Assessment of the SBIR and STTR Programs at NIH – Meeting 8

The Eighth Meeting of the Committee on the Assessment of the SBIR and STTR Programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be held virtually on December 1, 2020.

What is the effectiveness of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)? An ad hoc committee will conduct a study of the economic and healthcare benefits of the SBIR and STTR programs at NIH and the effectiveness of the enabling strategies NIH has employed to enhance the programs.

Meeting will be held via Zoom. This meeting will be open in its entirety.

Please write to step@nas.edu to attend.

Background

In response to a Congressional mandate, an ad hoc committee will conduct a study of the economic and healthcare benefits of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the effectiveness of the enabling strategies NIH has employed to enhance the programs. The committee will draw on published research; existing, available data; and case studies, and convene a series of meetings. Specifically and to the extent that data are available, the committee will examine:

SBIR effectiveness: Leveraging existing NIH evaluation strategies and data that are made available to the committee, case studies, and other available data, the committee will examine whether the NIH SBIR Program is fulfilling the requirements of the enabling legislation; and study the impact and effectiveness of the enabling strategies NIH has employed to enhance the program, including, but not limited to, technical and business assistance programs and the Phase IIB program.

STTR effectiveness: Leveraging existing NIH evaluation strategies and data that are made available, the committee will study how the NIH STTR Program, including the strategies designed to enable academic entrepreneurship and innovation, has fulfilled the requirements of the enabling legislation, including:

• A review of the collaborations created between small businesses and research institutions, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in stimulating new collaborations and any obstacles that may prevent or inhibit the creation of such collaborations.
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of the program at transferring federally funded technology and capabilities toward commercialization.
• An examination of the non-economic impacts to businesses including measures of demographics, participation of underrepresented groups, and knowledge of the technical and business requirements of life science sector commercialization.
• An analysis of whether STTR funds could be employed more effectively by the NIH STTR program to achieve the goals of the enabling legislation.