A peer-reviewed publication by R.B. Streeter, Guy Hagen, D.K. Killinger, and E.E. Patenaude in the international Journal of Defence and Peace Economics, Winter 2001.

The article documented a model for converting legacy defence production facilities into private-sector economic resources. Specifically, this paper examined as a case study the first successful conversion of a former U.S Department of Energy nuclear weapons production installation, including reasons for its success, its costs and benefits, and lessons for public policy. It is envisioned that this model may be useful for mitigating local economic hardship resulting from defense “downsizing” and for privatizing production capabilities critical for national defense.

One of the most unique elements of the primary case study was the utilization of roughly $13M in federal grant money as a directed venture capital fund managed by the authors, for the specific purpose of forging partnerships between private sector companies, university researchers, and military production technologies. The project received national recognition as being the first successful project of its type. Today, the facility supports more technology and manufacturing jobs in the form of the Pinellas STAR TEC center than it ever supported as a federal facility.

You can download the article here as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.