The Small Business Innovation Research Program An Assessment of the Department of Defense Fast Track Initiative (2000) / Chapter Skim
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II. Introduction
II. Introduction
Pages 13-28
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From page 15... ...
As Harvard Business School's Josh Lerner and Colin Kegler note in the literature review appearing in this volume, the academic literature is remarkably limited. Aside from the analysis here and Lerner's earlier article, "Public Venture Capital: Rationales and Evaluation," in the National Research Council's first volume on the SBIR, C
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From page 16... ...
Initially, the SBIR program required agencies with R&D budgets in excess of $100 million to set aside 0.2 percent of their funds for SBIR. This totaled $45 million in 1983, the program's first year of operation.
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The early 1980s witnessed a severe recession and the entire decade experienced economic performance below post-World War II norms. The trade deficit rose sharply amidst widespread worry that this was driven by a Japanese economy that was outperform~ng American manufacturing in important industnes, such as steel, autos, and semiconductors.
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From page 18... ...
, the Bayh-Dole University and Small Business Patent Act (1980) , the Small Business Innovation Development Act (1982)
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For Phase I awards Congress directed program administrators to assess whether projects have "commercial potential" in addition to scientific and technii~Private sector cooperation was encouraged by the reduction in antitrust concerns. In 1984 Congress overwhelmingly passed the National Cooperative Research Act, which eased antitrust penalties for companies conducting joint research and development.
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From page 21... ...
One of the most important responses has come from the Department of Defense, which has the largest SBIR program. The Fast Track Initiative in the Defense Department As early as 1992, DoD's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO)
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From page 22... ...
For example, the State of New Jersey has a Small Business Innovation Research Bridge Loan Program which is intended to provide access to working capital for small New Jersey technology companies who are between Phase I and Phase II of a federal Small Business Innovation Research development project. The Bridge Loan Program provides a loan guarantee to a private sector lender, which in turn issues a term loan to the SBIR recipient company.
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From page 23... ...
To this end, a research team whose members had not previously studied the SBIR programwas assembled.22 The team examined the SBIR program awards and the Fast Track initiative from three different perspectives: 1. Survey Research: As a first step, the STEP research team developed a survey instrument and then commissioned an outside consulting firm experienced with the program to carry out a large-scale survey of DoD SBIR awarders, using a sample of firms that have participated in Fast Track and a control group.
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From page 24... ...
While it is important to keep in mind the limits of the research effort and the short history of the Fast Track initiative,24 the findings of the researchers do reflect well on the program. Put simply, the case studies, surveys, and empirical research suggest that the Fast Track initiative is meeting its goals of encouraging commercialization and attracting new firms to the program.
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From page 25... ...
Lerner and Kegler also provide a valuable summary of previous evaluation efforts of such programs and their limitations. The dearth of research on these programs, noted above, and particularly the SBIR program, led the Committee to commission original field research in the form of case studies and a survey in order to better understand the operation of the SBIR at the Department of Defense, and in particular, its Fast Track initiative.
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From page 26... ...
Maryann Feldman examined DoD SBIR funding of a particular technology area, namely the biosciences. Her work highlights the contributions of DoD funding of R&D in the biosciences, and how Defense SBIR awards have proven to be important catalysts to the commercial success of several growing biotechnology firms.
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From page 27... ...
The Fast Track initiative represents an innovative way of matching program objectives to an economy in which the rewards to rapid innovation are growing. The analysis and recommendations in this volume underscore the positive contributions of the SBIR program to the Defense mission.
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