America's Seed Fund: How the SBIR/STTR Programs Help Enable Catalytic Growth and Technological Advances

In order for America to maintain its innovative and technological competitive advantage, it is imperative that current policy design favor high growth formation through the catalytic means of institutional financing. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have historically served as crucial financing to help de-risk early-stage technology development and enable validation that encourages follow-on private institution capitalization. With new trends in the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, genomics, environmental sustainability, renewable energy, national security, and many other areas evolving over the years ahead, national governments bear the responsibility for helping seed the inventive fire that enables economic growth as we move forward.