SSTI Digest
Correction
The September 3, 1999 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest contained some errors in the SBIR tables. The correct information is below. Revised tables are available for review on our website at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/090399t.htm
In the Department of Education's SBIR Phase II awards, the totals for Michigan and Minnesota were inadvertently switched. There were no Phase II proposals received nor awards made to Michigan firms this year. Minnesota firms submitted two proposals, both of which were selected for Phase II funding.
Commerce Responds to Sensenbrenner on ATP
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary William Daley has labeled as Amisleading@ a press release issued by the House Science Committee regarding the proposal review and selection criteria of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). [See August 27, 1999 issue of SSTI Weekly Digest.] In the release, Rep. Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of the Committee, questioned the program's commitment to ensuring federal grants were not displacing private capital.
The Department of Commerce disputes that criticism.
"With respect to ensuring that project applicants adequately demonstrate the need for Federal funding, the ATP requires applicants to provide convincing assurances at several stages in the review process,@ said Daley in a letter to Rep. Sensenbrenner. AATP rejects proposals that fail to make a convincing argument that the work could not be entirely funded by industry."
Kentucky Completes S&T Strategic Plan
The Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) has released Kentucky's Science and Technology Strategy, a plan outlining ten specific recommendations in four strategic areas to guide the Commonwealth's future R&D investments. If implemented, the recommendations are expected to have significant impact in just a few years.
The four key strategic areas include enterprise development, manufacturing modernization, technological infrastructure, and people. The recommendations and their estimated annual costs are listed below. Most will require passage of new legislation by the Kentucky General Assembly in their next session.
The recommendations are:
NASA SBIR Phase II Awards Posted
NASA has announced the selection of 103 R&D projects to share approximately $62 million as Phase II recipients under the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The 103 awards were chosen from 319 proposals submitted by promising NASA 1998 SBIR Phase I recipients.
Ninety firms in 27 states won the 103 Phase II awards. Each project may receive up to $600,000 over two years to support their Phase II efforts.
The accompanying table presents the distribution by state of awards to proposals, the conversion percentage, and the number of firms selected. More detailed information on NASA's selections may be found on the NASA SBIR website: http://sbir.hq.nasa.gov/.
Dept of Education Announces 1999 SBIR Winners
The U.S. Department of Education's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program has announced approximately $3.2 million has been awarded through the 1999 SBIR solicitation. The agency funded 40 Phase I projects, totaling nearly $2 million, from 208 proposals received from companies across 40 states. An additional $1.2 million was awarded to ten Phase II projects selected from a pool of 34 proposals. The accompanying table presents the distribution of proposals and awards by state. No proposals were received from firms in those ten states omitted from the table.
More information on Education's 1999 SBIR awards, including research topics and specific information for each awardee, may be found at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/SBIR/
House Eliminates Funding for ATP
Before Congress left for its August break, the House voted 217-210 to pass the Commerce-State-Justice Appropriation Bill. Among other items, the Bill (H.R. 2670) eliminates all funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). With this zeroing-out of funding for ATP, NIST’s total appropriation would be $436.7 million, $300.3 million below the request of $735.0 million, and $210.5 million below FY1999 funding of $647.2 million.
The House Appropriations Committee report submitted with the bill says that after many years in existence, ATP has not produced a body of evidence to overcome fundamental questions about whether the program should exist in the first place. Given the tremendous financial constraints under which the Committee is operating, the Committee concludes that funding would be better spent on other higher priority programs and recommends that the ATP program be terminated.
Missouri Launches $20 Million State Seed Capital Program
This year’s second attempt to pass legislation establishing a state-funded seed capital program in Missouri was successful during the waning hours of the 1999 session of the Missouri General Assembly. SB 518, the Missouri New Enterprise Creation Act, authorizes the creation of up to four seed capital funds at the state’s innovation centers to support new technology-based companies in the state. Funding for the program will be generated through $20 million in tax credits, with a maximum limit of $5 million in credits each year.
The legislation calls for a state seed capital and commercialization strategy to be developed and approved by a yet-to-be-established Missouri Seed Capital Investment Board prior to the creation of the seed capital funds. One fund is exempted from this provision and will be started immediately to assist any of the up to 7,000 Missourians to be laid off by the Boeing Corporation over the next two years.
1999 NASA STTR Selections Announced
NASA has named 20 companies from 13 states as recipients of the agency’s 1999 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Phase I solicitation. NASA received 82 proposals from 59 companies in this year’s competition.
Each selected project will receive a fixed-price, one-year contract with NASA for up to $100,000. Successful Phase I recipients may compete for two-year Phase II contracts of up to $500,000 next year.
All STTR awards involve partnerships between the selected companies and research institutions. While the small business is the recipient of the award, a minimum of 30 percent of the research must be completed at the research institution, and the small business must perform at least 40 percent.
Federal Manufacturing Task Force Created
Vice President Gore has announced the creation of an interagency task force to recommend ways to strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector for the 21st century. Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, will lead the group, charged with presenting specific recommendations on how government policies and programs can preserve and enhance American manufacturing.
The work of the Manufacturing Task Force is to be completed by early next year, providing time to incorporate any recommendations for changes into the Administration’s FY 2001 budget request. Other federal agencies serving on the task force were not identified in the Vice President’s announcement.
NSTC Seeks Input for Reform of Federal S&T Policy
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Technology has called for issue papers to identify top priorities and outline ideas for reforming federal support of science and technology. The agency is seeking papers as a contribution to the development of a long-term action plan for improving federal policies, regulations, and programs to foster science and technology innovation.
While numerous reviews and articles have been written recently about the innovation process, the NSTC Committee on Technology believes this call for papers is the first attempt to develop a specific plan for reforming federal support of innovation and establishing national priorities for action.
Papers are to be no more than five pages and may address four specific interest areas identified in the request. NSTC would like to see papers concerning federal policy and/or regulations that:
Michigan Commits $1 Billion to Life Sciences R&D & Biotechnology Commercialization
With a $50 million appropriation in FY 2000, the State of Michigan has made the first installment toward spending $1 billion over the next 20 years for life sciences research, development, and commercialization. The funding is derived from Michigan's tobacco settlement. Other public and private sources are expected to match much of the state's investment over the two decades.
In late July, Governor John Engler signed a bill funding a "life sciences corridor," an effort to make four Michigan research institutions -- the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and the Van Andel Institute -- among the nation's most important for biotechnology applications.
The annual allotment will be portioned out to three program areas:
President Calls for Biobased Products, Bioenergy Strategy
President Clinton has issued an Executive Order to develop and promote biobased products and bioenergy as economically viable alternatives to fossil fuel-based production and energy generation. The order calls for the development of a national strategy that includes research, development, and private sector incentives to stimulate the creation and early adoption of technologies needed to make biobased products and bioenergy cost competitive.
The Executive Order specifically outlined the following three action items for the departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Treasury, and the EPA: