An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the National Science Foundation (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 21-40
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From page 21... ...
Although each agency's SBIR program shares the common three-phase structure, the SBIR concept is interpreted uniquely at each agency. This flexibility is a positive attribute in that it permits each agency to adapt its SBIR program to the agency's particular mission, scale, and working culture.
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From page 22... ...
True innovation, Bordogna noted, can spur the search for new knowledge and create the context in which the next generation of research identifies new frontiers. This non-linearity, illustrated in Figure 1-2, makes it difficult to rate the efficiency of SBIR program.
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From page 23... ...
The task of measuring outcomes is made harder because companies that have garnered SBIR awards can also merge, fail, or change their name before a product reaches the market. In addition, principal investigators or other key individuals can change firms, carrying their knowledge of an SBIR UNEDITED PROOFS
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From page 26... ...
This raises the issue concerning the standard on which SBIR programs should be evaluated. An assessment of SBIR must take into account the expected distribution of successes and failures in early-stage finance.
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From page 27... ...
A very high rate of "success" would, thus, paradoxically suggest an inappropriate use of the program. Understanding the nature of success and the appropriate benchmarks for a program with this focus is therefore important to understanding the SBIR program and the approach of this study.
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From page 28... ...
It can be concluded, however, that the NSF SBIR program in its statements of purpose, goals, and criteria -- hence, intentions -- consistently emphasizes research quality and knowledge creation. Furthermore, the program's peer 36 The NRC Phase II Project Survey reported averages of 1.66 scientific publications and 0.67 patent per surveyed project.
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From page 29... ...
Both the NRC surveys and the case studies showed extensive networking between NSF SBIR-funded projects and universities. University faculty and students used the NSF SBIR to establish businesses, start projects, and work on projects.
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From page 30... ...
The NSF SBIR program has facilitated transfer of technology from universities. Fourteen percent of the NRC Phase II survey projects were based on technology originally developed at a university by a project participant.
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From page 31... ...
It appears that the NSF SBIR program tends to represent "broader impact" as synonymous with "direct commercial sales," and may not place sufficient emphasis on the encouragement of publishing and other modes of knowledge dissemination by the funded projects. It is recognized that encouragement of knowledge UNEDITED PROOFS
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From page 32... ...
NSF's SBIR grants further the agency's academic goals and activities by aiding the transfer of technology out of universities and by helping academic researchers UNEDITED PROOFS
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From page 33... ...
The NSF SBIR program helps to meet the procurement needs of Federal agencies. The NRC Survey of Phase II Projects found that sales of NSF Phase II-funded technologies go to multiple markets with broad and diversified customer bases.
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From page 34... ...
The program has demonstrated a continuous influx of firms new to the program. From 1996 through 2003, the period examined, more than half of each year's SBIR award recipients had not previously received an NSF SBIR grant, with the exception of one year.
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From page 35... ...
e. Awards as Enablers: Case study firms called the NSF SBIR program an "enabler" and a "lifeline." They said the SBIR awards enabled them to: • start a company; • survive while they were trying to refine their ideas to the point where they could attract private money; • build capacity; • develop new technologies and improve, renew, and lower the cost of existing technologies; • build on and add other sources of funding; • grow an intellectual property portfolio essential to commercial success; • retain control of their firms; and • pursue multiple paths to commercialization, including contract research.
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From page 36... ...
IV. While women and minorities have benefited from the NSF SBIR program, both as company owners and as principal investigators, there is room for improvement.
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From page 37... ...
By like token, the representation in NSF's SBIR program is uneven among different minority groups. 40 White males, who comprise 40% percent of the nation's overall workforce, hold 68% of all science, engineering, and technology jobs.
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From page 38... ...
It is a source of concern that the success rates for woman- and minority owned firms at Phase I are below those of other firms.42 It is also troubling that the number of NSF SBIR proposals and grants to woman- and minority-owned businesses do not show a positive trend over the last decade when gains by these groups were being made in other areas. There may be room for improved participation in the program for woman- and minority-owned firms.
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From page 40... ...
44 The NSF SBIR program has recently emphasized its goal to "commercialize research." Interest in promoting commercialization appeared to intensify with the centralization of the program within a single office. This emphasis on commercialization contrasts with the concentration of most of NSF's resources on academic research.
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