THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Policy and Global Affairs
Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
Committee on the Assessment of the SBIR and STTR Programs at NIH
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Congressional Briefings
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 – 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.
and
Thursday, March 17, 2022 – 3:30 p.m.
via Zoom
on
Assessment of the SBIR and STTR Programs at the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a quadrennial review of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, in accordance with a legislative mandate. (See P.L. 112-81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.)
Drawing on published research and conducting new analyses based on both publicly available data and applicant data provided by NIH, this new report analyzes (1) the effectiveness of NIH's processes and procedures for selecting SBIR and STTR awardees; (2) the effectiveness of NIH's outreach to increase SBIR and STTR applications from small businesses that are new to the programs, from underrepresented states, and from woman-owned and minority-owned businesses; (3) collaborations between small businesses and research institutions resulting from the programs; and (4) a range of direct economic and health care impacts attributable to the programs.
These briefings were for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on February 9, 2022 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.
PLEASE NOTE: The March 17, 2022 briefing also included discussion of the National Academies’ 2020 report, Review of the SBIR and STTR Programs at the Department of Energy, which focused on the effectiveness of DOE's SBIR/STTR processes and procedures on topic and awardee selection; DOE outreach efforts to SBIR and STTR applicants; collaborations created between small businesses and research institutions on account of the programs; a range of direct economic and non-economic impacts to awardees; and the role of SBIR/STTR programs in stimulating technological innovation and contributing to DOE's research and development needs, whether directly from awardees or indirectly through spillovers from other firms.