WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to enhance commercialization services for federally funded research and development. The Research Advancing to Market Production (RAMP) for Innovators Act would support American innovators by expediting SBIR/STTR application processes, improving technical and business assistance, and making small businesses eligible for fast-tracked U.S. Patent Office services. A companion bill was introduced in the House by U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.).
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs, often called America’s Seed Fund, are two of the premier federal programs for fostering innovation in the U.S. Coordinated by the Small Business Administration, the SBIR and STTR programs include 11 federal agencies that competitively fund small U.S. businesses to meet federal research and development needs. For many of these U.S. businesses, translating investments into marketable products and services remains a challenge. This bill builds on the success of the SBIR and STTR programs to further increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from federally funded R&D.
The Research Advancing to Market Production (RAMP) for Innovators Act would:
· Improve the SBIR/STTR application peer review process to include commercialization potential in addition to scientific and technical merit
· Increase the speed at which Federal Agencies make SBIR and STTR awards
· Designate a new Technology Commercialization Official in each Agency to help SBIR awardees commercialize
· Improve the flexibility of technical and business assistance for SBIR/STTR awardees
· Establish an annual commercialization impact assessment at each agency to monitor the program’s successes
· Develop an interagency agreement between SBA and the U.S. Patent Office to help SBIR/STTR companies with intellectual property protection
“Startups are vital to job creation in the United States, but those companies need support to overcome market challenges and scale up manufacturing in America,” said Senator Coons. “This bill will help American scientists and engineers protect the intellectual property of their pioneering technologies and form new companies that grow the economy. I’m proud to work with Sen. Rubio to continue helping U.S. manufacturers across the ‘valley of death’ and into successful market production.”
“It is critical that we harness small business ingenuity in advanced industrial industries by boosting firms’ ability to commercialize their technology,” Senator Rubio said. “We are in a geopolitical competition with foreign nations like China and in order to compete we must ensure that small businesses have optimal opportunities to innovate and contribute to the global economy. It is in our national interest to make policy decisions that will strengthen American innovation and increase commercialization through the SBIR and STTR programs. I appreciate working with Senator Coons on this important legislation to help high-growth firms receive the support they need as we continue our work to comprehensively reauthorize the Small Business Act.”
“As a former engineer and entrepreneur, I know how urgent this legislation is,” said Rep. Houlahan. “We have to support our talented entrepreneurs in translating their innovative ideas into marketable products and cutting edge technology – too many endeavors fail because they lack access to capital or they face IP protection challenges. Pennsylvania is home to a number of successful startups, which began with an idea and have turned into products Americans use every day. I’m proud to work with Senators Coons and Rubio on this bipartisan legislation that supports our entrepreneurs and small business owners.”
“ITIF supports RAMP for Innovators, the Research Advancing to Market Production for Innovators Act, which will further bolster the commercialization potential of SBIR/STTR programs through improvements such as making commercialization potential a stronger consideration in project selection, clarifying that all awardees may use a share of Phase I and II funds for commercially oriented activities, and supporting the ability of innovators to secure intellectual property rights underpinning their inventions through stronger linkages with the PTO,” said Dr. Rob Atkinson, President, ITIF.
"We are pleased to endorse Senator Coons’ RAMP bill. We are especially pleased with the section creating a Technology Commercialization Official and the patent assistance provisions," said Robert Schmidt, Co-Chair of the Small Business Technology Counsel of the National Small Business Association.
"Delaware SBDC is pleased to endorse the new SBIR Commercialization Bill, the Research Advancing to Market Production for Innovators Act. There are significant improvements to help entrepreneurs move innovation to commercialization," said Mike Bowman, Director, Delaware Small Business Development Center.
"Several aspects of this bill, including allowing patent expenses and providing business assistance, are commendable as they would pave the way for start-ups to mature and commercialize their innovative technologies," said Sridhar Kota, Founder & CEO, FlexSys Inc.
The bill has been endorsed by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Small Business Technology Counsel of the National Small Business Association, the University City Science Center, and the Delaware Small Business Development Center.
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