An assessment of the US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program: A study of project failure

In 2000 and 2012, the US Congress charged the National Research Council (NRC) to study how the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program had stimulated technological innovation and used small businesses to meet Federal research and development needs and to recommend program improvements. Using project data collected by the NRC, we suggest that an important assessment metric not previously considered by the NRC in its reports to Congress relates to the failure rate of funded Phase II research projects. We identify a number of covariates associated with project failure, and we recommend that program managers might decrease the likelihood of project failure if funded firms can be given relevant information about how to contact angel investors, venture capitalists, private investors, and the like, and how to present a proposal for additional research investment dollars. Our findings should have a direct benefit to other countries that have implemented SBIR-like programs.

Automated summary

This study suggests that providing funded firms with relevant information about contacting investors and presenting research investment proposals can reduce the failure rate of Phase II research projects, benefiting other countries that have similar programs.