ATR's Research Activities under TAO
New challenges at ATR met from a new framework
HIGASHIDA Masanobu
Former Director*, Planning Division
The year 2001 witnessed an unprecedented shift in the organization of ATR, in fact the biggest change since its founding in 1986. ATR's research fund was transformed from an investment-type resource to an expense-type resource provided by contracting for research projects. Accordingly, ATR research laboratories that had been independently operated were incorporated into ATR International, the parent company, to become a single company.
On the last day of September last year, ATR completed its research activities under the previous system, in which it was supported both by the governmental Japan Key Technology Center (KTC) and Japanese private companies. The laboratories were changed to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) holding companies just like the former R&D companies. Since their establishment as designated private companies, ATR laboratories have earned a worldwide reputation for their outstanding research results and contributions to basic research fields. The main purpose of the changes this year was to release ATR from constraints to return the capital invested to shareholders. The remaining nine IPR holding companies that were established to disseminate and sell products will be liquidated before the end of this year. The 15-year KTC contribution to promote basic research in the private sector will terminate its mission through this process. In place of the KTC program, a new research support system has been established in another government organization, Telecommunications Advancement Organization (TAO).
As a result of this restructuring on the government side, ATR Group companies were also reorganized as described above. The most excellent researchers and research results produced in the R&D labs under the KTC program were transferred to the new laboratories in ATR. The main research topics and goals of these laboratories are outlined in this issue.
Each laboratory submitted a proposal to the new TAO program in October 2001. After evaluation by the review committee, each laboratory successfully obtained research funds beginning in January, 2002. These funds are sufficient to carry on most, though not all, of the research pursuits in the proposals. Moreover, the new scheme assures that research funds will be steadily provided to these laboratories for the years scheduled in their proposals.
Although we recognize that the new TAO program is a good fund source for our research activities and highly appreciate its support structure, we still intend to seek other opportunities to obtain research funding to fully cover the research projects originally planned in our laboratories. We would also welcome sponsored research or collaborative research programs with limited partners.
Our mission is to devise good research plans, to carry out our research projects to fruitful results, and to apply these results to the real world. Therefore, we always aim to achieve scientific breakthroughs and are ready to take the initiative in basic research.
