Bill would allow federal R&D funding to cover some business expenses

U.S. small businesses that get federal R&D awards could spend part of that money on market research and other business-related expenses under bipartisan legislation proposed last week. The Support Startup Businesses Act, introduced by Sens. Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would create a pilot project to test the expanded funding under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. SBIR is one of the largest U.S. efforts to support small business R&D, with $2.7 billion in funding in 2015 (C&EN March 14, page 27). Currently, SBIR award recipients can spend their awards only on R&D. The bill would allow them to spend up to 5% of their federal funding on other business-related expenses, such as market validation and intellectual property protection. “Start-ups are the engine of job creation in the U.S., but the rate of start-up creation is well below historical norms,” Coons says. “This commonsense bill will provide our world-class scientists and engineers with the support they need to translate their cutting-edge research into new start-up companies that fuel economic growth.”