Review of the SBIR and STTR Programs at the Department of Energy (2020) / Chapter Skim
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Using quantitative and qualitative analyses of data, the committee convened by the National Academies to conduct the assessment produced this report on the operations and outcomes stemming from the SBIR/STTR grants awarded by DOE. The report undertakes a detailed examination of the SBIR and STTR programs at DOE in compliance with the legislative mandate.
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SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT Congress first requested that the National Academies undertake a study of the SBIR program as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000. This study mandate was expanded in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, wherein Congress directed agencies with SBIR program budgets of more than $50 million to engage with the National Academies to conduct a quadrennial assessment of each agency's SBIR and STTR programs.1 The congressional mandate calls for assessments of how the SBIR and STTR 1 Two previous studies were completed by the National Academies in response to the legislative mandate.
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The committee also relied on qualitative data, including presentations by personnel from the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs Office and the Small Business Administration, consultations with current and former DOE and SBA personnel, and researchers specializing in energy innovation. The committee used archival data available from the DOE website such as webinars, publicly available documents, and funding opportunity announcements.
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As the findings above show, the committee found evidence that the programs produce economic growth other than by federal procurement as it considered economic factors beyond direct measures of employment -- by directing attention to the research orientation of the firm and examining the role of partnership and idea diffusion through agglomeration economies. These findings are based on the committee's analyses of the role of SBIR/STTR programs in stimulating technological innovation and contributing to DOE's research and development needs, in accordance with the missions of DOE 3 The committee's findings and recommendations are numbered according to the chapter and ordering where they appear.
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However, the programs do encourage or require partnerships with research institutions, and those partnerships support indirect job creation in technical specialties at universities and nonprofit research centers and enhance the national workforce in energy innovation. Finding 5.4: A small number of SBIR/STTR awardees ultimately achieve significant employment growth.
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Described in more detail in Chapter 3, these procedures are clear to the individual DOE offices offering SBIR/STTR grants. The processes and timelines are clearly laid out on the DOE website, with webinars offered to provide details about technical parameters regarding the topics where applications will be sought.
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Recommendation 3.1: The DOE SBIR/STTR Programs Office should actively take steps to ensure the diversity of the reviewer pools as a means to increase the diversity of the applicant pool. The majority of reviewers for applications come from national labs (46 percent)
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and potential SBIR/STTR applicants, the committee recommends that DOE deploy virtual mentoring programs to connect national labs with grant applicants. Geographic distance appears to be a substantial barrier for many awardee firms, and online technologies may offer a cost-effective way to bridge the distances between awardees and suitable R&D partners.
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Recommendation 5.1: Congress should consider allowing firms to use commercialization assistance funds to hire in house marketing and business expertise. Moreover, Congress should consider increasing the amount of funding available for commercialization assistance provided in conjunction with Phase I awards.
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The programs encourage research in technical areas identified by DOE as important to its research and development mission needs both directly, through patents and products produced by the grantees, and indirectly, by stimulating complementary innovation. The committee offers a series of recommendations designed to help DOE better realize its mission to ensure America's security and prosperity through transformative science and technology solutions in the energy, environmental, and nuclear fields.
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This tension may encourage some program offices to limit applications and outreach to new applicants. Finding 3.6: The statutory requirement to use external vendors for commercialization assistance may hinder small business commercialization prospects and business development in the long run.
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Finding 5.1: The DOE SBIR/STTR programs stimulate technological innovation and contribute to DOE R&D needs. Finding 5.2: SBIR/STTR awardees perform technical research that is usually distant from commercialization but closely connected to DOE R&D needs.
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Recommendation 4.2: The Secretary of Energy and the SBIR/STTR Programs Office should collaborate on deploying virtual mentoring programs to connect the national labs with SBIR/STTR applicants. (Continued)
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Moreover, Congress should consider increasing the amount of funding available for commercialization assistance provided in conjunction with Phase I awards. Recommendation 5.2: The DOE SBIR/STTR Programs Office should develop better metrics of potential commercialization by applicants and commercialization outcomes by awardees.
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