It has been five long, dark months for the nation’s small innovation-focused businesses and the regional innovation systems that rely on them for their strongest startups and future leaders, but a ray of light appeared Wednesday afternoon as a compromise was announced on the stalled reauthorization of the federal SBIR/STTR programs. And, if passed as written, we won’t have to go through this again until September 2031, which shifts future debate until an off-election year.
SSTI understands the main sticking points for the various committee leaders have been the innovation community’s concerns about companies receiving multiple SBIR/STTR awards, how to define excessive numbers of awards for a single company, and what to do about those firms, known as “mills.” Concerns regarding foreign ownership or influence on the small business and cybersecurity risks were resolved more easily across chambers of Congress and political parties.
New to the SBIR program is authorization allowing the creation of a Strategic Breakthrough award, or series of awards, allowing matching (private or non-SBIR governmental) funding up to $30 million per company to accelerate important or promising technological innovations. The total performance period for strategic breakthroughs would be limited to 48 months. More details are sure to come on this new, “streamlined” innovation pathway.
To address the multiple award winners, the compromise reauthorization bill requires federal agencies to set limits on the maximum of proposals any single small business concern may submit in response to SBIR Phase I or Phase II solicitations. Limits may be set on a fiscal year basis, on a solicitation basis or by individual topic within a solicitation.
Recipient small businesses are allowed to use up to $6,500 per Phase I project and $50,000 per Phase II award to acquire outside technical assistance for commercialization by a vendor of the company’s choice. I-Corps program participation is an explicitly eligible vendor.
The Small Business Technology Council, one of the most active proponents that has been fighting for the SBIR program’s continuance, has published the 40-page compromise language here; SSTI appreciates such timely access to the compromise bill to allow preparation of this brief article.