Assessment of Progress - Research Progress on Environmental Health and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials - page 40

Conducting and Communicating the Results of Research
Funded Through Public-Private Partnerships
 Progress toward establishment of effective public-private partnerships, as measured by such
steps as completion of partnership agreements, issuance of requests for proposal, and establishment of a
sound governance structure
In its first report, the committee identified the need for public-private partnerships (PPPs) to help
to implement the four broad, high-priority research categories of its research strategy. The need for PPPs
is driven by the need to supplement and leverage federal funding and by the importance of having private
stakeholders (such as manufacturers) actively involved in the research. For example, data on reference
materials, nanomaterial product inventories, and the release of nanomaterials through the value chain are
critical inputs into the research; one good way to provide such information accurately is to establish
formal partnerships between government agencies, manufacturers, and other key stakeholders—such as
academe—that are involved in implementing the research strategy.
Progress in creating well-defined, effective partnerships as measured by partnership agreements,
issuance of requests for proposals, and the establishment of governance structure is poor, so this indicator
is red. NIOSH provides the closest examples. A summary report by NIOSH (2012a) covering the period
2004-2011 describes accomplishments and research findings from surveys in a research and development
laboratory, in commercial nanoscale metal oxide production facilities, in a facility engaged in
development of optical products with quantum dot coatings, and in a facility that spins nylon nanofibers.
Other surveys included MWCNT manufacturers, metal oxide manufacturers, nano-enhanced silica iron
absorbent manufacturers and additional diverse nanoscale-material producing laboratories. Those surveys
do not represent formal PPPs, but they were performed on the basis of a NIOSH-manufacturer
collaborative effort by conducting over 40 field assessments in nanomaterial manufacturer and user
facilities. In another example, the Nanoparticle Occupational Safety and Health consortium—comprising
16 members in industry (for example, Procter and Gamble and DuPont), federal agencies (for example,
NIOSH), and nonprofit organizations (Environmental Defense Fund)—tackled issues of the measurement
of nanoparticles and the efficiency of filtration materials for engineered nanoparticles, evaluation of
bioactivity of silicon nanowires in the consortium's partnership with IBM, and understanding of and
improvement in exposure controls for fullerenes and other engineered nanoparticles in its partnership with
Luna Nano (NOSH 2007).
Overall, the main impediments to creating PPPs are the lack of agreement on needed elements of
a governance structure, disparate core objectives between public and private entities, insufficient funding
commitments from both government and industry, and confidentiality concerns. In Chapter 4, the
committee provides recommendations and examples of best practices to alleviate those road blocks.
Managing Potential Conflicts of Interest
In its first report, the committee noted that the NNI's dual functions—developing and promoting
nanotechnology and its applications and mitigating risks arising from such applications—pose tensions or
even actual conflicts between its goals. Manifestations of the tension previously noted by the committee
included the vastly disparate allocation of resources between the two functions, the inadequacy of EHS
risk research funding, and the NNI's classification of research projects with respect to their “EHS
relevance”. The committee believes that the tension can also affect the extramural research community,
especially EHS risk researchers in large centers, the bulk of whose research funding is focused on
applications. To address what it saw as an inherent conflict, the committee concluded that a clear
separation in the management and budgetary authority and accountability between the functions was
needed, and it identified two indicators for tracking progress in managing conflicts of interest. That
conclusion echoed that of a previous National Research Council report (2009), which noted that “a clear