Excerpt

This document provides an initial version of the methodological approaches to be taken in the Congressionally-mandated study of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at the five agencies accounting for 96 percent of the SBIR program expenditures. The proposed methodology draws extensively on the methodologies developed for the review of the previous National Research Council (NRC) assessment of the SBIR at the Department of Defense, SBIR: An Assessment of the Department of Defense Fast Track Initiative.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee for Capitalizing on Science, Technology, and Innovation: An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program
• Division of Policy and Global Affairs
• Preface and Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
  • The Study Charge
  • The Objectives of the Study
  • Focus of the Evaluation
  • Limits of the Committee Charge
  • A Two-Phase Study Structure
  • Summary of Methods to be Used
• Methodology Paper
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 An Overview of the Study Process
  • 3 Clarifying Study Objectives
  • 4 Developing Operational Definitions and Concepts
  • 5 Potential Metrics for Addressing Study Objectives
  • 6 Existing Data Sources
  • 7 Methodology Development: Primary Research
• Annexes
  • A SBIR Legislation
  • B Sample Proposal
  • C Memorandum of Understanding
  • D Additional Research Areas of Committee Interest
  • E Bibliography
  • F Research Matrix
  • G Issues Related to Sampling
  • H Committee and Research Team Bios
  • I Tasks to Further Develop and Implement the Methodology
  • J Template for Individual Agency Reports
• Research Tools
  • Draft Phase I Survey
  • Draft Phase II Survey
  • Draft Program Manager Survey
  • Case Study Template for SBIR Award Winners

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.