About the NITRD Program
The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
(NITRD) Program is the Nation's primary source of Federally funded revolutionary breakthroughs in advanced information technologies such as computing, networking, and software.
A unique collaboration of Federal research and development agencies, the NITRD Program seeks to:
- Provide research and development foundations for assuring continued U.S. technological leadership in
advanced networking, computing systems, software, and associated information technologies
- Provide research and development foundations for meeting the needs of the Federal government for advanced
networking, computing systems, software, and associated information technologies
- Accelerate development and deployment of these technologies in order to maintain world leadership in
science and engineering; enhance national defense and national and homeland security; improve U.S.
productivity and competitiveness and promote long-term economic growth; improve the health of the U.S.
citizenry; protect the environment; improve education, training, and lifelong learning; and improve the quality
of life.
The NITRD Program stems from the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-194) as amended by the Next Generation Internet Research Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-305) and the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-69). These laws authorize Federal agencies to set goals, prioritize their investments, and coordinate their activities in networking and information technology research and development.