. This study provides further evidence that new technologies are capable of transforming learning in the workplace, in school, and out of school. To view the full pdf report, click here.

The Courier-Journal

An op-ed in The Courier-Journal (Louisville) praised Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) for recognizing the need for educational R&D and spearheading the passage of Digital Promise legislation that will help address this critical need.

VICTORY!
Digital Promise Passed by Both Houses Of Congress and President Signed it into Law!

On Thursday, July 31, 2008, Digital Promise was passed by both the House and Senate as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.   It was signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 14, 2008 [P.L. 110-315].

Congratulations to all members of the Digital Promise team and thank you to all of our loyal and enthusiastic supporters and coalition members!  It could not have been done without you!  And special thanks to those members of the Education Committees of the House and Senate whose leadership made the National Center happen:  Representative John Yarmuth, of Louisville, Kentucky and Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and their dedicated staffs.

The new program is entitled the "National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies."  It is a Congressionally originated 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation located within the Department of Education.  It will have a nine-member independent Board of Directors appointed by the Secretary of Education from nominations by members of Congress.  Grants and contracts will be awarded on merit, and policies will be developed following the tested procedures of NSF and NIH.  Given its status as a non-profit, independent corporation, the Center will be able to receive grants, contracts, and philanthropic contributions, as well as federal appropriations.  See the National Center section of the bill.

Our next challenge is to secure FY09 appropriations for the Center.  Because of the delay in passing the Higher Education Act, it was not possible for appropriations of the, until now, unauthorized National Center to be included in the Labor, HHS or Education funding bills that were passed in Committee in June.  It is widely expected that final appropriations for FY09 will not be enacted until early next year.  We are working hard to have funding for the National Center included in final appropriations legislation.  We are requesting $50 million for FY09.

Again, congratulations and thanks to all for our success in making the Digital Promise a reality.