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National Research Council (US) Committee for Capitalizing on Science, Technology, and Innovation: An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program, Policy and Global Affairs; Wessner CW, editor. An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the Department of Defense. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009.
An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the Department of Defense.
Show detailsSURVEY DESCRIPTION
This section describes a survey of Phase I SBIR awards over the period 1992–2001. The intent of the survey was to obtain information on those which did not proceed to Phase II, although most of the firms that did receive a Phase II were also surveyed.
Over that period the five agencies (DoD, DoE, NIH, NASA, and NSF) made 27,978 Phase I awards. Of the total number for the five agencies, 7,940 Phase I awards could be linked to one of the 11,214 Phase II awards made from 1992–2001. To avoid putting an unreasonable burden on the firms that had many awards, we identified all firms that had over 10 Phase I awards that apparently had not received a Phase II. For those firms, we did not survey any Phase I awards that also received a Phase II. This meant that 1,679 Phase Is were not surveyed.
We chose to survey the Principal Investigator (PI) rather than the firm to reduce the number of surveys that any one person would have to complete. In addition, if the Phase I did not result in a Phase II, the PI was more likely to have a better memory of it than firm officials. There were no PI email addresses for 5,030 Phase I awardees. This reduced the number of surveys sent since the survey was conducted by email.
Thus there were 21,269 surveys (27,978 minus 1,679 minus 5,030 = 21,269) emailed to 9,184 PIs). Many PIs had received multiple Phase I awards. Of these surveys, 6,770 were undeliverable. This left possible responses of 14,499. Of these, there were 2,746 responses received. The responses received represented 9.8 percent of all Phase I awards for the five agencies, or 12.9 percent of all surveys emailed, and 18.9 percent of all possible responses.
The agency breakdown, including Phase I survey results, is given in Table App-C-1.
TABLE App-C-1
Agency Breakdown for NRC Phase I Survey.
SURVEY PREFACE
This survey is an important part of a major study commissioned by the U.S. Congress to review the SBIR program as it is operated at various federal agencies. The assessment, by the National Research Council (NRC), seeks to determine both the extent to which the SBIR programs meet their mandated objectives, and to investigate ways in which the programs could be improved. Over 1,200 firms have participated earlier this year in extensive survey efforts related to firm dynamics and Phase II awards. This survey attempts to determine the impact of Phase I awards that do not go on to Phase II. We need your help in this assessment. We believe that you were the PI on the listed Phase I.
We anticipate that the survey will take about 5–10 minutes of your time. If this Phase I resulted in a Phase II, this survey has only 3 questions; if there was not a Phase II, there are 14 questions. Where dollar figures are requested (sales or funding), please give your best estimate. Responses will be aggregated for statistical analysis and not attributed to the responding firm/PI, without the subsequent explicit permission of the firm.
Since you have been the PI on more than one Phase I from 1992 to 2001, you will receive additional surveys. These are not duplicates. Please complete as many surveys for those Phase Is that did not result in a Phase II as you deem to be reasonable.
Further information on the study can be found at <http://www7.nationalacademies.org/sbir>. BRTRC, Inc., is administering this survey for the NRC. If you need assistance in completing the survey, call 877-270-5392. If you have questions about the assessment more broadly, please contact Dr. Charles Wessner, Study Director, NRC.
Project Information
Proposal Title:
Agency:
Firm Name:
Phase I Contract / Grant Number:
NRC Phase I Survey Results
NOTE: RESULTS APPEAR IN BOLD. RESULTS ARE REPORTED FOR ALL 5 AGENCIES (DoD, NIH, NSF, DoE, AND NASA). EXPLANATORY NOTES ARE IN TYPEWRITER FONT.
2,746 responded to the survey. Of these 1,380 received the follow on Phase II. 1,366 received only a Phase I.
1. Did you receive assistance in preparation for this Phase I proposal?
| Phase I only | Received Phase II | |||
| 95% | No | Skip to Question 3. | 93% | No |
| 5% | Yes | Go to Question 2. | 7% | Yes |
2. If you received assistance in preparation for this Phase I proposal, put an X in the first column for any sources that assisted and in the second column for the most useful source of assistance. Check all that apply. Answered by 74 Phase I only and 91 Phase II who received assistance.
| Phase I only | Received Phase II | |
| Assisted/Most Useful | Assisted/Most Useful | |
| State agency provided assistance | 10/3 | 11/10 |
| Mentor company provided assistance | 15/9 | 21/15 |
| University provided assistance | 31/17 | 34/22 |
| Federal agency SBIR program managers or technical representatives provided assistance | 16/8 | 25/19 |
3. Did you receive a Phase II award as a sequential direct follow-on to this Phase I award? If yes, please check yes. Your survey would have been automatically submitted with the HTML format. Using this Word format, you are done after answering this question. Please email this as an attachment to moc.crtrb@llihacj, or fax to Joe Cahill 703 204 9447. Thank you for you participation. 2,746 responses
| 50% | No. We did not receive a follow-on Phase II after this Phase I. |
| 50% | Yes. We did receive the follow-on Phase II after this Phase I. |
4. Which statement correctly describes why you did not receive the Phase II award after completion of your Phase I effort. Select best answer. All questions which follow were answered by those 1,366 who did not receive the follow-on Phase II. % based on 1,366 responses.
| 33% | The company did not apply for a Phase II. Go to question 5. |
| 63% | The company applied, but was not selected for a Phase II. Skip to question 6. |
| 1% | The company was selected for a Phase II, but negotiations with the government failed to result in a grant or contract. Skip to question 6. |
| 3% | Did not respond to question 4. |
5. The company did not apply for a Phase II because: Select all that apply. % based on 446 who answered “The company did not apply for a Phase II” in question 4.
| 38% | Phase I did not demonstrate sufficient technical promise. |
| 11% | Phase II was not expected to have sufficient commercial promise. |
| 6% | The research goals were met by Phase I. No Phase II was required. |
| 34% | The agency did not invite a Phase II proposal. |
| 3% | Preparation of a Phase II proposal was considered too difficult to be cost effective. |
| 1% | The company did not want to undergo the audit process. |
| 8% | The company shifted priorities. |
| 5% | The PI was no longer available. |
| 6% | The government indicated it was not interested in a Phase II. |
| 13% | Other—explain: |
6. Did this Phase I produce a noncommercial benefit? Check all responses that apply. % based on 1,366.
| 59% | The awarding agency obtained useful information. |
| 83% | The firm improved its knowledge of this technology. |
| 27% | The firm hired or retained one or more valuable employees. |
| 17% | The public directly benefited or will benefit from the results of this Phase I. Briefly explain benefit. |
| 13% | This Phase I was essential to founding the firm or to keeping the firm in business. |
| 8% | No |
7. Although no Phase II was awarded, did your company continue to pursue the technology examined in this Phase I? Select all that apply. % based on 1,366.
| 46% | The company did not pursue this effort further. |
| 22% | The company received at least one subsequent Phase I SBIR award in this technology. |
| 14% | Although the company did not receive the direct follow-on Phase II to the this Phase I, the company did receive at least one other subsequent Phase II SBIR award in this technology. |
| 12% | The company received subsequent federal non-SBIR contracts or grants in this technology. |
| 9% | The company commercialized the technology from this Phase I. |
| 2% | The company licensed or sold its rights in the technology developed in this Phase I. |
| 16% | The company pursued the technology after Phase I, but it did not result in subsequent grants, contracts, licensing or sales. |
Part II. Commercialization
8. How did you, or do you, expect to commercialize your SBIR award? Select all that apply. % based on 1,366.
| 33% | No commercial product, process, or service was/is planned. |
| 16% | As software |
| 32% | As hardware (final product component or intermediate hardware product) |
| 20% | As process technology |
| 11% | As new or improved service capability |
| 15% | As a research tool |
| 4% | As a drug or biologic |
| 3% | As educational materials |
9. Has your company had any actual sales of products, processes, services or other sales incorporating the technology developed during this Phase I? Select all that apply. % based on 1,366.
| 5% | Although there are no sales to date, the outcome of this Phase I is in use by the intended target population. |
| 65% | No sales to date, nor are sales expected. Go to question 11. |
| 15% | No sales to date, but sales are expected. Go to question 11. |
| 9% | Sales of product(s) |
| 1% | Sales of process(es) |
| 6% | Sales of services(s) |
| 2% | Other sales (e.g., rights to technology, sale of spin-off company, etc.) |
| 2% | Licensing fees |
10. For your company and/or your licensee(s), when did the first sale occur, and what is the approximate amount of total sales resulting from the technology developed during this Phase I? If other SBIR awards contributed to the ultimate commercial outcome, estimate only the share of total sales appropriate to this Phase I project. (Enter the requested information for your company in the first column and, if applicable and if known, for your licensee(s) in the second column. Enter dollars. If none, enter 0 (zero); leave blank if unknown.)
| Your Company | Licensee(s) | |||
| a. | Year when first sale occurred | 89 of 147 after 1999 | 11 of 13 after 1999 | |
| b. | Total Sales Dollars of Product(s), Process(es), or Service(s) to date | |||
| (Sale Averages) | $84,735 | $3,947 | ||
| Top 5 Sales | 1. | $20,000,000 | ||
| Accounts for 43% of all sales | 2. | $15,000,000 | ||
| 3. | $5,600,000 | |||
| 4. | $5,000,000 | |||
| 5. | $4,200,000 | |||
| c. | Other Total Sales Dollars (e.g., Rights to technology, Sale of spin-off company, etc.) to date | |||
| (Sale Averages) | $1,878 | $0 |
Sale averages determined by dividing totals by 1,366 responders.
11. If applicable, please give the number of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and/ or scientific publications for the technology developed as a result of Phase I. (Enter numbers. If none, enter 0 [zero]; leave blank if unknown.)
# Applied For or Submitted /# Received/Published
| 319 / 251 | Patent(s) |
| 50 / 42 | Copyright(s) |
| 52 / 47 | Trademark(s) |
| 521 / 472 | Scientific Publication(s) |
12. In your opinion, in the absence of this Phase I award, would your company have undertaken this Phase I research? Select only one lettered response. If you select c, and the research, absent the SBIR award, would have been different in scope or duration, check all appopriate boxes. Unless otherwise stated, % are based on 1,366.
| 5% | Definitely yes |
| 7% | Probably yes, similiar scope and duration |
| 16% | Probably yes, but the research would have been different in the following way |
% based on 218 who responded probably yes, but research would have . . .
| 75% | Reduced scope |
| 4% | Increased scope |
| 21% | No Response to scope |
| 5% | Faster completion |
| 51% | Slower completion |
| 44% | No Response to completion rate |
| 14% | Uncertain |
| 40% | Probably not |
| 16% | Definitely not |
| 4% | No Response to question 12 |
Part III. Funding and Other Assistance
Commercialization of the results of an SBIR project normally requires additional developmental funding. Questions 13 and 14 address additional funding. Additional Developmental Funds include non-SBIR funds from federal or private sector sources, or from your own company, used for further development and/or commercialization of the technology developed during this Phase I project.
13. Have you received or invested any additional developmental funding in this Phase I? % based on 1,366.
| 25% | Yes. Go to question 14. |
| 72% | No. Skip question 14 and submit the survey. |
| 3% | No response to question 13. |
14. To date, what has been the approximate total additional developmental funding for the technology developed during this Phase I? (Enter numbers. If none, enter 0 [zero]; leave blank if unknown).
| Source | # Reporting that source | Developmental Funding (Average Funding) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a. | Non-SBIR federal funds | 79 | $72,697 |
| b. | Private Investment | ||
| (1) U.S. Venture Capital | 13 | $4,114 | |
| (2) Foreign investment | 8 | $4,288 | |
| (3) Other private equity | 20 | $7,605 | |
| (4) Other domestic private company | 39 | $8,522 | |
| c. | Other sources | ||
| (1) State or local governments | 20 | $1,672 | |
| (2) College or Universities | 6 | $293 | |
| d. | Your own company (Including money you have borrowed) | 149 | $21,548 |
| e. | Personal funds of company owners | 54 | $4,955 |
Average funding determined by dividing totals by 1,366 responders.
- NRC Phase I Survey - An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the Department of Defe...NRC Phase I Survey - An Assessment of the SBIR Program at the Department of Defense
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