To improve commercialization activities in the SBIR and STTR programs, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
This bill reforms the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to help small businesses turn federally-funded research into commercial products. It requires peer reviewers with commercialization expertise, shortens Phase I award timelines from one year to 180 days, and expands phase flexibility to all federal agencies. Each agency must designate a Technology Commercialization Official. Technical assistance funding increases to ,500 for Phase I and ,000 for Phase II, with new flexibility for small businesses to hire staff or choose their own vendors. The bill also creates an annual commercialization impact assessment tracking revenue, patents, and jobs from SBIR/STTR research, and establishes a prioritized patent examination program at USPTO for award recipients.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Reforms the SBIR and STTR programs to improve commercialization of federally-funded small business research by adding commercialization review criteria, expanding technical assistance funding, requiring Technology Commercialization Officials at each agency, creating commercialization impact assessments, and establishing prioritized patent examination for awardees.
Who Benefits
- Small businesses with SBIR/STTR awards
- Technology commercialization consultants and vendors
- Small Business Administration (expanded oversight role)
Who Bears Costs
- Federal agencies running SBIR/STTR programs (new official, reporting, assessment requirements)
- Federal budget (increased technical assistance funding)
Key Policy Areas
{'domain': 'Science & Technology', 'evidence': 'Reforms SBIR/STTR programs under the Small Business Act to improve technology commercialization, I-Corps participation, and Phase III transitions'}, {'domain': 'Small Business', 'evidence': 'All provisions target small business concerns receiving SBIR/STTR awards, expanding Phase I assistance to ,500 and Phase II to ,000 for technical and business services'}, {'domain': 'Government Operations', 'evidence': 'Requires each participating federal agency to designate a Technology Commercialization Official and submit annual reports to SBA and Congress'}
Primary Purpose
Reforms the SBIR and STTR programs to improve commercialization of federally-funded small business research by adding commercialization review criteria, expanding technical assistance funding, requiring Technology Commercialization Officials at each agency, creating commercialization impact assessments, and establishing prioritized patent examination for awardees.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Shifts SBIR/STTR programs from purely scientific merit-based evaluation toward commercialization outcomes, using institutional reforms (TCOs, impact assessments) and expanded technical assistance to close the valley of death between research and market"
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Small businesses seeking to commercialize SBIR/STTR research, Small businesses with SBIR/STTR awards, Small businesses with SBIR/STTR awards seeking patents
Federal agencies with SBIR/STTR programs, I-Corps program (NSF and participating agencies), Small Business Administration
Positive-direction: I-Corps program (NSF and participating agencies)
Negative-direction: Federal agencies with SBIR/STTR programs, Small Business Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office
Technology commercialization consultants and service providers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "nih"
- → National Institutes of Health
- "sba"
- → Small Business Administration
- "sba"
- → SBA Administrator
- "sba"
- → SBA Administrator
- "uspto"
- → Director of USPTO
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology