1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cooperative Research and Development Fund Authorization Act of 2017 . 2. Cooperative research and development fund (a) In general The Secretary of Energy shall make funds available to Department of Energy National Laboratories for the Federal share of cooperative research and development agreements that support maturing laboratory technology and transferring it to the private sector. (b) Apportionment (1) In general The Secretary of Energy shall determine the apportionment of such funds to each Department of Energy National Laboratory and shall ensure that special consideration is given to small business firms and consortia involving small business firms in the selection process for which cooperative research and development agreements will receive such funds. (2) Definition In this section, the term small business firm has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3703 ). (c) Performance evaluation metrics The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that the performance evaluation metrics of each National Laboratory operating contractor provide incentives for, and measure the effectiveness of, the contractor’s cooperative research and development agreement program at maturing laboratory technology and transferring it to the private sector. (d) Reporting (1) Requirement The Secretary of Energy shall annually transmit to Congress a report that describes how funds were expended under this section, including a description of— (A) the types and sizes of non-Federal entities that participated in cooperative research and development agreements receiving funds under this section