Review of the SBIR and STTR Programs at the Department of Energy (2020) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-32
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From page 15... ...
The focus and purpose of the program, at least as articulated by Congress, has changed over time. The 1982 Act creating the program stated that the purposes were: to stimulate technological innovation, to use small business to meet federal research and development needs, to foster and encourage participation by minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation, and to increase private sector commercialization innovations derived from federal research and development (U.S.
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From page 16... ...
, began seeking ways to increase technological innovation and commercial applications stemming from federally sponsored R&D. They expected that improving innovation and commercialization would stimulate economic growth, and they believed that small businesses were key in this endeavor.
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. Early program advocates saw this as an effort to allow small businesses to gain access to high-risk capital, and thus put a large set of scientists and engineers to work in service of innovation and national competitiveness at a larger capacity than in the absence of such a funding program.
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From page 18... ...
. Among the laws passed, the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 created the SBIR program (U.S.
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SBIR/STTR programs capitalize on gains from diversifying the government supplier base and promoting entry into technical fields. The programs open new procurement pipelines for federal agencies while allowing the agencies to support small business innovations that advance their missions.
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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.5 The congressional mandate calls for assessments to study "how the SBIR program has stimulated technological innovation and used small businesses to meet federal research and development needs" and to include several specific analyses and evaluations. The first objective is to assess the value of the R&D conducted under the program and evaluate its quality.
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From page 21... ...
97-219) .Currently the SBIR website states that the mission of the SBIR program is "to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy" and lists the programs goals as four-fold: 6 The unique feature of the STTR program is the requirement for the small business to formally collaborate with a research institution in Phase I and Phase II.
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From page 22... ...
Similarly, the STTR program, created in 1992, has nearly identical goals, especially with regard to commercializing federal R&D outputs. The STTR website states that "the mission of the STTR program is to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy" and lists the three programs goals as to stimulate technological innovation, foster technology transfer through cooperative R&D between small businesses and research institutions, and increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal R&D (SBA, n.d.c)
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From page 23... ...
This assessment mandate was expanded in the reauthorization of the programs in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, wherein Congress directed 7 The Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 listed four goals in the establishment of the SBIR program: "to stimulate technological innovation; to use small business to meet federal research and development needs; to foster and encourage participation by minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation; and to increase private sector commercialization of research derived from federal research and development" (U.S. Congress, 1982)
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Combined with increasing agency extramural R&D budgets, the result has been a significant expansion of the programs. Agencies enjoy wide latitude in the operation of the SBIR and STTR programs.
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In addition, in the case of SBIR, firms that received a Phase I, Phase II, and either a Phase IIA or IIB from DOE are also eligible to apply for an additional award to aid in commercialization, called a Phase IIC award that is capped at $1.1 million. DOE implemented Phase IIC awards after the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that agencies implement a commercialization assistance pilot project (U.S.
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From page 26... ...
Commercial potential "includes the potential to transition the technology to private sector applications, government applications, or government contractor applications." Applicants who have won multiple previous awards must meet agency benchmarks for commercialization of prior SBIR and STTR awards in order to receive a new Phase I award (SBA, 2019)
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From page 27... ...
SBA encourages agencies to use their "routine review processes" for SBIR and STTR awards, whether they be internal or external. The peer review process combines elements of traditional peer review, assessment of commercial potential, and program manager discretion, with Phase I applications evaluated on the basis of "scientific and technical merit and feasibility" and commercialization considerations and the receipt Phase II awards based on Phase I results and the "scientific and technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the Phase II proposal" (SBA, 2019)
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From page 28... ...
DOE has established processes that aim to support its own mission and the missions of its programmatic offices and research programs that sponsor SBIR/STTR activities.13 DOE has centralized some functions and activities into an agency-wide SBIR/STTR Programs Office housed within the Office of Science while assigning others to its programmatic offices and research programs. Within the agency, six program offices across DOE and six research programs housed in the Office of Science participate in the programs.14 Each participating office or division has authority or obligation to develop topics for solicitations and suggest individuals who could serve as application reviewers.
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From page 29... ...
The committee's conversations with program offices also suggest that they emphasize their technical program missions ahead of SBIR/STTR program goals. For instance, when reviewing applications, essentially all offices stated in some way or another that they instruct reviewers first to assess the technical merit.
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From page 30... ...
objectives in a cost-effective, proactive, and inclusive manner. That said, there are many central challenges of evaluating an innovation assistance program: A key question of evaluation is not whether the SBIR and STTR programs happened to fund particular companies or technologies that have been successful and impactful, but rather whether the programs and participation in the programs meaningfully improved or enhanced those outcomes.
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From page 31... ...
It describes the policy rationale for the programs and reviews academic research plus broader publications such as government reports on and assessments of the programs, as well as earlier National Academies reports. A description of the organization and administration of the SBIR and STTR programs at DOE follows in Chapter 3.
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