1.This Act may be cited as the
Commercializing Small Business
Research and Development Act
.
2.Focus on
commercializationSection 9(a)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following: It is further the policy of Congress that the programs
established in this section should focus on promoting research and development
of projects governed by commercial business plans, which have significant
potential to produce products or services for the marketplace or for
acquisition by Federal agencies.
.
3.Inclusion of
energy-related research topics and rare disease-related research topics as
deserving special consideration
as SBIR research
topicsSection 9(g)(3) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)) is amended—
(1)in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A) by inserting after critical
technologies
the following: or pressing research
priorities
;
(2)at the end of subparagraph (A) by striking
or
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(C)the National Academy of Sciences, in the
final report issued by the America’s Energy Future: Technology
Opportunities, Risks, and Tradeoffs
project, and in subsequent reports
issued by the National Academy of Sciences on sustainability, energy, and
alternative fuels;
(D)the National
Institutes of Health, in the annual report on the rare diseases research
activities of the National Institutes of Health for fiscal year 2005, and in
subsequent reports issued by the National Institutes of Health on rare diseases
research activities; or
(E)the National Academy of Sciences, in the
final report issued by the ‘Transit Research and Development: Federal Role in
the National Program’ project and the ‘Transportation Research, Development and
Technology Strategic Plan (2006–2010)’ issued by the United States Department
of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration, and in
subsequent reports issued by the National Academy of Sciences and United States
Department of Transportation on transportation and
infrastructure;
.
4.Nanotechnology-related
research topics
(a)Section 9(g)(3) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended, is further amended—
(1)at the end of
subparagraph (D) by striking or
;
(2)at the end of
subparagraph (E) by adding or
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(F)the national nanotechnology strategic plan
required under section 2(c)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and
Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subsequent reports issued by the
National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, focusing on
areas of nanotechnology identified in such
plan;
.
(b)Section
9(o)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(3)) is amended—
(1)at the end of
subparagraph (A) by striking or
;
(2)at the end of
subparagraph (B) by adding or
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(C)by the national nanotechnology strategic
plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research
and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subsequent reports issued by
the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, focusing
on areas of nanotechnology identified in such
plan;
.
5.Clarifying the
definition of Phase Three
Section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 638(e)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph (4)(C) in the matter preceding
clause (i) by inserting after a third phase
the following:
, which shall consist of work that derives from, extends, or logically
concludes efforts performed under prior SBIR funding agreements (which may be
referred to as Phase III
)
;
(2)in paragraph (8)
by striking and
at the end;
(3)in paragraph (9)
by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
;
and
(4)by adding at the
end the following:
(10)the term commercialization
means the process of developing marketable products or services and producing
and delivering products or services for sale (whether by the originating party
or by others) to government or commercial
markets.
.
6.Section 9 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by striking subsection (h) and
inserting the following:
(h)
(1)In addition to the requirements of subsection (f), each
Federal agency that is required by this section to have an SBIR program and
that awards annually $5,000,000,000 or more in procurement contracts shall,
effective for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish
annual goals for commercialization of projects funded by SBIR awards.
(2)The goals required by paragraph (1) shall include specific
goals for each of the following:
(A)The percentage of
SBIR projects that receive funding for the third phase (as defined in
subsection (e)(4)(C)).
(B)The percentage of
SBIR projects that are successfully integrated into a program of record.
(C)The amount of
Federal dollars received by SBIR projects through Federal contracts, not
including dollars received through the SBIR program.
(3)For each fiscal year for which goals are required by
paragraph (1), the agency shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate—
(A)not later than 60
days after the beginning of the fiscal year, the goals; and
(B)not later than 90
days after the end of the fiscal year, data on the extent to which the goals
were met and a description of the methodology used to collect such
data.
.
7.Commercialization
programsSection 9 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) as amended, is further amended, by adding at
the end the following:
(aa)Commercialization
programs
(1)Each agency required
by this section to conduct an SBIR program shall establish a commercialization
program that supports the progress of SBIR awardees to the third phase. The
commercialization program may include activities such as partnership databases,
partnership conferences, multiple second phases, mentoring between prime
contractors and SBIR awardees, multiple second phases with matching private
investment requirements, jumbo awards, SBIR helpdesks, and transition
assistance programs. The agency shall include in its annual report an analysis
of the various activities considered for inclusion in the commercialization
program and a statement of the reasons why each activity considered was
included or not included, as the case may be.
(2)Funding for
commercialization programs
(A)From amounts made available to carry out this paragraph,
the Administrator may, on petition by agencies required by this section to
conduct an SBIR program, transfer funds to such agencies to support the
commercialization programs of such agencies.
(B)The
Administrator shall establish rules for making transfers under subparagraph
(A). The initial set of rules shall be promulgated not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this paragraph.
(C)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator to carry out this paragraph $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 and
each fiscal year thereafter.
(3)For payment of
expenses incurred to administer the commercialization programs described in
paragraphs (1) and (2), the head of an agency may use not more than an amount
equal to 1 percent of the funds set aside for the agency’s Small Business
Innovation Research program. Such funds—
(A)shall not be
subject to the limitations on the use of funds in subsection (f)(2); and
(B)shall not be used
for the purpose of funding costs associated with salaries and expenses of
employees of the Federal
Government.
.