- Commerce Budget Proposal Would Affect SBIR
- New Report Questions U.S. Ability to Lead in Innovation
- Montana House OKs Use of Coal Taxes for R&D
- 1998 Cumulative SBIR Phase I Results by State
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Commerce Budget Proposal Would Affect SBIR
The Department of Commerce budget request as submitted by the Clinton Administration includes language that would exempt the Advanced Technology Program's $239 million budget from inclusion in the 2.5 percent set-aside for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. If passed as written, the result would result in a nearly $6 million cut in the Commerce SBIR obligation, which in FY1998 totaled $6.7 million.Ann Eskesen, a leading SBIR expert and advocate, brought the Commerce issue to the attention of the SBIR community through the ASBIR Two Cents@ website, sponsored by Ms. Eskesen's firm, Innovation Development Institute (http://www.inknowvationcom/SBIR_TwoCents/). According to information posted on Two Cents, the Commerce budget request is scheduled to go to the Senate for consideration on April 21.
Commerce would be the third agency where attempts have been made to reduce or eliminate its financial obligation under the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. A similar exemption was attempted in 1996 for the National Institutes of Health, the second largest agency in the SBIR program. In 1998, the National Science Foundation reclassified $100 million of its extramural budget, which reduced the NSF obligation to SBIR by $2.5 million.
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New Report Questions U.S. Ability to Lead in Innovation
Despite a multi-year upswing in the national economy, the United States is not laying the foundation for its long-term prosperity says a new report issued by the Council on Competitiveness. If current policy and investment trends continue unchanged, the U.S. could lose its status as the world's preeminent innovator, according to The New Challenge to America's Prosperity: Findings from the Innovation Index.The Index quantifies and compares the innovation capabilities of the U.S. and 24 other nations. According to the report, there are three main contributors to a nation's overall innovative performance: the common innovation infrastructure that supports innovation in the economy as a whole (e.g., investment in basic science); the cluster-specific conditions that support innovation in particular groups of interconnected industries (e.g., automotive, information technology); and, the strength of the linkages among them (e.g., the ability to connect basic research to companies and the contribution of corporate efforts to the overall pool of technology and skilled personnel.)
The report indicates that the U.S. may be living off historical assets that are not being renewed. Investment in the fundamentals of innovative capacity reached a peak in 1985 and then fell. During the first half of the 1990s, the U.S. Innovation Index remained flat. The report highlights the particular issues which led to this decline. They are the following:
There has been a serious weakening of the nation's available scientific and technical workforce;
Current investment in R&D is lower as a percentage of national wealth than it was in the early 1980s;
Overall, the U.S. regulatory and legal environment still inflicts substantial, unnecessary costs on industry, and is ranked poorly relative to other countries; and,
The United States, while enjoying its best macroeconomic performance in a generation, is reducing public investment in the national innovation infrastructure.
To remedy these deficiencies, the report recommends a new national innovation strategy which includes the following suggestions:
The downward slide of federal support for R&D outside the health sciences must be reversed;
The United States must rebuild its dwindling pool of scientists and engineers;
Policies for improving intellectual property protection in areas such as copyrights must become a top priority;
Historic American leadership in market-opening efforts both at home and abroad must be renewed; and,
The U.S. must revisit the national regulatory environment in order to encourage innovation while maintaining high standards.
The Innovation Index is the second report from the Council's Global R&D project. It is available for $35 per copy by calling the Council at 202/682-4292 or visiting their web site at http://www.compete.org
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Montana House OKs Use of Coal Taxes for R&D
The Montana House of Representatives narrowly approved a measure that, if passed by the Senate, will provide $9-$10 million a year for state research and development projects.Montana House Bill 260 changes the way in which coal severance taxes are collected to allow a portion of the revenue to be designated for R&D spending.
The new program will support projects conducted at Montana's state universities and at tribal or state technical and community colleges. State agricultural research centers are also eligible for funding and at least 20 percent of the funding must be directed toward production agriculture projects.
The funds may be used for loans or for matching funds for federal or foundation grants.
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1998 Cumulative SBIR Phase I Results by State
The state-by-state results for the 1998 SBIR Phase I awards are presented here -- as reported individually by the ten participating federal agencies and compiled by SSTI. Totals may not reflect new awards or cancellations made by an agency after the initial award announcements. Abstract information for funded SBIR projects may be obtained on each agency's SBIR website or by calling the federal agencies directly. Contact SSTI at 614/ 901-1690 if you need an agency's URL or phone number.Return to the top of this page
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