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Pages 225-251

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From page 225...
... • The DoD components do not offer a comparable commercialization assistance program, although change is clearly under way in some areas. DARPA has teamed with Larta Institute, a technology commercialization assistance organization, to develop and deliver a pilot program designed to assist DARPA's SBIR Phase II awardees in the commercialization of their technologies.
From page 226...
... The Phase IIB program provides additional funding predicated on the companies obtaining third-party funding. NSF's SBIR program operates a "MatchMaker" program, which seeks to bring together SBIR recipient companies and potential third-party funders such as venture capitalists.
From page 228...
... In fact, given the differences, it is a mistake to talk about "the" SBIR program at all: there are agency SBIR programs, and they are – and should be – different enough that they must be considered separately, as the NRC has done through the companion agency volumes. These differences – outlined above and emerging through a comparison of the agency volumes – stem of course partly from the differing agency missions and histories, and 38 JoAnne Goodnight, NIH SBIR Coordinator, private communication 3/16/2007 39 Interview with Sam Barish, DOE Director of Technology Research Division, 6 May 2005 UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 230...
... Agencies have not in general fully committed to a "gap reduction" model where every effort is made to squeeze days out of the award cycle. For small businesses, especially those with few awards and few other resources, UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 231...
... SBIR awards also play a critical UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 232...
... If we conclude – as we do – that the SBIR programs at the agencies do work as intended by Congress, and do generate significant benefits, we should recommend change only with caution. It therefore seems that while there is a case to increase award size, there are risks involved, and it would be prudent for agencies taking this step to increase the awards incrementally over, perhaps, three years to avoid a sharp contraction of the program and allow hope for increases in R&D funding to mitigate the impact on applicant success rates of increasing award sizes.
From page 233...
... Given that SBIR awards meet multiple agency needs and multiple Congressional objectives, it is difficult to see how the program might be enhanced by the imposition of an arbitrary limit on the number of applications per year, as is currently the case at NSF. However, if agencies continue to see issues in this area, they should consider adopting some version of the DoD "enhanced surveillance" model, in which multiple winners are subject to enhanced scrutiny in the context of the award process.
From page 234...
... Thus it appears that the general outreach function historically fulfilled by the SBIR Agency Coordinators/Program Managers may now be changing toward a more nuanced and targeted role, focused on enhancing opportunities for under-served groups and underserved states, or on specific aspects of the SBIR program (e.g. the July 2005 DoD Phase III meeting in San Diego)
From page 235...
... These differences mean that while in general all commercialization assistance programs provide help in formulating business plans, developing strategic business objectives, and tuning pitches for more funding, there are important differences. In particular, DoD, which accounts for about half of the entire SBIR program, has commercialization programs that are largely (though not exclusively)
From page 236...
... Using the most recent awards, the firm information was updated to the most current contact information for each firm. Sampling Approaches and Issues The Phase II survey used an array of sampling techniques, to ensure adequate coverage of projects to address a wide range of both outcomes and potential explanatory variables, UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 237...
... Although this approach sampled more than 57 percent of the awards, multiple award winners, on average, were asked to respond to surveys covering about 20 percent of their projects. Administration of the Survey The questionnaire drew extensively from the one used in the 1999 National Research Council assessment of SBIR at the Department of Defense, SBIR: An Assessment of the UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 239...
... By August 5, 2005 five months after release of the survey, 1239 firms had begun and 1149 firms had completed at least 14 of 15 questions on the firm survey. Project surveys UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 242...
... If c., go to Question 3. If b., skip to Question 16 UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 247...
... 48% had no prior Phase II and another 36% had 5 or less prior Phase II 20. How many SBIR awards has your company received that are related to the project/technology supported by this Phase II award ?
From page 249...
... 35% Somewhat Useful c. 1% Not Useful UNEDITED PROOFS
From page 251...
... The assessment, by the National Research Council (NRC) , seeks to determine both the extent to which the SBIR programs meet their mandated objectives, and to investigate ways in which the programs could be improved.


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