Innovation Grants
Description:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administers two competitive programs to distribute federal research and development funds to small, high-technology, innovative businesses: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR, since 1983) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR, since 1998). The SBIR program encourages small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides an incentive to profit from commercialization. The STTR is a related program that is designed to facilitate the transfer of technological innovation from nonprofit research institutions to small commercial enterprises. It primarily is a program linking research universities to commercialization efforts.
The ability of the state to attract a significant share of SBIR grants is a reflection of the business climate for innovative activity. Monitoring the pace of SBIR grant activity may be a good way to gauge the extent to which the state’s entrepreneurial community is engaged in innovative entrepreneurship that can be wealth enhancing. The STTR program is one measure of the proclivity of the state’s research institutions to pursue opportunities for commercialized innovation initiatives.
Innovation grant data are displayed in three ways on Arizona Indicators: the number of grants per 1 million residents, the inflation-adjusted value of the grants per 1,000 residents, and the value of the grants per $1 million of gross domestic product. The inflation-adjusted dollars are expressed in terms of the latest year of data available.
Data Source:
U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Technology: http://tech-net.sba.gov/tech-net/public/dsp_search.cfm. Annual national and state data are available by selecting “(any state)” and entering a single year in the range of years. Select either “SBIR” or “STTR” and part-way down the page click on “State Summary List.” All other selection criteria are left at the default values. The SBA enters the data grant by grant and displays incomplete totals for the current and prior years. Data for earlier years may be revised.
Population estimates as of July 1 are released by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, each December: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/states.html.
The GDP implicit price deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
Data Quality Comments:
It is not possible to know if the data entry for a given year is complete. STTR grants may represent partnerships with universities outside the state.
Number of Grants Per 1 Million Residents
Visualization Notes:
The per capita number of SBIR grants has increased over time, both nationally and in Arizona. Arizona’s figure relative to the national average has fluctuated; it was above average from 1995 through 2002 but below average from 1986-94 and 2003-09. The figure in 2010 was slightly higher than the national average. The per capita number of STTR grants also has increased over time, both nationally and in Arizona. Arizona’s figure generally has been above the national average.
Value of Grants in Inflation-Adjusted (2009) Dollars Per 1,000 Residents
Visualization Notes:
The per capita inflation-adjusted value of SBIR grants increased substantially through 2004 nationally but fell back from 2004 through 2007. Except from 1997 through 2002, Arizona’s figure generally has been below the national average; the differential in 2010 was 22 percent. The per capita inflation-adjusted value of STTR grants has increased over time, both nationally and in Arizona. Arizona’s figure has generally been higher than the national average since 2001, with a differential of 13 percent in 2010.
Value of Grants Per $1 Million of Gross Domestic Product
Visualization Notes:
The value of SBIR grants per $1 million of GDP increased substantially through the early 2000s nationally and in Arizona. Arizona’s figure has varied from above to below the national average; it was 7 percent lower in 2010. The value of STTR grants relative to GDP increased through 2005 but has since been flat, both nationally and in Arizona. Arizona’s figure has generally been higher than the national average since 2001; the differential in 2010 was 34 percent.
Data Source
U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Technology: http://tech-net.sba.gov/tech-net/public/dsp_search.cfm. Annual national and state data are available by selecting “(any state)” and entering a single year in the range of years. Select either “SBIR” or “STTR” and part-way down the page click on “State Summary List.” All other selection criteria are left at the default values. The SBA enters the data grant by grant and displays incomplete totals for the current and prior years. Data for earlier years may be revised.
Population estimates as of July 1 are released by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, each December: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/states.html.
The GDP implicit price deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
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