SBIR at NASA (2016) / Chapter Skim
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8 Findings and Recommendations
8 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 171-204
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Policy Directive that guides program implementation at all agencies. Section 1c of the Directive lists the program goals as follows: The statutory purpose of the SBIR Program is to strengthen the role of innovative small business concerns (SBCs)
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Outcomes data for agency SBIR programs come from the funded companies and the funding agency. While there are major challenges in gathering and evaluating this data -- described in Chapter 5 (Quantitative Outcomes)
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5 Similarly, although the limited data provided by NASA and that provided by DoD on NASA projects recorded in the DoD Company Commercialization Record database are helpful, neither is comprehensive. Given the size of the survey population and response rates and overall potential sources of survey bias, the following findings and recommendations rely more heavily on company case studies, discussions with agency staff, and other documentation than we would have preferred.
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NASA SBIR projects commercialize at a level similar to that of comparable SBIR programs at DoD, although the small size of the NASA market limits the scale of commercialization. However, with regard to the third program objective, we conclude that the NASA SBIR program is not adequately fostering and encouraging participation by women and minorities and socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.
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The SBIR program at NASA supports the development and adoption of technological innovations. However there is growing misalignment between the enhancement of science and technology and the demands of meeting specific agency mission needs.
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D The NASA SBIR program limits small company dependence on government grants.
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In some ways, they also suffer from the NASA SBIR program's focus on NASA's specialized needs. Such companies would seldom be able to grow rapidly and become substantial commercial entities with hundreds of employees -- as has happened to a number of SBIR companies working primarily within DoD.
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14 C Subsequent investment provides further evidence that NASA SBIR projects generate potential commercial value even if they have not yet reached the market.
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1. Although company case studies do not provide a basis for quantitative assessment, they do provide examples of companies that have become commercially successful and sustainable based on their work for NASA via the SBIR program.
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NASA has not effectively tracked Phase III contracts stemming from SBIR awards or systematically tracked the utilization of SBIR-funded technologies at NASA Field Centers or on NASA missions. However, the new tracking database does lay the groundwork for such tracking in the future, and this is a positive step that has the potential to aid future assessments of the program.
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26 NASA has also published a regular newsletter covering success stories for its SBIR program. A review of "success stories" collected by NASA also shows that in a number of cases SBIR-funded technologies did provide important technologies to NASA and were integral to NASA missions.
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Current outcomes and activities by NASA are not sufficient to meet the SBIR program objective of fostering and encouraging the participation by minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation.
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The NASA SBIR program participates in one workshop annually, organized by another component within NASA. No efforts have been made by the NASA SBIR Program to reach out to WOSBs.
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3. Some SBIR companies indicated that the NASA SBIR program has shifted away from scientific inquiry toward more tightly defined contract research for the agency.
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The NASA SBIR program continues to connect companies and academic institutions in a variety of ways. 2011 Survey data indicate that NASA SBIR projects continue to utilize universities (in addition to the even closer connection through the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
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• Thirty-one percent of respondents reported more than three publications resulting from the surveyed project. 50 • Some of the case studies indicate that companies take pride in the number of peer-reviewed publications developed by their scientists and engineers, both within and outside of the NASA SBIR program.
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D The NASA SBIR program limits small company dependence on government grants.
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58 • Many NASA program participants are not dependent on SBIR awards. • More than one-quarter of responding companies received no SBIR funding in the most recent fiscal year (at the time of the survey)
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• NASA's use of Technology Infusion Managers (TIMs) at every Field Center is a promising effort to link technologies developed through the SBIR program with the needs of NASA program managers.
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66 4. SBIR-funded research is aligning with the specific needs of the Mission Directorates: The Mission Directorates are playing a growing role within the NASA SBIR program because they are directing the technical aspects of the program more closely.
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It has not in the past funded efforts that involve third-party commercialization support companies. The NASA SBIR program office relies primarily on the agency's Technology Transfer Program to help NASA SBIR companies find opportunities outside NASA, although this program is not limited to SBIR.
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74 C NASA's monitoring and evaluation of the SBIR program is insufficient.
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• Despite the large gap between Phases, no gap funding is available to provide a bridge between Phase I and Phase II, unlike some other SBIR programs. • NASA itself has no gap funding program, such as the Phase I options available for many DoD contracts.
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The following recommendations, which are organized in terms of four sets of leading actions needed to improve the SBIR program at NASA, can help improve outcomes. A detailed description follows the summary of key points below.
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I Furthering a Culture of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Assessment Predicated on Enhanced Information Flows The lack of comprehensive and granular outcomes data prevents development of quantitative analysis which would allow the agency to determine the extent to which is it meeting Congressional mandates and could also allow NASA to identify strengths and weaknesses of its SBIR program and to adjust it accordingly.
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NASA should review reports by the Academies on other SBIR programs as well as other assessments (e.g. from Government Accountability Office)
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The NASA SBIR Program Office should identify, evaluate and possibly adopt and adapt program management tools that have already at least in part been developed at Field Centers, such as Langley Research Center.
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94 Although caution should be employed when imposing new reporting burdens on the NASA SBIR program, implementation of an improved data collection and information management system would provide a cost- and timeeffective basis on which to provide better reporting on the program. The annual report recommended below would provide much improved transparency and a coherent point of discussion for other stakeholders.
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98 1. While NASA should strive to increase participation of under represented populations in the SBIR program, it should not develop quotas for that purpose.
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These should be defined as women and minorities who are also qualified participants in the SBIR program. Piggybacking on other NASA activities for general outreach is not sufficient.
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112 • NASA should seek ways to connect directly to the Air Force SBIR program, and to relevant activities of others at DoD (e.g.
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113 • Given the clear overlap of technological interests, NASA should on a pilot basis develop topics that are of special interest not only to NASA Mission Directorates but the commercial space sector as well. • NASA should also better connect with state and local entrepreneurship programs and venture capital and angel groups to help drive commercially minded companies into the program.
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117 B NASA should adopt more flexible contracting practices to encourage firm participating in the program.
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204 SBIR AT NASA 2. NASA should review and address the overly long gap between Phase I and Phase II.
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