Transitions Volume 10 Issue 3

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NAVY | SBIR | TAP

TRANSITIONS . . . FALL EDITION VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3 2013

From the Director For many in the SBIR/STTR community, September signals the end of summer, the beginning of a new school year, and reordered family agendas – but with increased divisions in Congress on budget issues and our FY2013 difficulties with “the sequester” imposed by Congress, September also marks fresh uncertainty about what the new fiscal year may bring. I’ll talk about that concern in this issue, and discuss new SBIR/STTR initiatives led by our team here at the Dept. of the Navy (DON). Regarding the FY2014 SBIR/STTR program, you’ve heard over the course of the summer heated rhetoric about the debt ceiling, continued sequestration, RDT&E cuts and other negative possibilities. You may have read, too, of resulting industry retrenchment as prime integrators cut back on their internal investment in R&D, which could impact SBIR/ STTR partnering. At this writing, however, we simply don’t know what to expect from Congress regarding the FY2014 budget – and it may be a couple of more years before we see a measure of Congressional unity on appropriations. Recall USD AT&L Frank Kendall’s assessment at the Navy Opportunity Forum® last June: “Looking ahead, do I see a way out of this? Unfortunately I do not … The debt ceiling is another issue coming up and the likelihood is that we’ll go into FY14 with sequestration still as the law of the land and a Continuing Resolution, or CR.” (See the Forum article below in this issue.) What should you anticipate? At best – if a new sequester and CR aren’t draconian – the increase in the SBIR/STTR set-asides would mean only minimal reductions in Phase I and II awards. For comparison, our FY2011 SBIR budget of $264M allowed us to make 483 Phase I awards and 257 Phase II awards – and our FY2013 SBIR budget of $234M is 11% smaller, necessitating proportionately fewer Phase I awards (approximately 50 when the final numbers are in) and fewer Phase II awards (approximately 25, with final numbers). We would also proportionately reduce the number of Topics we publish. But, worstcase scenarios could create much more pain for our program, and we’ve already seen large reductions in some Commands and PEOs. At this time, I have no way of predicting our FY2014 and outyear budgets, or the steepness of potential decline. We will continue to do everything we can to minimize the impact on our small businesses – but there will be a rough road ahead. The DON SBIR/STTR team has taken a leadership role in supporting government-wide outreach for the SBIR/STTR program. We’ve worked a partnership with TechConnect to execute the June 2013

National SBIR Conference, a big success in its Washington DC venue at National Harbor – and are now planning a June 16-19 2014 National SBIR Conference for that same location, as well as a November 2014 event in the Austin, TX area. You can expect more such outreach proactivity and leadership from the DON SBIR/STTR program in the future. A second reauthorization challenge concerns improved and expanded commercialization of SBIR/STTR technologies. While we’ll continue to enhance our “best in class” Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Navy Opportunity Forum®, we realize that much more could be done – and will be done – to draw new entrepreneurs closer to the SBIR/STTR community, give them a “How SBIR Works” education, and offer them training on improved business functions, through use of innovative eLearning tools. Within the next six months, you should see a beta version of our SBIR University, or “SBIRU” website, with an array of valuable learn-at-your-own-pace modules. SBIRU is designed as a complement to other government agency SBIR/ STTR commercialization assistance initiatives, and will be designed to provide SBIR/STTR education across all the Federal agencies. In summary, we’re prepared for adversity – but working to create new opportunity for the SBIR/STTR community.

John Williams Director, Navy SBIR/STTR Programs

IN THIS ISSUE: The 2013 Navy Opportunity Forum ® Recap Technology Transition: The Art Behind the Science Reauthorization Brings Changes to the Navy’s Phase II Submission Process Constant Change Contributes to Referentia’s Success SBIR Data: What They Are, What They Are Not, and How to Mark Them

Navy Small Business Innovation Research Program Office www.navysbir.com


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