IntroductionEach year NIST interacts with a variety of academic institutions, private businesses and government entities in the pursuit of its mission to promote U.S. innovation and competitiveness 1 . Information about the number of interactions among NIST and its partners and customers is important in understanding the breadth and impact of NIST laboratories, measurements, and services across the U.S. economy. Examining the types of interactions, including grants, awards, research agreements, technical services, education and purchased products between NIST and its partners can demonstrate the true size of NIST's footprint.NIST works directly with private businesses, academic institutions and government entities in a variety of ways; therefore, there are many avenues through which NIST can impact actors in the U.S. economy. The total number of annual interactions and the extent to which these interactions are dispersed geographically was previously unknown. In this study, we provide the annual number of NIST's interactions in several categories and the country-wide, geographical distribution of NIST's customers and partners, demonstrating the extent of NIST's reach in the U.S. economy. Key Findings• NIST interacted more than 300,000 times with domestic institutions from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2014.• NIST involved itself directly in 68,478 interactions on average each year throughout the United States.• NIST connected with 6,731 unique, domestic institutions on average each year.

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