Excerpt

An initial conference to launch this assessment was convened in Washington, D.C. on 24 October 2002. It provided an opportunity for agency officials from each of the five departments and agencies accounting for 96 percent of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funds to provide an overview of their goals, operations, and challenges. It also included contributions from other agencies with SBIR programs. As the first comprehensive perspective on the SBIR program, the conference captured new information and understanding of its operation, challenges, and potential. It also reviewed the many measurement challenges involved in assessing the impact of this varied and complex program. Finally, the conference drew attention to the fact that while SBIR operations and accomplishments are sometimes discussed in general terms, the actual implementation of the program is carried out in agencies with quite distinct missions and interests.

This volume provides a summary of the program's history leading up to the current assessment, a précis of SBIR's role in the nation's innovation system, and—based on the proceedings of the conference—an overview of SBIR's operations at different agencies, and the methodological issues and challenges facing the current NRC assessment.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee for Capitalizing on Science, Technology, and Innovation: An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program
• Policy and Global Affairs
• Preface
• Executive Summary
• I. Introduction
  • Introduction
  • A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SBIR PROGRAM
  • SBIR IN THE U.S. INNOVATION SYSTEM
  • ASSESSING SBIR
  • KEY ISSUES FROM THE CONFERENCE
  • ADDRESSING TOMORROW'S CHALLENGES
• II. Proceedings
  • Opening Remarks
  • Introduction
  • Small Business and the SBIR Program
  • Panel I: SBIR at the Department of Defense
  • Panel II: SBIR at the National Institutes of Health
  • Panel III: SBIR at NASA
  • Panel IV: SBIR at the Department of Energy
  • Panel V: SBIR at the National Science Foundation
  • Panel VI: Roundtable Discussion
• Appendixes
  • A Biographies of Speakers
  • B Participants List 24 October 2002 Symposium
  • C Bibliography

This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. DASW01-02C-0039 between the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Department of Defense, N01-OD-4-2139 (Task Order #99) between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, NASA-03003 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, DE-AC02-02ER12259 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy, and DMI-0221736 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.