H.R. 3239 — Research Advancing to Market Production for Innovators Act

This section modifies policy directives for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs—competitive federal grants to small businesses for high-risk R&D with commercial potential—as follows: (1) in both programs, shortens the maximum period for Phase II award selection to 180 days (from 1 year); and (2) directs agencies, to the extent practicable, to include in peer reviews for both programs the likelihood of commercialization (in addition to scientific and technical merit and feasibility) and at least one reviewer with commercialization expertise.

This section expands and extends authority under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs—competitive federal grants to small businesses for R&D with commercialization potential—for federal agencies to award direct Phase II grants to prior Phase I recipients without a separate Phase I-to-Phase II competition (i.e., phase flexibility) to each agency with an SBIR or STTR program during FY2025 through FY2027 (from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Department of Education during FY2012 through FY2025), subject to new limits on the total value of such awards as a share of the agency's total SBIR and STTR funds in a fiscal year: (1) not more than 10 percent generally; (2) not more than 30 percent for NIH; and (3) no limit for DoD. This section also directs the Small Business Administration Administrator to brief the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the House Committee on Small Business on this authority within one year of enactment.

This section requires each federal agency participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs—i.e., R&D grant programs that fund small businesses to develop innovative technologies with commercial potential—to designate an existing official as the agency's Technology Commercialization Official (or identify an official with substantially similar duties). The official must (1) have sufficient commercialization experience; (2) provide guidance to SBIR and STTR awardees on commercializing and transitioning technologies; (3) identify technologies ready for Phase III awards (i.e., non-SBIR/STTR federal contracts) or other contracts; (4) coordinate with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other agencies' officials to identify markets and pathways for promising technologies; (5) submit an annual report to the SBA on technologies advancing commercialization (including data for a commercialization impact assessment); (6) submit an annual report to the SBA on actions and results to simplify and standardize SBIR/STTR application processes and contracts; and (7) perform other duties as determined by the agency.

This section revises technical and business assistance (TABA) for recipients of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards—federal programs that provide R&D grants to small businesses to promote technological innovation—as follows: (1) requires federal agencies to authorize award recipients to select TABA services, including newly added cybersecurity assistance, from providers under paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), or new (2)(C); (2) adds paragraph (2)(C) to allow use of TABA funds to hire or augment staff or direct staff training consistent with TABA goals; (3) authorizes Phase I award recipients to use up to $6,500 per project and Phase II recipients to use up to $50,000 per project for TABA services through agency-selected vendors, other vendors, staff activities, or combinations thereof, included in or added to the award as determined by the agency head; and (4) permits federal agencies to conduct targeted reviews of TABA funding. (Thus, the changes expand small business recipients' flexibility in selecting and using TABA beyond prior restrictions to agency-selected vendors.)

This section requires each federal agency required to conduct a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program that also has an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program to (1) offer SBIR or STTR award recipients the option to participate in an I-Corps teams course and (2) authorize such recipients to use Phase I technical assistance funds awarded under subsection (q) for additional technical assistance related to I-Corps participation. (Thus, I-Corps course costs for those recipients may be covered by an I-Corps team grant, subsection (q) funds, participating teams or other sources, or any combination thereof.)

This section establishes an annual commercialization impact assessment report on small business concerns that have received at least 50 SBIR or STTR Phase II awards on or after October 1 of the ninth fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the report is submitted. (As background, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide competitive grants to small businesses for high-risk R&D with commercial potential—Phase I for feasibility studies, Phase II for prototype development, and Phase III for full commercialization.) The SBA Administrator must coordinate with SBIR/STTR agencies to develop the report, which measures for each such concern over the preceding nine fiscal years: (1) total value of non-SBIR/STTR federal awards, contracts, and subcontracts; (2) total value of SBIR/STTR Phase I and II awards; (3) average annual gross revenue; (4) revenue from sales or licensing of products/services from the funded research; (5) additional non-Phase I/II investment in that research; (6) mergers/acquisitions during or after Phase II; (7) spin-out companies; (8) patents; (9) year and employee count at first Phase II award; (10) current employee count; and (11) Phase III awards received. The report must be included in the annual SBIR/STTR report under subsection (b)(7) and submitted to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the House Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Small Business.

This section requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator to enter into an interagency agreement with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to establish a prioritized patent examination program assisting recipients of awards under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs with intellectual property protection. (As background, the SBIR and STTR programs provide competitive federal grants to small businesses for high-risk R&D with commercial potential.) The section further requires the SBA Administrator to coordinate with the USPTO Director on outreach regarding the USPTO's Pro Se Assistance Program and scam prevention services.