Federal Research: Effectiveness of Small Business Innovation Research Program Procedures

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reported on federal agencies' implementation of the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, focusing on: (1) whether agencies' small business innovation research (SBIR) procedures provided for award selection based on merit; (2) how much time agencies were taking to award SBIR contracts and grants; and (3) whether agencies were implementing procedures to make SBIR participation simpler for small businesses than other research programs.