In response to a Congressional mandate, an ad hoc committee will conduct a study of the economic and healthcare benefits of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the effectiveness of the enabling strategies NIH has employed to enhance the programs. The committee will draw on published research; existing, available data; and case studies, and convene a series of meetings. Specifically and to the extent that data are available, the committee will examine:

SBIR effectiveness: Leveraging existing NIH evaluation strategies and data that are made available to the committee, case studies, and other available data, the committee will examine whether the NIH SBIR Program is fulfilling the requirements of the enabling legislation; and study the impact and effectiveness of the enabling strategies NIH has employed to enhance the program, including, but not limited to, technical and business assistance programs and the Phase IIB program.

STTR effectiveness: Leveraging existing NIH evaluation strategies and data that are made available, the committee will study how the NIH STTR Program, including the strategies designed to enable academic entrepreneurship and innovation, has fulfilled the requirements of the enabling legislation, including:

• A review of the collaborations created between small businesses and research institutions, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in stimulating new collaborations and any obstacles that may prevent or inhibit the creation of such collaborations.
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of the program at transferring federally funded technology and capabilities toward commercialization.
• An examination of the non-economic impacts to businesses including measures of demographics, participation of underrepresented groups, and knowledge of the technical and business requirements of life science sector commercialization.
• An analysis of whether STTR funds could be employed more effectively by the NIH STTR program to achieve the goals of the enabling legislation.

Economic and healthcare impact: The committee will examine the regional economic impacts associated with the NIH SBIR and STTR programs, including relevant measures such as firm survival, direct and indirect employment effects, business revenues, and gross value added; assess the contribution of the NIH SBIR and STTR programs to regional economic development programs and strategies, including those around inclusivity and workforce development; and assess healthcare impacts of the NIH SBIR and STTR programs, including an assessment of the relationship between technology outcomes supported by the NIH SBIR and STTR programs and commercially available healthcare products and services.

The committee will produce a consensus report with the committee's findings and its recommendations for how to improve the programs.