Recommendation

Congress should develop a proof-of-concept, or “Phase Zero,” individual and institutional grant award program within major federal research agencies.

Details

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program both support innovation, but their approval processes are high bars to clear for very early stage companies. Too often, there is insufficient funding available at universities (or from other sources) to push nascent technologies to the point where these companies can receive SBIR or STTR grants. A national “phase-zero” proof-of-concept program would address this problem by helping more projects cross the so-called “valley of death” from early stage research to commercialization, by providing infrastructure (e.g., expertise, personnel, and small business and venture capital engagement), and by facilitating the cultural change necessary for universities, federal laboratories, and other nonprofit research organizations to better support these kind of commercialization activities. Kentucky and Louisiana, among other states, have developed such “phase-zero” grants to help firms apply for SBIR grants and support early proof-of-concept research. One way Congress could implement such a proof-of-concept program would be through a grant program to states that agree to match funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Keep reading:

▪ Stephen Ezell and Scott M. Andes, “Localizing the Economic Impact of Research and Development: Policy Proposals for the Trump Administration and Congress” (ITIF and Brookings Institution, December 2016), https://itif.org/publications/2016/12/07/localizing-economic-impact-research-and-development-policy-proposals-trump.