SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH PROGRAMS: Challenges Remain in Meeting Spending and Reporting Requirements
Abstract
Federal agencies have awarded more than 156,000 contracts and grants, totaling nearly $40 billion through the SBIR and STTR programs to small businesses to develop and commercialize innovative technologies. The Small Business Act requires agencies with extramural R and D obligations that meet certain thresholds for participation--$100 million for SBIR and $1 billion for STTR--to spend a percentage of these funds on the programs. The agencies are to report on their activities to SBA and, in turn, SBA is to report to Congress. The 2011 reauthorization of the programs mandated GAO to review compliance with spending and reporting requirements, as well as other program aspects. This report examines, for fiscal year 2013, (1) the extent to which agencies complied with spending requirements, (2) the extent to which agencies and SBA complied with certain reporting requirements, (3) the potential effects of basing spending requirements on total R and D budgets, and (4) what is known about the amounts spent on administering the programs. GAO reviewed agency spending data and required reports for fiscal year 2013 and interviewed program officials from SBA and the participating agencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1173926
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office