In response to a Congressional mandate, an ad hoc committee will conduct a study of the role and impacts of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the effectiveness of the enabling strategies DOE has employed to enhance the programs. Specifically, and to the extent that data are available, the committee will examine the following:

• How the SBIR and STTR programs have stimulated technological innovation and engaged small businesses to meet the agency’s research and development needs, including the economic and noneconomic benefits achieved by the SBIR and STTR programs over the life of the programs; and challenges and opportunities for commercialization of SBIR- and STTR-supported technologies;
• Collaborations created between small businesses and research institutions that are associated with the SBIR and STTR programs, including an exploration of the origins and development of collaborations formed by current and past awardees, characteristics of successful collaborations, and barriers to and opportunities for new collaborations.
• Analysis of DOE's SBIR/STTR outreach to potential applicants and the agency’s assistance to applicants, including analysis of the potential applicant pool, historical trends and future projections, and challenges to DOE's ability to increase the number of applications and awards from small businesses that are either new to the programs or from states that have received few awards.
• Characteristics and outcomes of multiple award recipients relative to the overall pool of awardees.
• Effectiveness of the current operating model utilized by the DOE SBIR and STTR programs in achieving program objectives.

The committee will produce a consensus report with its findings and recommendations.