[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30951-30952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12312]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


SBIR/STTR Phase I to Phase II Transition Benchmarks

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Notice for Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I 
to Phase II Transition Benchmarks; Amended.

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SUMMARY: The Small Business Administration (SBA) is soliciting comments 
on proposed amendments to the SBIR/STTR Phase I to Phase II transition 
rate benchmark Table, which was originally published in the Federal 
Register on October 16, 2012. The Table will be amended to change the 
transition benchmark rate for the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT) from the current rate of 0.45 to 0.25, and to change the length 
of the time period used to calculate the transition rate for the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Education 
(ED) from the current length of 10 years to 5 years.

DATES: Effective Date: The amended rate is effective July 22, 2013.
    Comment Date: Comments must be received on or before July 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Edsel Brown, Jr., Assistant 
Director, Office of Innovation, Small Business Administration, 409 
Third Street SW., Washington, DC 20416; or email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edsel Brown, Jr., Assistant Director, 
Office of Innovation at the address listed above, or telephone (202) 
205-6450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4(a)(3)(iii) of the SBIR Policy 
Directive (77 FR 46806) and the STTR Policy Directive (77 FR 46855) 
require each agency to establish an SBA-approved Phase I-Phase II 
Transition Rate benchmark for the minimum required number of Phase II 
awards the applicant must have received relative to a given number of 
Phase I awards during a specified period. Section 5165 of the SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization Act of 2011, requires SBA to publish the approved 
benchmarks and any subsequent changes to the benchmarks in the Federal 
Register and solicit comments from the public at least 60 days before 
the benchmarks can take effect. As a result, on October 16, 2012, at 77 
FR 63410, SBA published the required notice in the Federal Register 
announcing that the Agency had approved the benchmarks for the 11 SBIR/
STTR participating agencies and requested comments on those benchmarks. 
The benchmarks, including the required transition rates and the time 
period used to calculate the rates, were subsequently published on 
www.sbir.gov.
    The approved and published transition benchmark rate for DOT is 
currently 0.45 and DOT uses a five year period for the benchmark 
calculation. DOT is revising its benchmark rate from 0.45 to 0.25. 
After review of the transition rates, DOT concludes that a benchmark 
rate of 0.25 is more appropriate for its SBIR program than the 
benchmark rate of 0.45. DOT is interested in providing small businesses 
with an ample opportunity to participate in its SBIR program and 
considers the lower rate to be more consistent with the innovative and 
exploratory nature of SBIR Phase I research. DOT is not changing the 
time period used for this benchmark.
    The approved and published time period used by EPA and ED for this 
benchmark calculation is currently 10 years. EPA and ED have concluded 
that

[[Page 30952]]

the 5 year period is appropriate and that the use of a uniform period 
across all agencies would make the requirement less confusing and 
burdensome on potential applicants.
    The amended Table will read as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Benchmark    Length of
                    Agency                      rate (Phase     period
                                                II/Phase I)    (years)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
USDA..........................................         0.25            5
DOC (NIST)....................................         0.25            5
DOC (NOAA)....................................         0.25            5
NASA..........................................         0.25            5
DHS...........................................         0.25            5
DOE...........................................         0.25            5
EPA...........................................         0.25            5
DoD...........................................         0.25            5
NSF...........................................         0.25            5
DOT...........................................         0.25            5
ED............................................         0.25            5
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    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 638(9).

Pravina Raghavan,
Director, Office of Innovation and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2013-12312 Filed 5-22-13; 8:45 am]
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