Data and Metrics for the DOD SBIR and STTR Programs

In response to a congressional mandate, a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is conducting a review of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the Department of Defense (DOD). These programs, created in 1982 and 1992, respectively, and operated within the DOD and a number of other agencies within the federal government, encourage the participation by small business concerns in the federal research and development and procurement processes through competitively based awards.

As part of its review of the DOD's SBIR/STTR programs, and in response to a request by the DOD, the present study committee held a workshop on December 7-8, 2023, entitled "Data and Metrics for the DOD SBIR and STTR Programs." The workshop was convened to facilitate the DOD's development of recurring, quantifiable metrics for measuring the ability of the SBIR and STTR programs to deliver products and services that meet the DOD's mission needs, while also informing the National Academies committee's overall study of the programs at the DOD. This proceedings of a workshop was prepared by a workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what was presented and discussed at the workshop.

Table of Contents

Front Matter Introduction 1 National Security Considerations and Entrepreneurship 2 Using SBIR and STTR to Achieve DOD Missions and Goals 3 Perspectives on Conventional Innovation and Commercialization Metrics 4 New Data and New Metrics for Evaluating Impact 5 Perspectives from the Small Business Community 6 Reflections on the Workshop Appendix: Public Meeting Agenda