What has been the impact of SBIR?
From the small-scale beginnings in the National Science Foundation of an initiative managed by Roland Tibbetts over twenty years ago, SBIR has become an important, nationally recognized, technology development effort. Over $1 billion of the highest quality R&D is now supported annually in the ten SBIR participating federal agencies. A growing track record of commercial success is established, involving every field of technological endeavor. With a viable presence in every state, and now also engaging an impressive range of other collaborating research institutions and major corporations, over 9,500 small firms have been funded for almost 45,000 projects - a federal program of major consequence!

In seekingTibbettsnominations, the effort is to encourage those often most directly involved and affected by this important federal program to consider - perhaps for the first time - the broader impact, the economic and technical importance of SBIR in a variety of contexts.

What have been the ....?
projects leading to significant industrial advances
supported developments which have allowed major cost savings
number (and types) jobs created and/or retained
new firms established or old firms given new life
form and extent of achieved growth
valued re-use and/or re-energizing of local capabilities - people, plant and/or facilities
types of collaborations which may not have happened without the stimulus of SBIR resources
achieved technology applications with important social impact
created and/or increased export activity
new or strengthened national capabilities
regional clusterings of new firms and/or new technologies.

How do YOU define SBIR success?
. . . in a particular firm or project: Nominations for a Tibbetts which tell the compelling story of a particular collaborative project or of specifics awardees, their significant technological accomplishments and associated business success are the bedrock of SBIR achievement and are actively solicited. These are the SBIR stories -- many of which may not previously have been told beyond local boundaries -- which deserve the national recognition and prestige of Tibbetts Award.

. . .on the economy: Nominations which seek to move beyond the case experience of particular firms to document the economic impact of SBIR available resources in the aggregate (on a community, an industrial sector or in a region) are particularly encouraged.

. . . in supporting economic change agents: the basic SBIR concept is that of empowering creative minds to take new perspectives,to offer innovative solutions. In many places, local resources and capabilities are similarly being creatively leveraged to recruit, support and assist SBIR applicants and awardees towards reaching their full potential. These are often the important change agents who may also deserve the recognition of a Tibbetts.

Often unsung heroes, these persons may be with state support organizations. Some are university faculty and staff; associates of business mentoring organizations; project collaborators in larger corporations and in federal laboratories, as well as various economic development organizations. Others may be federal agency personnel and Program Managers who can, and do, play a sometimes critical support roles to bring SBIR funded technologies to use-conditions. All are doing something that is far more than their job description