Small Business/SBIR

SBIR Phase II Proposal Selection

In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, NASA is required to demonstrate, among other attributes, the contribution of its programs to the nation’s economic well being. Consistent with GPRA, NASA’s 1998 Strategic Plan includes commercial relevancy of NASA-funded technology as a primary mission goal. Under its Strategic Plan, NASA is also obliged to measure the commercial relevancy of its programs. As part of that measurement effort, NASA has designed and implemented a metrics system for quantifying commercial activity associated with its Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The primary purpose of NASA’s SBIR program is to meet NASA mission-related technology needs by tapping the capabilities of small, high technology firms, and thus contribute to the continued viability of the Nation’s small business sector. Although commercial application of NASA-funded SBIR technology is therefore a secondary objective and an added benefit, it is nonetheless an imperative under GPRA and NASA’s Strategic Plan.

Accordingly, NASA’s SBIR solicitation emphasizes the importance of commercial potential of NASA-funded SBIR technology. In particular, the solicitation informs offerors that Phase II proposals of high technical merit will be further evaluated according to specific commercial criteria. To satisfy these criteria, the offeror must demonstrate such attributes as commercial intent, past success in bringing SBIR technology to commercial application, ability to bring the necessary elements of a commercial venture to bear, and credibility thereof.

Consistent with these criteria, NASA’s SBIR commercial survey provides a mechanism to identify commercial applications of NASA SBIR technology and various measures of associated commercial activity. The survey is designed to reveal commercial intent in those cases where the firm has taken significant steps toward a commercial venture at least partially based on NASA SBIR technology, but a resulting product or service has not yet been, or perhaps never will be, sold. Therefore, the offeror’s submitting a completed survey form to NASA reflecting efforts to commercially apply technology developed under NASA Phase II awards provides the offeror an excellent opportunity to unequivocally demonstrate commercial intent and commercial capability with respect to NASA SBIR technology. Specifically, submission of the survey form enables NASA to assign credit for commercial information that might not otherwise be included in less specific responses typically provided in proposals to address the commercial potential evaluation factor. The survey form also makes the offeror’s commercial applications of technology developed under previous NASA SBIR awards eligible to be the subjects of articles in NASA’s Tech Brief’s monthly magazine at no cost to the offeror. Tech Brief’s has a readership of over a half million individuals per month.

The universe of firms having received NASA Phase II awards over the 1983-94 period numbers about 725 companies. Currently, about 72 percent of the firms have responded, 10 percent have not responded, and NASA has been unable to locate the 18 percent balance of that universe. Accordingly, of those firms that NASA was able to locate, about 87 percent have responded and represent over 78 percent of the 1,444 Phase II’s awarded by NASA over the 1983-94 period.

The results show that more than one in four NASA Phase II awards have produced technology that has been incorporated in commercial products and services which have generated revenues in non-government markets. The broad spectrum of the more than 450 associated commercial products and services, and the industrial sectors they represent, demonstrates the pervasive effect of NASA’s SBIR program in the national economy. The survey also shows that the degree of strategic alliance partnering among SBIR and non-SBIR firms regarding ventures producing these products and services is significant. Survey results demonstrate significant commercial intent regarding application of NASA SBIR technology in non-government markets. Specifically, for more than one in three Phase II’s awarded by NASA over the 1983-94 period, the technology was either incorporated in products and services generating revenues in non-government markets or significant action was taken to develop a commercial venture at least partially based on the technology.

Among other findings, the survey shows that about 90 percent of all firms winning NASA Phase II awards have received a total of three or fewer NASA Phase II awards. Over the past five years, new entrant firms into the universe of NASA Phase II firms represent about 46 percent of all firms having received NASA Phase II awards for that period. The results thus demonstrate significant opportunity for newcomer firms to enter the NASA SBIR program.