Federal Research: Evaluation of Small Business Innovation Research Can Be Strengthened
RCED-99-114
Published: Jun 04, 1999. Publicly Released: Jun 17, 1999.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, focusing on: (1) the distribution of awards by company and geographic area, with special emphasis on the share of awards received by the 25 most frequent winners; (2) the extent to which federal agencies are considering commercial potential and the program's other goals in making their awards; and (3) previous evaluations of the SBIR program to identify opportunities to improve measurements of the program's outcomes.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| When Congress considers the reauthorization of this program, it may wish to clarify the relative emphasis that agencies, in evaluating companies' proposals, should give to a company's commercialization record as part of the goal of commercialization and to the program's other goals. This clarification would help ensure uniformity in the program and a clear set of standards by which to determine whether, and to what extent, commercialization and the program's other goals should be considered in evaluations of proposals. | As of September 1, 1999, congressional action on reauthorization legislation had not begun. As of September 2000, the House and Senate have agreed on language to increase the emphasis on commercialization by requiring companies to include a business plan with their proposals. This partially responds to GAO's suggestion that Congress consider clarifying the relative emphasis on SBIR goals, but does not focus specifically on GAO's concern about the commercialization record. The recommendation should be closed. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Administration | To respond to the Government Performance and Results Act, the Administrator, Small Business Administration, should develop standard criteria for measuring commercial and other outcomes of the SBIR program and incorporate these criteria into the new Tech-Net database. The criteria should include uniform measures of sales, developmental funding, and other indicators of success. |
In the spring of 2001, the Small Business Administration began implementing a new SBIR reporting system that will measure the program's commercialization success. In fiscal year 2002, SBA further enhanced the reporting system to include commercialization results that will establish an initial baseline commercialization rate. Small business firms participating in the SBIR program are providing information annually on sales and investments associated with their SBIR projects.
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Topics
Authorizing legislationEvaluation criteriaPerformance measuresResearch and development contractsResearch program managementSmall business assistanceTechnology transferTechnological innovationsSmall business innovationSmall business