In the August 2, 1996 Issue:

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Agreement on SBIR Funding at NIH
The House-passed National Institutes of Health (NIH) appropriations for FY 97 included a problematic provision that would have changed the formula for awarding Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects at the Institutes. The provision would allow NIH to fund SBIR research only if the average score of the pool of small business proposals met or exceeded the score of basic research proposals submitted by universities and other research centers.

Several representatives raised objections to the limitation, noting that the SBIR program deals with applied research which cannot be directly compared with basic research proposals. In addition to the difference in the type of research performed, SBIR supporters pointed out that the vastly different evaluation and scoring processes make it difficult to compare the two types of proposals. They argued the provision would curtail the number of grants NIH could make to small business.

Because of concerns about the language, House leadership has agreed to work to eliminate the provision. The agreement comes with the assurance that NIH will have the discretion to allocate the 2.5% SBIR set aside among the various NIH Institutes.

According to the Small Business Administration, NIH awarded approximately $145 million for SBIR research proposals each year in FY 95 and FY 96. That number is expected to rise to $180 million in FY 97 because of the increase in the SBIR set aside rate from 2% to 2.5%.

Five Nominated to the National Science Board
President Clinton announced his intention to nominate five members to the National Science Board (NSB), an advisory body to the National Science Foundation. The five are:

John A. Armstrong of Amherst, Massachusetts, the former Vice President of Science and Technology and member of the Corporate Management Board at IBM.

M.R.C. Greenwood of Davis, California, Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She served as the Associate Director or Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from November 1993 to May 1995.

Stanley Vincent Jaskolski of Cleveland, Ohio, the Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Technical Management for the Eaton Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio. He will become president of the Industrial Research Institute in May 1997.

Vera C. Rubin of the District of Columbia a research astronomer with the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Bob H. Suzuki of Pomona, California, President of California Polytechnic University, Pomona. The National Science Board recommends overall national policies for promoting basic research and education in the sciences to the National Science Foundation.

The Board was established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 and has 24 members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members serve six-year rotating terms and eight members are appointed every two years. NSB members are drawn from industry and universities, and represent a variety of science and engineering disciplines. They are selected for their distinguished service in research, education or public service.

California Manufacturing Technology Center Seeks Applicants
The California Manufacturing Technology Center has begun a search process for qualified applicants to fill a number of economic development-oriented engineering positions. The CMTC seeks applicants with over eight years of hands-on manufacturing experience to: define and develop proposals, present to potential clients, perform and manage projects, and build a network of consultants.

Qualified candidates will have an engineering/science degree (Master's or MBA preferred) and excellent presentation and interpersonal skills. Sales or marketing training and/or experience is a plus. The application process will be open at least through October, 1996. If your qualifications meet the requirements of CMTC, please send your resume to: California Manufacturing Technology Center, P.O. Box 2225, Hawthorne, CA 90250-2225, ATTN: Human Resources

For more information, contact Kathy Pearson at 310-263-3084.

Company R&D Funding Rises as Federal Support Declines
 Increased company support of R&D offset reduced Federal funding in 1994 and contributed to an overall increase in U.S. industrial R&D, to $119.6 billion, according to the National Science Foundation's Survey of Industrial Research and Development for 1994.

The Survey shows that firms spent $119.6 billion on research and development (R&D) in the United States, 2 percent more than during 1993. Company funding continued to increase, from $94.6 billion to $97.1 billion, as it has each year since 1953. Federal funding decreased from $22.8 billion to $22.5 billion, continuing a trend that began in 1988. After adjusting for inflation, company-funded R&D rose 0.6 percent and Federally funded R&D fell 3.5 percent.

Although the amount spent for industrial R&D during 1994 increased compared with 1993, total R&D measured in constant dollars decreased 0.2 percent. This downward trend, which began in 1992, is only the second since 1953. The first occurred in the early 1970s when total R&D measured in constant dollars began falling and did not regain its 1969 level until 1978.

While the Federal Government's share of support to most industry groups declined during 1994, the amount firms contributed to their own R&D efforts continued to grow. Overall, nonmanufacturing firms as a group comprised approximately 25 percent of the total industrial R&D performance. These firms ranked first among performers of company-funded R&D, contributing $24 billion during 1994.

Performance of R&D by the smallest firms, those with less than five hundred employees, declined 4 percent during 1994 compared with 1993. For this group, federally sponsored R&D declined 28 percent. For larger firms, those with 500-5,000 employees, overall R&D increased 22 percent; however, federal R&D for this group declined 3 percent. For the largest firms, those with more than 5,000 employees, company-funded R&D increased 6 percent, but federal R&D declined by the same percentage.

In addition to collecting information on the amount of R&D, the Survey of Industrial R&D also gathers information on the number of scientists and engineers who perform R&D. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) scientists and engineers engaged in R&D activities in 1994 was 758,800 for all industries-561,400 in manufacturing and 197,400 in nonmanufacturing industries. Compared with 1993, the number of FTE scientists and engineers dropped 0.7 percent. It fell 1.2 percent in manufacturing industries and rose 0.5 percent in nonmanufacturing industries.

Copies of the Survey of Industrial Research and Development for 1994 write to the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies, Publications Management Group, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230; call (703) 306-1773; or send an e-mail request to srspubs@nsf.gov

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