DTIC’s Latest Tool: SF 298 TR Submission Toolkit

FLC Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

Thursday, September 21, 2006

DTIC Profile

• Repository for scientific & technical information

• Value added: DTIC-applied metadata & controlled vocabulary

• Database building & maintenance– More than two million technical reports– More than 300,000 progress reports– More than 15,000 registered DTIC users

DTIC Audience

• DTIC purpose: Support DoD R&D community with S&T Information:– Unclassified, Unlimited– Unclassified, Limited– Classified (up to secret)

• Access restricted to DoD & federal government• Public access provided to portion of the

collection: Scientific and Technical Information Network (STINET)

Alternatives

• NTIS– Selected public release (unclassified,

unlimited) DTIC information provided– No registration required– All federal agencies

• Also accessible via– Science.gov– Firstgov

Once Upon a Time…

• Computers revolutionized storage and retrieval of S&T information– Paper process– Mail submission of documents/records

• Era of mainframe computers, dedicated terminals, and secure telephone land lines– Database development– Defense Research, Development, Test &

Evaluation System (DROLS)

WWW Influence at DTIC

• First came the Web• Next came the browser• Then the WAIS search engine enabled

searching for everyone• 128 bit encryption facilitated secure

searching and retrieval for unclassified but limited documents

• And last, “Born Digital” electronic submission: an idea whose time had come

Intake Issues

• SF298 (Report Documentation Page) required for each technical report

• Electronic versions of the 298 (.pdf & Word) made available, but only limited help

• No help for content on the form; instructions on form completion ONLY

• Challenge: Merge form with document for digital presentation

Reason for the Project

• Reports received without the 298 or with insufficient, inaccurate, or mediocre information delayed in-processing

• Intake and citation build required human intervention to either build a form or locate needed information

• Unsecured (email) process for contractors could not protect limited information

• Poor data reduced effective retrieval

Idea: Improve the Process

• Use distance learning technology to build a process support tool

• Assist commercialization by improving SF 298 to help market contractor innovation

• Help SBIR (new) contractors unfamiliar with the process and form improve content

• Provide context sensitive supporting resources

• Enable intake without human intervention

Toolkit – Main Features

• Field-by-field help

• FAQs and Examples

• Avatar speaks

• Resources – links

• Required field verification

• Reviewer tracking

• Secure electronic input to DTIC

Toolkit Requirements

• DTIC registration required to build and upload form and report– DTIC uses LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access

Protocol) for DoD-wide registration– One time application/approval with renewals needed

before form-fill access/upload

• Overcame security challenges– Tutorial open to everyone; no registration required– Uploading requires registration and processing

through virus checking and other security

Marjorie Powell Wendy Hillmpowell@dtic.mil whill@dtic.mil703-767-9107 703-767-8225