The first section of this appendix describes the methodology used to survey Phase II SBIR awards (or contracts.) The second part presents the results—first of the awards and then of the firm survey. (Appendix C presents the Phase I survey.)
The survey of SBIR Phase II awards was administered in 2005, and included awards made through 2001. This allowed most of the Phase II awarded projects (nominally two years) to be completed, and provided some time for commercialization. The selection of the end date of 2001 was consistent with a GAO study, which in 1991, surveyed awards made through 1987.
A start date of 1992 was selected. The year 1992 for the earliest Phase II project was considered a realistic starting date for the coverage, allowing inclusion of the same (1992) projects as the DoD 1996 survey, and of the 1992, and 1993 projects surveyed in 1998 for SBA. This adds to the longitudinal capacities of the study. The 10 years of Phase II coverage spanned the period of increased funding set-asides and the impact of the 1992 reauthorization. This time frame allowed for extended periods of commercialization and for a robust spectrum of economic conditions. Establishing 1992 as the cut-off date for starting the survey helped to avoid the problem that older awards suffer from several problems, including meager early data collection as well as potentially irredeemable data loss; the fact that some firms and PIs are no longer in place; and fading memories.
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Appendix B
NRC Phase II and Firm Surveys
The first section of this appendix describes the methodology used to survey
Phase II SBIR awards (or contracts.) The second part presents the results—first
of the awards and then of the firm survey. (Appendix C presents the Phase I
survey.)
ABOUT THE SURVEYS
Starting Date and Coverage
The survey of SBIR Phase II awards was administered in 2005, and included
awards made through 2001. This allowed most of the Phase II awarded projects
(nominally two years) to be completed, and provided some time for commercial -
ization. The selection of the end date of 2001 was consistent with a GAO study,
which in 1991, surveyed awards made through 1987.
A start date of 1992 was selected. The year 1992 for the earliest Phase II
project was considered a realistic starting date for the coverage, allowing inclu -
sion of the same (1992) projects as the DoD 1996 survey, and of the 1992, and
1993 projects surveyed in 1998 for SBA. This adds to the longitudinal capacities
of the study. The 10 years of Phase II coverage spanned the period of increased
funding set-asides and the impact of the 1992 reauthorization. This time frame
allowed for extended periods of commercialization and for a robust spectrum of
economic conditions. Establishing 1992 as the cut-off date for starting the survey
helped to avoid the problem that older awards suffer from several problems, in -
cluding meager early data collection as well as potentially irredeemable data loss;
the fact that some firms and PIs are no longer in place; and fading memories.
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9
APPENDIX B
Award Numbers
While adding the annual awards numbers of the five agencies would seem
to define the larger sample, the process was more complicated. Agency reports
usually involve some estimating and anticipation of successful negotiation of
selected proposals. Agencies rarely correct reports after the fact. Setting limita -
tions on the number of projects to be surveyed from each firm required knowing
how many awards each firm had received from all five agencies. Thus, the first
step was to obtain all of the award databases from each agency and combine
them into a single database. Defining the database was further complicated by
variations in firm identification, location, phone numbers, and points of contact
within individual agency databases. Ultimately, we determined that 4,085 firms
had been awarded 11,214 Phase II awards (an average of 2.7 Phase II awards
per firm) by the five agencies during the 1992–2001 time frame. Using the most
recent awards, the firm information was updated to the most current contact
information for each firm.
Sampling Approaches and Issues
The Phase II survey used an array of sampling techniques, to ensure adequate
coverage of projects to address a wide range both of outcomes and potential ex-
planatory variables, and also to address the problem of skew. That is, a relatively
small percentage of funded projects typically account for a large percentage of
commercial impact in the field of advanced, high-risk technologies.
• Random samples. After integrating the 11,214 awards into a single
database, a random sample of approximately 20 percent was sampled. Then a
random sample of 20 percent was ensured for each year; e.g., 20 percent of the
1992 awards, of the 1993 awards, etc. Verifying the total sample one year at a
time allowed improved ability to adapt to changes in the program over time, as
otherwise the increased number of awards made in recent years might dominate
the sample.
• Random sample by agency. Surveyed awards were grouped by agency;
additional respondents were randomly selected as required to ensure that at least
20 percent of each agency’s awards were included in the sample.
• Firm surveys. After the random selection, 100 percent of the Phase IIs
that went to firms with only one or two awards were polled. These are the hardest
firms to find for older awards. Address information is highly perishable, particu -
larly for earlier award years. For firms that had more than two awards, 20 percent
were selected, but no less than two.
• Top performers. The problem of skew was dealt with by ensuring that
all Phase IIs known to meet a specific commercialization threshold (total of $10
million in the sum of sales plus additional investment) were surveyed (derived
from the DoD commercialization database). Since 56 percent of all awards were
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0 APPENDIX B
in the random and firm samples described above, only 95 Phase IIs were added
in this fashion.
• Coding. The project database tracks the survey sample, which corre-
sponds with each response. For example, it is possible for a randomly sampled
project from a firm that had only two awards to be a top performer. Thus, the re-
sponse could be analyzed as a random sample for the program, a random sample
for the awarding agency, a top performer, and as part of the sample of single or
double winners. In addition, the database allows examination of the responses for
the array of potential explanatory or demographic variables.
• Total number of surveys. The approach described above generated
a sample of 6,410 projects, and 4,085 firm surveys—an average of 1.6 award
surveys per firm. Each firm receiving at least one project survey also received a
firm survey. Although this approach sampled more than 57 percent of the awards,
multiple-award winners, on average, were asked to respond to surveys covering
about 20 percent of their projects.
Administration of the Survey
The questionnaire drew extensively from the one used in the 1999 National
Research Council assessment of SBIR at the Department of Defense, The Small
Business Innoation Research Program: An Assessment of the Department of
Defense Fast Track Initiatie.1 That questionnaire in turn built upon the ques-
tionnaire for the 1991 GAO SBIR study. Twenty-four of the 29 questions on the
earlier NRC study were incorporated. The researchers added 24 new questions
to attempt to understand both commercial and noncommercial aspects, including
knowledge base impacts, of SBIR, and to gain insight into impacts of program
management. Potential questions were discussed with each agency, and their
input was considered. In determining questions that should be in the survey, the
research team also considered which issues and questions were best examined
in the case studies and other research methodologies. Many of the resultant 33
Phase II Award survey questions and 15 Firm Survey questions had multiple
parts.
The surveys were administered online, using a Web server. The formatting,
encoding, and administration of the survey was subcontracted to BRTRC, Inc.,
of Fairfax, VA.
There are many advantages to online surveys (including cost, speed, and pos-
sibly response rates). Response rates become clear fairly quickly, and can rapidly
indicate needed follow up for nonrespondents. Hyperlinks provide amplifying
information, and built-in quality checks control the internal consistency of the
responses. Finally, online surveys allow dynamic branching of question sets,
1 National
Research Council, The Small Business Innoation Research Program: An Assessment of
the Department of Defense Fast Track Initiatie, Charles W. Wessner, ed., Washington, DC: National
Academy Press, 2000.
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APPENDIX B
with some respondents answering selected subsets of questions but not others,
depending on prior responses.
Prior to the survey, we recognized two significant advantages of a paper
survey over an online one. For every firm (and thus every award), the agencies
had provided a mailing address. Thus, surveys could be addressed to the firm
president or CEO at that address. That senior official could then forward the sur-
vey to the correct official within the firm for completion. For an online survey we
needed to know the email address of the correct official. Also, each firm needed
a password to protect its answers. We had an SBIR Point of Contact (POC) and
email address and password for every firm, which had submitted for a DoD SBIR
1999 survey. However, we had only limited email addresses and no passwords for
the remainder of the firms. For many, the email addresses that we did have were
those of Principal Investigators rather than an official of the firm. The decision
to use an online survey meant that the first step of survey distribution was an
outreach effort to establish contact with the firms.
Outreach by Mail
This outreach phase began with the establishing a NAS registration Web
site which allowed each firm to establish a POC, email address and password.
Next, the Study Director, Dr. Charles Wessner, sent a letter to those firms for
which email contacts were not available. Ultimately only 150 of the 2,080 2 firms
provided POC/email after receipt of this letter. Six hundred fifty of those letters
were returned by the post office as invalid addresses. Each returned letter required
thorough research by calling the agency provided phone number for the firm, then
using the Central Contractor Registration database, Business.com (powered by
Google) and Switchboard.com to try to find correct address information. When
an apparent match was found, the firm was called to verify that it was in fact the
firm, which had completed the SBIR. Two hundred thirty-seven of the 650 miss-
ing firms were so located. Another ten firms were located which had gone out of
business and had no POC.
Two months after the first mailing, a second letter from the Study Director
went to firms whose first letter had not been returned, but which had not yet
registered a POC. This letter also went to 176 firms, which had a POC email,
but no password, and to the 237 newly corrected addresses. The large number of
letters (277) from this second mailing that were returned by the postal service,
indicated that there were more bad addresses in the first mailing than indicated
by its returned mail. (If the initial letter was inadvertently delivered, it may have
been thrown away.) Of the 277 returned second letters, 58 firms were located
using the search methodology described above. These firms were asked on the
2The letter was also erroneously sent to an additional 43 firms that had received only STTR
awards.
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APPENDIX B
phone to go to the registration Web site to enter POC/email/password. A total of
93 firms provided POC/email/password on the registration site subsequent to the
second mailing. Three additional firms were identified as out of business.
The final mailing, a week before survey, was sent to those firms that had
not received either of the first two letters. It announced the study/survey and re -
quested support of the 1,888 CEOs for which we had assumed good POC/email
information from the DoD SBIR submission site. That letter asked the recipients
to provide new contact information at the DoD submission site if the firm infor-
mation had changed since their last submission. One hundred seventy-three of
these letters were returned. We were able to find new addresses for 53 of these,
and ask those firms to update their information. One hundred fifteen firms could
not be found and five more were identified as out of business.
The three mailings had demonstrated that at least 1,100 (27 percent) of the
mailing addresses were in error, 734 of which firms could not be found, and 18
were reported to be out of business.
Outreach by Email
We began Internet contact by emailing the 1,888 DoD Points of Contact
(POCs) to verify their email and give them opportunity to identify a new POC.
Four hundred ninety-four of those emails bounced. The next email went to 788
email addresses that we had received from agencies as PI emails. We asked that
the PI have the correct company POC identify themselves at the NAS Update
registration site. One hundred eighty-eight of these emails bounced. After more
detailed search of the list used by NIH to send out their survey, we identified 83
additional PIs and sent them the PI email discussed above. Email to the POCs
not on the DoD Submission site resulted in 110 more POC/email/Password being
registered on the NAS registration site.
We began the survey at the end of February with an email to 100 POCs as
a beta test and followed that with another email to 2,041 POCs (total of 2,141)
a week later.
Survey Responses
By August 5, 2005, five months after release of the survey, 1,239 firms had
begun and 1,149 firms had completed at least 14 of 15 questions on the firm sur-
vey. Project surveys were begun on 1,916 Phase II awards. Of the 4,085 firms that
received Phase II SBIR awards from DoD, NIH, NASA, NSF, or DoE from 1992
to 2001, an additional seven firms were identified as out of business (total of 25)
and no email addresses could be found for 893. For an additional 500 firms, the
best email addresses that were found were also undeliverable. These 1,418 firms
could not be contacted, thus had no opportunity to complete the surveys. Of these
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APPENDIX B
TABLE App-B-1 NRC Phase II Survey Responses by Agency, August 4, 2005
Awards Percent of Surveys as
Phase II with Good Sample Awards Answered Surveys as a Percent
Sample Email with Good Email Survey as of a Percent of Awards
Agency Size Addresses Addresses August 4, 2005 of Sample Contacted
DoD 3,055 2,191 72 920 30 42
NIH 1,680 1,127 67 496 30 44
NASA 779 534 69 181 23 34
NSF 457 336 74 162 35 48
DoE 439 335 76 157 36 47
Total 6,408 4,523 70 1,916 30 42
firms, 585 had mailing addresses known to be bad. The 1,418 firms that could not
be contacted were responsible for 1,885 of the individual awards in the sample.
Using the same methodology as the GAO had used in the 1992 report of their
1991 survey of SBIR, undeliverables and out-of-business firms were eliminated
prior to determining the response rate. Although 4,085 firms were surveyed,
1,418 firms were eliminated as described. This left 2,667 firms, of which 1,239
responded, representing a 46 percent response rate by firms,3 which could re-
spond. Similarly when the awards, which were won by firms in the undeliverable
category, were eliminated (6,408 minus 1,885), this left 4,523 projects, of which
1,916 responded, representing a 42 percent response rate. Table App-B-1 displays
by agency the number of Phase II awards in the sample, the number of those
awards, which by having good email addresses had the opportunity to respond,
and the number that responded.4 Percentages displayed are the percentage of
awards with good addresses, the percentage of the sample that responded, and the
responses as a percentage of awards with the opportunity to respond.
The NRC Methodology report had assumed a response rate of about 20
percent. Considering the length of the survey and its voluntary nature, the rate
achieved was relatively high and reflects both the interest of the participants in
the SBIR program and the extensive follow-up efforts. At the same time, the
possibility of response biases that could significantly affect the survey results
must be recognized. For example, it may be possible that some of the firms that
could not be found have been unsuccessful and folded. It may also be possible
that unsuccessful firms were less likely to respond to the survey.
3 Firm information and response percentages are not displayed in Table App-B-1, which displays
by agency, since many firms received awards from multiple agencies.
4The average firm size for awards, which responded, was 37 employees. Nonresponding awards
came from firms that averaged 38 employees. Since responding Phase IIs were more generally more
recent than nonresponding, and awards have gradually grown in size, the difference in average award
size ($655,525 for responding and $649,715 for nonresponding) seems minor.
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APPENDIX B
NRC Phase II Survey Results for DoD
NOTE: SURVEY RESPONSES APPEAR IN BOLD, AND EXPLANATORY
NOTES APPEAR IN TYPEWRITER FONT. FOR FURTHER DETAIL AND
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY RESULTS, SEE APPENDIX A.
Project Information 920 respondents answered the first question.
Since respondents are directed to skip certain questions based
on prior answers, the number that responded varies by question.
Also some respondents did not complete their surveys. 837 com-
pleted all applicable questions. For computation of averages, such
as average sales, the denominator used was 920, the number of
respondents who answered the first question. Where appropriate,
the basis for calculations is provided in red after the question.
PROPOSAL TITLE:
AGENCY: DoD
TOPIC NUMBER:
PHASE II CONTRACT/GRANT NUMBER:
Part I. Current status of the Project
1. What is the current status of the project funded by the referenced SBIR
award? Select the one best answer. Percentages are based on the 920
respondents who answered this question.
a. 5% Project has not yet completed Phase II. Go to question
b. 23% Efforts at this company have been discontinued. No sales or ad-
ditional funding resulted from this project. Go to question
c. 10% Efforts at this company have been discontinued. The project did
result in sales, licensing of technology, or additional funding. Go
to question
d. 27% Project is continuing post-Phase II technology development. Go
to question
e. 16% Commercialization is underway. Go to question
f. 20% Products/Processes/Services are in use by target population/cus -
tomer/consumers. Go to question
2. Did the reasons for discontinuing this project include any of the following?
PLEASE SELECT YES OR NO FOR EACH REASON AND NOTE THE ONE
PRIMARY REASON
300 projects were discontinued. The % below are the percent
of the discontinued projects that responded with the indicated
response.
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APPENDIX B
Primary
Yes No Reason
26% 74% 10%
a. Technical failure or difficulties
57% 43% 26%
b. Market demand too small
19% 81% 3%
c. Level of technical risk too high
56% 44% 20%
d. Not enough funding
32% 68% 7%
e. Company shifted priorities
12% 88% 2%
f. Principal investigator left
59% 41% 10%
g. Project goal was achieved (e.g., prototype delivered for federal
agency use)
4% 96% 2%
h. Licensed to another company
24% 76% 3%
i. Product, process, or service not competitive
20% 80% 3%
j. Inadequate sales capability
22% 78% 13%
k. Other (please specify): _____________________________
The next question to be answered depends on the answer to question . If c, go
to question . If b, skip to question .
Part II. Commercialization activities and planning.
Questions 3–7 concern actual sales to date resulting from the technology devel -
oped during this project. Sales includes all sales of a product, process, or service,
to federal or private sector customers resulting from the technology developed
during this Phase II project. A sale also includes licensing, the sale of technology
or rights, etc.
3. Has your company and/or licensee had any actual sales of products, pro -
cesses, services or other sales incorporating the technology developed during
this project? Select all that apply. This question was not answered
for those projects still in Phase II (5%) or for projects, which
were discontinued without sales or additional funding (23%).
The denominator for the percentages below is all projects that
answered the survey. Only 72% of all projects, which answered
the survey, could respond to this question.
a. 18% No sales to date, but sales are expected Skip to question .
b. 8% No sales to date nor are sales expected Skip to question .
c. 35% Sales of product(s)
d. 6% Sales of process(es)
e. 20% Sales of services(s)
f. 7% Other sales (e.g., rights to technology, licensing, etc.)
From the combination of responses 1b, 3a, and 3b, we can con-
clude that 31% had no sales and expect none, and that 18% had
no sales but expect sales.
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APPENDIX B
4. For your company and/or your licensee(s), when did the first sale occur, and
what is the approximate amount of total sales resulting from the technology
developed during this project? If multiple SBIR awards contributed to the
ultimate commercial outcome, report only the share of total sales appropriate
to this SBIR project. Enter the requested information for your company in
the first column and, if applicable and if known, for your licensee(s) in the
second column. Enter approximate dollars. If none, enter 0 (zero).
Your Company Licensee(s)
a. Year when first sale occurred.
41% reported a year of first sale. 63% of these first sales occurred in
2000 or later. 15% reported a licensee year of first sale. 64% of these
first sales occurred in 2000 or later.
b. Total Sales Dollars of Product (s) Process(es) $1,316,573 $102,005
or Service(s) to date. (Average of 920 survey respondents)
Although 399 reported a year of first sale, only 378 reported sales
>0. Their average sales were $3,204,358. Over half of the total sales
dollars were due to 7 projects, each of which had $30,000,000 or
more in sales. The highest reporting project had $99,000,000 in sales.
Similarly of the 142 projects that reported a year of first licensee
sale, only 34 reported actual licensee sales >0. Their reported aver-
age sales were $3,673,370. 37% of the total sales dollars was due to
2 projects, each of which had 15,000,000 or more licensee sales. The
highest reporting project had 20,000,000 in licensee sales.
$60,917 $33,750
c. Other Total Sales Dollars (e.g., Rights to
technology, Sale of spin-off company, etc.) to date.
(Average of 920 survey respondents)
Combining the responses for b and c, the average for each of the 920
projects that responded to the survey is thus sales of nearly $1.4 mil -
lion by the SBIR company and over $135,000 in sales by licensees.
Display this box for Q 4 & 5 if project commercialization is
known.
Your company reported sales information to DoD as a part of an SBIR proposal
or to NAS as a result of an earlier NAS request. This information may be useful
in answering the prior question or the next question. You reported as of (date):
DoD sales ($ amount), Other federal sales ($ amount), Export sales ($ amount),
Private-sector sales ($ amount), and other sales ($ amount).
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7
APPENDIX B
5. To date, approximately what percent of total sales from the technology de -
veloped during this project have gone to the following customers? If none
enter 0 (zero). Round percentages. Answers should add to about 00%.5 920
firms responded to this question as to what percent of their
sales went to each agency or sector.
21%
Domestic private sector
38%
Department of Defense (DoD)
12%
Prime contractors for DoD or NASA
1%
NASA
–%
Agency that awarded the Phase II
1%
Other federal agencies (Pull down)
1%
State or local governments
11%
Export Markets
16%
Other (Specify)_____________
The following questions identify the product, process, or service resulting from
the project supported by the referenced SBIR award, including its use in a fielded
federal system or a federal acquisition program.
6. Is a federal system or acquisition program using the technology from this
Phase II?
If yes, please provide the name of the federal system or acquisition program
that is using the technology. 12% reported use in a federal system or
acquisition program.
27% reported
7. Did a commercial product result from this Phase II project?
a commercial product.
8. If you have had no sales to date resulting from the technology developed
during this project, what year do you expect the first sales for your company
or its licensee? Only firms that had no sales but answered that
they expected sales got this question.
18% expected sales. The year of expected first sale is
82% of those expecting sales expected sales to occur before 2008
9. For your company and/or your licensee, what is the approximate amount
of total sales expected between now and the end of 2006 resulting from the
technology developed during this project? (If none, enter 0 [zero].) This
5 Pleasenote: If a NASA SBIR award, the prime contractors line will state “Prime contractors for
NASA.” The “Agency that awarded the Phase II” will only appear if it is not DoD or NASA. The
name of the actual awarding agency will appear.
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APPENDIX B
question was seen by those who already had sales and those
w/o sales who reported expecting sales; however, averages
are computed for all who took the survey since all could have
expected sales.
$900,280
a. Total sales dollars of product(s), process(es) or
services(s) expected between now and the end of 2006.
(Average of 920 projects)
$129,372
b. Other Total Sales Dollars (e.g., rights to technology,
sale of spin-off company, etc.) expected between now
and the end of 2006. (Average of 920 projects)
c. Basis of expected sales estimate. Select all that apply.
a. 18% Market research
b. 31% Ongoing negotiations
c. 33% Projection from current sales
d. 4% Consultant estimate
e. 31% Past experience
f. 34% Educated guess
10. How did you (or do you expect to) commercialize your SBIR award?
a. 3% No commercial product, process, or service was/is planned.
b. 32% As software
c. 60% As hardware (final product, component, or intermediate hardware
product)
d. 23% As process technology
e. 18% As new or improved service capability
f. 0% As a drug
g. 0% As a biologic
h. 15% As a research tool
i. 2% As educational materials
j. 10% Other, please explain ______________________________
11. Which of the following, if any, describes the type and status of marketing
activities by your company and/or your licensee for this project? Select
one for each marketing actiity. This question answered by 620
firms, which completed Phase II and have not discontinued
the project, w/o sales or additional funding.
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APPENDIX B
Ave = 2.5
Number of current employees who were hired as
48% report 0
a result of the technology developed during this
42% report 1-5
Phase II project.
5% report 6-20
2% report >20
Ave = 2.3
Number of current employees who were retained
44% report 0
as a result of the technology developed during
47% report 1-5
this Phase II project
5% report 6-20
2% report >20
17. The Principal Investigator for this Phase II Award was a (check all that
apply)
a. 4% Woman
b. 11% Minority
c. 86% Neither a woman or minority
18. Please give the number of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and/or scientific
publications for the technology developed as a result of this project. Enter
numbers. If none, enter 0 (zero). Results are for 816 respondents to
this question.
Number Applied For/ Number Received/
Submitted Published
836 398
Patents
71 62
Copyrights
211 176
Trademarks
1,028 990
Scientific Publications
Part IV. Other SBIR funding
19. How many SBIR awards did your company receive prior to the Phase I that
led to this Phase II?
a. Number of previous Phase I awards. Average of 22. 29% had no prior
Phase I and another 42% had 5 or less prior Phase I.
b. Number of previous Phase II awards. Average of 8. 46% had no prior
Phase II and another 36% had 5 or less prior Phase II.
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APPENDIX B
20. How many SBIR awards has your company received that are related to the
project/technology supported by this Phase II award?
a. Number of related Phase I awards. Average of two awards. 46% had
no prior related Phase I and another 48% had 5 or less prior related
Phase I.
b. Number of related Phase II awards. Average of one. 56.5% had no
prior related Phase II and another 42.1% had 5 or less prior related
Phase II.
Part V. Funding and other assistance
21. Prior to this SBIR Phase II award, did your company receive funds for
research or development of the technology in this project from any of the
following sources? Of 854 respondents.
a. 22% Prior SBIR Excluding the Phase I, which proceeded this
Phase II.
b. 12% Prior non-SBIR federal R&D
c. 2% Venture Capital
d. 8% Other private company
e. 6% Private investor
f. 27% Internal company investment (including borrowed money)
g. 2% State or local government
h. 1% College or University
i. 5% Other Specify _________
Commercialization of the results of an SBIR project normally requires additional
developmental funding. Questions 22 and 23 address additional funding. Ad -
ditional Developmental Funds include non-SBIR funds from federal or private
sector sources, or from your own company, used for further development and/or
commercialization of the technology developed during this Phase II project.
22. Have you received or invested any additional developmental funding in this
project?
a. 54% Yes Continue
b. 46% No Skip to question .
23. To date, what has been the total additional developmental funding for the
technology developed during this project? Any entries in the Reported
column are based on information previously reported by your firm to DoD
or NAS. They are provided to assist you in completing the Developmental
Funding column. Previously reported information did not include investment
by your company or personal investment. Please update this information to
include breaking out Priate inestment and Other inestment by subcat-
egory. Enter dollars proided by each of the listed sources. If none, enter 0
(zero). The dollars shown are determined by dividing the total
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APPENDIX B
funding in that category by the 920 respondents who started
the survey to determine an average funding. Only 462 of
these respondents reported any additional funding.
Source Reported Developmental Funding
$ 361,277
a. Non-SBIR federal funds $_ _, _ _ _, _ _ _
b. Private Investment $_ _, _ _ _, _ _ _
$169,313
(1) U.S. venture capital
$16,744
(2) Foreign investment
$77,246
(3) Other private equity
(4) Other domestic private
$57,177
company
c. Other sources $_ _, _ _ _, _ _ _
(1) State or local
$6,018
governments
$1,812
(2) College or universities
d. Not previously reported
(1) Your own company
(Including money you
$90,913
have borrowed)
$15,232
(2) Personal funds
Total average additional developmental
funding, all sources, per award $795,734
24. Did this award identify matching funds or other types of cost sharing in the
Phase II Proposal?6
a. 81% No matching funds/co-investment/cost sharing were identified in
the proposal. If a, skip to question .
b. 16% Although not a DoD Fast Track, matching funds/co-investment/
cost sharing were identified in the proposal.
c. 3% Yes. This was a DoD Fast Track proposal.
25. Regarding sources of matching or co-investment funding that were pro-
posed for Phase II, check all that apply. The percentages below are
computed for those 161 projects, which reported matching
funds.
a. 40% Our own company provided funding (includes borrowed funds)
b. 20% A federal agency provided non-SBIR funds
c. 43% Another company provided funding
d. 14% An angel or other private investment source provided funding
e. 12% Venture Capital provided funding
6The words underlined appear only for DoD awards.
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APPENDIX B
26. Did you experience a gap between the end of Phase I and the start of
Phase II?
a. 69% Yes Continue
b. 31% No Skip to question 9.
The average gap reported by 584 respondents was 5 months.
3% of the respondents reported a gap of two or more years.
27. Project history. Please fill in for all dates that have occurred. This infor-
mation is meaningless in aggregate. It has to be examined
project by project in conjunction with the date of the Phase I
end and the date of the Phase II award to calculate the gaps.
Date Phase I ended Month/year
Date Phase II proposal submitted Month/year
28. If you experienced funding gap between Phase I and Phase II for this award,
(select all answers that apply)
a. 58% Stopped work on this project during funding gap.
b. 34% Continued work at reduced pace during funding gap.
c. 4% Continued work at pace equal to or greater than Phase I pace dur-
ing funding gap.
d. 7% Received bridge funding between Phase I and II.
e. 2% Company ceased all operations during funding gap.
29. Did you receive assistance in Phase I or Phase II proposal preparation for
this award? Of 791 repondents.
a. 2% State agency provided assistance.
b. 2% Mentor company provided assistance.
c. 0% Regional association provided assistance.
d. 3% University provided assistance.
e. 93% We received no assistance in proposal preparation.
Was this assistance useful?
a. 58% Very Useful
b. 40% Somewhat Useful
c. 2% Not Useful
30. In executing this award, was there any involvement by university faculty,
graduate students, and/or university developed technologies? Of 837
respondents.
25% Yes
75% No
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APPENDIX B
31. This question addresses any relationships between your firm’s efforts on this
Phase II project and any University (ies) or College (s). The percentages
are computed against the 837 who answered question 30,
not just those who answered yes to question 30. Select all that
apply.
a. 1% The Principal Investigator (PI) for this Phase II project was at the
time of the project a faculty member.
b. 1% The Principal Investigator (PI) for this Phase II project was at the
time of the project an adjunct faculty member.
c. 14% Faculty member(s) or adjunct faculty member(s) work on this
Phase II project in a role other than PI, e.g., consultant.
d. 11% Graduate students worked on this Phase II project.
e. 9% University/College facilities and/or equipment were used on this
Phase II project.
f. 2% The technology for this project was licensed from a University or
College.
g. 4% The technology for this project was originally developed at a
University or College by one of the percipients in this Phase II
project.
h. 13% A University or College was a subcontractor on this Phase II
project.
In remarks enter the name of the University or College that is referred to in any
blocks that are checked above. If more than one institution is referred to, briefly
indicate the name and role of each.
32. Did commercialization of the results of your SBIR award require FDA
approval? Yes 2%
In what stage of the approval process are you for commercializing this SBIR
award?
a. 0% Applied for approval
b. 1% Review ongoing
c. 0% Approved
d. 0% Not Approved
e. 1% IND: Clinical trials
f. 0% Other
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APPENDIX B
NRC Firm Survey Results
NOTE: ALL RESULTS APPEAR IN BOLD. RESULTS ARE REPORTED
FOR ALL 5 AGENCIES (DoD, NIH, NSF, DoE, AND NASA).
1,239 firms began the survey. 1,149 completed through question 14. 1,108
completed all questions.
If your firm is registered in the DoD SBIR/STTR Submission Web site, the
information filled in below is based on your latest update as of Septem-
ber 2004 on that site. Since you may have entered this information many
months ago, you may edit this information to make it correct. In conjunc-
tion with that information, the following additional information will help us
understand how the SBIR program is contributing to the formation of new
small businesses active in federal R&D and how they impact the economy.
Questions A–G are autofilled from Firm database, when available.
A. Company Name: _______________________________________________
B. Street Address: ________________________________________________
C. City: _________________________________ State: ____ Zip: _________
D. Company Point of Contact: ______________________________________
E. Company Point of Contact Email: _________________________________
F. Company Point of Contact Phone: (___) ___ - ____ Ext: ______________
G. The year your company was founded: ___________
1. Was your company founded because of the SBIR Program?
a. 79% No
b. 8% Yes
c. 13% Yes, In part
2. Information on company founders. Please enter zeros or the correct number
in each pair of blocks.
a. Number of founders.
5% unknown
40% 1
30% 2
13% 3
8% 4
2% 5
2% >5
Average = 2 founders/firm
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7
APPENDIX B
b. Number of other companies started by one or more
of the founders.
5% Unknown
46% Started no other firms
23% Started 1 other firm
13% Started 2 other firms
7% Started 3 other firms
3% Started 4 other firms
3% Started 5 or more other firms
Average number of other firms founded is one.
c. Number of founders who have a business background.
5% Unknown
50% No founder known to have business background
30% One founder with business background
14% More than one founder with business background
d. Number of founders who have an academic background
5% Unknown
29% No founder known to have academic background
38% One founder with academic background
28% More than one founder with academic background
3. What was the most recent employment of the company founders prior to
founding this company? Select all that apply. Total >100% since many
companies had more than one founder.
a. 65% Other private company
b. 36% College or University
c. 9% Government
d. 10% Other
4. How many SBIR and/or STTR awards has your firm received from the fed-
eral government?
a. Phase I: _________ Average number of Phase I reported was 14.
13% 1 Phase I
34% 2 to 5 Phase I
24% 6 to 10 Phase I
14% 11 to 20 Phase I
11% 21 to 50 Phase I
3% 51 to 100 Phase I
2% >100 Phase I Five firms reported >300 Phase I
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APPENDIX B
What year did you receive your first Phase I Award? _______
3% reported 1983 or sooner
33% reported 1984 to 1992
40% reported 1993 to 1997
24% reported 1998 or later
b. Phase II: ________ Average number of Phase II reported was 7
27% 1 Phase II
44% 2 to 5 Phase II
15% 6 to 10 Phase II
8% 11 to 20 Phase II
5% 21 to 50 Phase II
1% >50 Phase II Four firms reported >100 Phase II
What year did you receive your first Phase II Award? _______
3% reported 1983 or sooner
22% reported 1984 to 1992
35% reported 1993 to 1997
41% reported 1998 or later
5. What percentage of your company’s growth would you attribute to the SBIR
program after receiving its first SBIR award?
a. 31% Less than 25%
b. 25% 25% to 50%
c. 20% 51% to 75%
d. 24% More than 75%
6. Number of company employees (including all affiliates):
a. At the time of your company’s first Phase II Award: ____
56% 5 or less
28% 6 to 20
9% 21 to 50
8% > 50 Fourteen firms (1.3%( had greater than 200 employees
at time of first Phase II.
b. Currently: ______
29% 5 or less
37% 6 to 20
17% 21 to 50
13% 51 to 200
5% > 200 Eleven firms report over 500 current employees.
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9
APPENDIX B
7. What percentage of your total R&D effort (Man-hours of Scientists and
Engineers) was devoted to SBIR activities during the most recent fiscal
year?___%
22% 0% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal year.
16% 1% to 10% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal
year.
11% 11% to 25% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal
year.
18% 26% to 50% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal
year.
14% 51% to 75% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal
year.
19% >75% of R&D was SBIR during most recent fiscal year.
8. What was your company’s total revenue for the last fiscal year?
a. 10% <$100,000
b. 18% $100,000–$499,999
c. 16% $500,000–$999,999
d. 33% $1,000,000–$4,999,999
e. 14% $5,000,000–$19,999,999
f. 6% $20,000,000–$99,999,999
g. 1% $100,000,000 +
h. 0.4% Proprietary information
9. What percentage of your company’s revenues during its last fiscal year is fed-
eral SBIR and/or STTR funding (Phase I and/or Phase II)? ____________
30% 0% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most recent
fiscal year.
17% 1% to 10% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most
recent fiscal year.
11% 11% to 25% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most
recent fiscal year.
13% 26% to 50% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most
recent fiscal year.
13% 51% to 75% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most
recent fiscal year.
13% 76% to 99% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most
recent fiscal year.
4% 100% of revenue was SBIR (Phase I or II) during most recent
fiscal year.
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70 APPENDIX B
10. This question eliminated from the survey as redundant.
11. Which, if any, of the following has your company experienced as a result of
the SBIR Program? Select all that apply.
a. Fifteen firms made an initial public stock offering in
calendar year
Seven reported prior to 2000; two in 2000; four in 2004; and one in
both 2006 and 2007
b. Six planned an initial public stock offering for 2005/2006.
c. 14% Established one or more spin-off companies.
How many spin-off companies?
242 Spin-off companies were formed.
d. 84% reported None of the above.
12. How many patents have resulted, at least in part, from your company’s SBIR
and/or STTR awards?
43% reported no patents resulting from SBIR/STTR.
16% reported one patent resulting from SBIR/STTR.
27% reported 2 to 5 patents resulting from SBIR/STTR.
13% reported 6 to 25 patents resulting from SBIR/STTR.
1% reported >25 patents resulting from SBIR/STTR.
A total of over 3,350 patents were reported; an average of almost 3 per
firm
The remaining questions address how market analysis and sales of the commer-
cial results of SBIR are accomplished at your company.
13. This company normally first determines the potential commercial market for
an SBIR product, process or service
a. 66% Prior to submitting the Phase I proposal
b. 21% Prior to submitting the Phase II proposal
c. 9% During Phase II
d. 3% After Phase II
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APPENDIX B
14. Market research/analysis at this company is accomplished by: (Select all that
apply.)
a. 28% The Director of Marketing or similar corporate position
b. 7% One or more employees as their primary job
c. 41% One or more employees as an additional duty
d. 23% Consultants
e. 53% The Principal Investigator
f. 67% The company president or CEO
g. 1% None of the Above
15. Sales of the product(s), process(es) or service(s) that result from commer-
cialising an SBIR award at this company are accomplished by: Select all that
apply.
a. 35% An in-house sales force
b. 52% Corporate officers
c. 30% Other employees
d. 30% Independent distributors or other company(ies) with which we
have marketing alliances
e. 26% Other company(ies), which incorporate our product into their
own
f. 9% Spin-off company(ies)
g. 26% Licensing to another company
h. 11% None of the above