The Small Business Innovation Research Program An Assessment of the Department of Defense Fast Track Initiative (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Patterns of Firm Participation in the Small Business Innovation Research Program in Southwestern and Mountain States
Patterns of Firm Participation in the Small Business Innovation Research Program in Southwestern and Mountain States
Pages 141-159
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From page 141... ...
Furthermore, features of the Fast Track program make it more or less appealing for a firm depending upon its organizational characteristics. Where a firm is located in its own developmental cycle appears to be a major factor in how it will structure its participation in the SBIR program.
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From page 142... ...
The Fast Track program does give an advantage to firms with a higher potential for commercialization and an interest in producing for the market. Firms that are interested in commercialization prior to their application for an SBIR award appear most likely to succeed as Fast Track firms.
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From page 143... ...
. The conclusions of this paper are derived from interviews with 12 firms that have received SBIR contracts in the southwestern and mountain region, with particular attention given to the experience of firms participating in the SBIR program according to their Fast Track status.
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From page 144... ...
These firms are multiple recipients of SBIR awards and the SBIR program represents a significant portion of the firm's annual revenue. Other sources of revenue are pursued, such as marketing commercial products, signing licensing agreements, or forging partnerships with larger firms, building upon intellectual property rights and research activities.
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From page 145... ...
Furthermore, features of the Fast Track program make it more or less appealing for a firm depending upon its organizational characteristics. Additionally, where a firm is located in its own developmental cycle appears to be a major factor in how it will structure its participation in the SBIR program.
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From page 146... ...
Yet the SBIR program can still lead to success in the long run by expanding a firm's understanding of its technology area, generating intellectual property rights, and supporting a young firm with promise. Often, commercial success is realized when a product is developed after a succession of SBIR awards.
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From page 147... ...
In this sense, the SBIR program' s more recent focus on commercialization undermines one of the program's strengths: the SBIR program's ability to support the innovative work of small or young companies. THE FAST TRACK PROGRAM The Fast Track program offers a valuable tool to firms looking to attract investors because they can offer prospective investors a means to leverage their investment.
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From page 148... ...
In TRAC's case, its small staff, limited administrative capacity, and undefined sense of its target market created difficulties after it received its Fast Track award. Depending on the technology area, the time between developing a product for market and the basic R&D stage varies, making Fast Track firms not as viable for some firms.
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From page 149... ...
Second, larger firms that have received multiple SBIR awards have existing relationships with other firms that they can draw upon in executing a project. Third, BMDO has prioritized the co-investment system, and so, any firm that wishes to receive an SBIR award from BMDO must explore the co-investment option.
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From page 150... ...
This is because SBIR proposals that address issues of basic research represent work that occurs early in the product cycle. Several firms that were multiple winners of SBIR awards, such as Mission Research Corp., Radiant Research, and TPL, Inc., noted that the matching requirements represented an obstacle to their participation in the Fast Track program.
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From page 151... ...
In this sense, the SBIR program's emphasis on commercialization may benefit from finding ways to support companies as they pursue commercialization and increase their understanding of markets where they can compete. For example, Coherent Technologies may need support to think more clearly about the needs of potential clients and their own strategic advantage.
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From page 152... ...
The program helps firms move toward commercialization by offering a tool to attract outside investors and a means to bridge the financing gap that some firms experience between Phase I and Phase II of the SBIR program. Unfortunately, the relative newness of the Fast Track program prevents a full assessment of its impact on commercialization at this time.
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From page 153... ...
The diverse objectives of the SBIR program appear to indicate that DoD should not exclusively pursue Fast Track projects because it would inhibit the involvement of several categories of firms that have successfully participated in the program in the past.
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From page 154... ...
339-0500 Low-Cost Curing and Repair Process for Composites Development of a 30Ah Thin Metal Film Lead Acid Cell for High-Power Electric or Hybrid Vehicles Self-Routing Wavelength Switch Tunable UV LIDAR for Water Vapor Profiling and Ozone Monitoring Innovative Design and Synthesis of Antiparasiti Agents A Novel Field-Programmable Gate Array for Space Applications c Long-Wavelength Oxide Vertical-Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers Planarized Optical Clock Signal Distribution on Si
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From page 155... ...
PARTICIPATION IN THE SBIR IN SOUTHWESTERN AND MOUNTAIN STATES 155 Appendix A continued Company Description of SBIR Phase II Project Systems and Processes Engineering Corporation 101 West 6th Street Austin, Texas, 78701 (512) 479-7732 Technology and Resource Assessment Corporation (TRAC)
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From page 156... ...
What alternative sources of funding were considered and/or enhanced by the SBIR award? Do they anticipate applying for further SBIR awards?
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From page 157... ...
For standard SBIR awards, did the delay between Phase I and Phase II increase time to market for the firm' s product? Did the Fast Track award improve time to market for the firm or allow the firm to maintain continuity of effort?
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From page 158... ...
is (a) a useful way of focusing the SBIR program on companies with strong commercialization capabilities; (b)
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From page 159... ...
30) What do participating firms see as strengths and weaknesses of the Fast Track program?
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