History
The program was established with the passing of the Small Business Innovation Development Act in 1982 to award federal research grants to small businesses. According to Rep. Sam Graves, (R-MO) the Chairman of the House Small Business Committee of the 112th Congress, the program had three main objectives
- to spur technological innovation in the small business sector
- to meet the research and development needs of the federal government
- to commercialize federally funded investments.
The program must be periodically reauthorized by the United States Congress, but reauthorization is generally included in each new budget. The latest authorization extends the program by continuing resolution until November 18, 2011.
The SBIR program was created to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy ... one business at a time. In the words of program founder Roland Tibbetts: "to provide funding for some of the best early-stage innovation ideas -- ideas that, however promising, are still too high risk for private investors, including venture capital firms." For the purposes of the SBIR program, the term "small business" is defined as a for-profit business with fewer than 500 employees, owned by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States of America.
Read more about this topic: Small Business Innovation Research
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