Summary: As a nation competing in a global economy, the United States depends heavily on innovation through research and development (R&D). Because small business is a leading source of significant innovation, Congress established the Small Business Innovation Research program in 1982. Funding for the program, which was reauthorized in 1992, totaled about $1 billion in fiscal year 1997. This report discusses the following aspects of the program: (1) agencies' adherence to statutory funding requirements, (2) agencies' audits of external R&D budgets, (3) the effect of the application review process and funding cycles on award recipients, (4) the extent of companies' project activity after receiving program funding and agencies' techniques to foster commercialization, (5) the number of multiple-award recipients and the extent of their project-related activity after receiving program funding, (6) the occurrence of funding for single-proposal awards, (7) participation by women-owned businesses and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, (8) the program's promotion of the critical technologies, (9) the extent to which foreign firms benefit from the results of the program, and (10) the geographical distribution of program awards. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Federal Research: Observations on the Small Business Innovation Research Program, by Susan D. Kladiva, Associate Director for Energy, Resources, and Science Issues, before the Subcommittee on Government Programs and Oversight, House Committee on Small Business. GAO/T-RCED-98-170, Apr. 22 (11 pages).
