khayo@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Eric Behr) (05/26/88)
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NASA SEEKS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH PROPOSALS FROM SMALL BUSINESS
May 23, 1988
RELEASE: 88-67
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is looking
for a lot of good ideas -- from America's small businesses.
NASA this week issued its sixth annual Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) program solicitation. SBIR is a
competitive program that is expected to result in more than 200
Phase I contracts, totalling about $10 million, to small, high-
technology businesses this year. The awards are expected to be
announced in November.
The 1988 solicitation, now being mailed to more than 16,000
individuals and small firms on NASA's mailing list, is available
from NASA Headquarters and nine of the agency's field
installations. The solicitation contains instructions on how to
prepare proposals for Phase I contracts and lists 15 technical
topics containing 150 subtopics in which proposals are invited.
Each subtopic describes a research problem or desirable
innovation which could assist NASA in its mission.
Phase I contracts have maximum values of $50,000 each and 6-
months durations to investigate the feasibility of innovative
ideas proposed in response to the solicitation. Next year,
approximately half of the Phase I projects selected this year --
those showing the most promise and value to NASA at completion --
will be selected competitively for follow-on Phase II contracts,
which may have up to $500,000 values and 2-year durations for
further development of the concepts.
Following the SBIR Phase II research and development work,
the agency may fund additional Phase III activities for further
development or production of the innovation outside of the SBIR
program if it turns out that NASA has a need for it. In
addition, small businesses are encouraged to plan for and seek
private funding support to commercialize their innovations, since
commercialization of innovations from federally funded R&D is an
important goal of the legislation authorizing the SBIR program.
NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, which provides overall
management of the program, views SBIR as a potential way for
small firms to become active participants in the commercial
development of space. The 1988 solicitation includes several
subtopics directly related to commercial space applications.
Depending on the response to this solicitation and on the
possible development of new ways to assist small business in
developing the commercial potential of their projects, a special
solicitation on commercial space opportunities may be issued at a
later date.
NASA's 1988 SBIR funding of $40 million has been used to
award 204 Phase I contracts selected from the 1987 program
solicitation and to support 170 Phase II contracts resulting from
the previous two annual programs.
The program's funding each year is one and one-quarter
percent of the agency's total research and development budget.
Thus, any increase in research and development appropriations for
major programs, such as the U.S. Space Station, have a
significant impact on SBIR funds for small businesses in support
of the agency's mission.
NASA is one of 11 Federal departments and agencies
participating in the SBIR program, created by The Small Business
Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-219). It is a mechanism
for stimulating technological development in the U.S. to benefit
the economy and improve U.S. competitiveness by increasing the
participation of small high-technology businesses in Federal R&D
activities.
Since 1983, NASA has spent or committed $174 million for 755
Phase I and 299 Phase II contracts placed with 446 small
businesses in 40 states, territories and the District of
Columbia.
SBIR contracts are placed and projects are managed by the
following NASA field installations: Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, Calif.; Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md.; Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, Calif.; Johnson Space Center,
Houston; Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Langley Research Center,
Hampton, Va.; Lewis Research Center, Cleveland; Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; and National Space Technology
Laboratories, Miss.
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Eric