Working with Federal Labs:
Cooperative R&D Agreements (CRADAs),
Licensing, Test Service Agreements, etc.
Ray Friesenhahn
SBIR & Technology Transition Manager
Advanced Technology Scout
TechLink
January 19th, 2012
TechLink is an Authorized
U.S. Department of Defense
Partnership Intermediary per
Authority 15 U.S.C. 3715
Partnering for SBIR (& Business) Success
o Few small businesses have all the skills and
resources required to convince reviewers of their
ability to innovate, develop viable new technology,
and successfully commercialize it:
o Research experience, lab facilities
o Marketing skills
o Manufacturing capabilities
o Government accounting experience
o Access to new, relevant markets (and servicing them)
o The most successful firms are best at partnering!
Partnering with Federal Labs:
Advantages of a CRADA (Cooperative R&D Agreement):
• Tie into significant R&D capability at little or no cost
• Utilize specific R&D capability available nowhere else
• Increase your perceived credibility based on partnership
• Become familiar with Agency (customer) needs, culture
• Agency personnel become familiar with your capabilities
for potential advantage
• Often opens doors for other funding opportunities
• SBIR/STTR plus the OTHER 97%
Leveraging Your Resources
Technology Licensing Opportunities:
• Technology already developed for DoD needs, dual-use
• Available for small fraction of development cost
• Can significantly enhance your own technology
• Can increase your perceived credibility
• Can build your connections with funding agencies
• May even serve as basis for other funding opportunities
CRADA: Infection Prevention
Objective: To improve healing of wounded
warfighters through the use of new antiinfective antibiofilm compounds.
Benefits: Fewer wound infections and faster
recovery, with reductions in mortality,
hospitalization, and long-term impairment.
Participants:
• U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
(USAISR)
• ABC BioSciences Corp.
• TechLink
Status:
• CRADA for Development of Military/Field
Hospital Therapeutic Anti-infective,
Antibiofilm Acute Wound Care Gel Product
Technology: Company’s new BismuthThiol (BT) compounds disrupt the
formation of bacterial biofilms and allow
significantly improved wound treatment.
Biofilm formation increases the antibiotic
resistance of infectious bacteria, making
treatment much more difficult.
Bacterial biofilm growth in wounds (left)
complicates medical treatment
Company’s CRADA Results
Research contract award from
Orthopaedic Trauma Research
Program (OTRP)
$500K/year, for up to 5 years,
some testing by USAISR
Partnership in AFIRM Consortium
Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine: two
consortia will develop better treatments for seriously
injured warfighters in $250 million program.
Additional major funding opportunities being pursued.
Key to DoD SBIR Success
Build long-term relationships with appropriate
DoD labs and organizations
o Plan to be in for the long haul
o Seek, build mutually beneficial relationships
o CRADAs, Licenses, other Partnerships
o Emphasize Service, Value to DoD and the Warfighter
o Other funding opportunities may arise
o Potential “slice of the pie,” vs. SBIR “seed money”
o Plan for “Dual-Use” Success!
SBIR Timeline & Client Example
Timeline: SBIR to Commercialization
“Perfect Match”
SBIR topic
posted
Phase I
Award
Year 1
Company:
Experienced,
Competent,
Capable,
Focused,
Aggressive
Ideal Case:
Phase II
Award
Year 2
Phase II
Enhancement
Year 3
Prime Contractor / Commercial Partner:
Relevant Contract,
Technical Need,
Eager to Partner,
Willing to work with small business
Year 4
Initial Product
Introduction
(Software)
Client Example: Visual Learning Systems, Inc.
Transition Success: Feature AnalystTM Software
Technology: Software for automated feature extraction in hyperspectral or
panchromatic images. Learning algorithms are orders of magnitude faster than
manual digitizing, also easy to train.
• Developed under multiple SBIRs:
• 3 NASA SBIR awards, 3 NSF
• Army TEC Ph. I & II, NAVAIR Ph. I & II
• CRADAs & Partnerships with Gov’t:
• Army TEC & NUWC CRADAs
• NASA TCA
• NIMA & NRO partnerships
• Partnered with Primes:
• ESRI, Leica, BAE, Intergraph
Chosen by NGA for deployment across all NGA’s Integrated Exploitation
Capability (IEC) workstations – Now Dual-Use (Commercial & Military) Success!
Timeline: Feature Analyst Transition
NASA
Stennis
Phase II
TCA with
NASA JPL
NASA
Stennis
Phase I
NASA
JPL
Phase I
NRO
Fastmax
NIMA
“Big
Ideas”
Army TEC
Phase I
award
NUWC
CRADA
Army TEC
Phase II
award
Army TEC
CRADA
NIMA
BAA
NRL
contract
NSF
Phase II
NAVAIR
Phase I
award
NAVAIR
Phase II
award
Army
TEC
Phase I
award
Army
TEC
Phase II
award
Textron
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
USFS
Testing
New Company:
Visual Learning
Systems
Company:
Integrated
Geosciences
ESRI
partnership
Feature
Analyst for
ArcGIS
2003
2004
2005
Overwatch
Acquisition
Acquisition
$325M
BAE Systems
partnership
FA for
SOCET SET
Leica
Geosystems
partnership
FA for
ERDAS
NGA Product
Adoption
(Integrated
Exploitation
Capability)
Client Example: Scientific Materials Corp. (SMC)
Transition Success: Monoblock Laser (STORM)
Technology: Manufacturing method for eye-safe rugged solid-state
microlaser developed at Army CECOM under ManTech (2000 – 2001)
• SMC used SBIR (30 awards, $7.5M)
to develop world’s highest-quality laser
& opto-electronic crystal growth
processes (1992 – 2004)
• License to SMC completed 2003
• TechLink/MilTech assisted with
monoblock production improvement
• Used in Small Tactical Optical Rifle
Mounted (STORM) Micro-Laser
Rangefinder (MLRF)
• Thousands now deployed
• SMC bought by FLIR for $13 M
Leveraging SBIR/STTR
to Partner with Federal Labs:
• Since 2002, using SBIR funds for work at federal labs was
prohibited, except with approval from SBA (considered only
after selected for award)
• Some individuals concerned about potential for conflicts of interest
• Recent reauthorization now explicitly allows funding of work
at federal labs, including CRADAs, Test Service
Agreements, Work for Others, etc.
• Agencies cannot condition an SBIR/STTR award upon entering into
an agreement with a federal lab
Note: federal labs cannot provide funding
to a company under a CRADA
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SEC. 5109. COLLABORATING WITH FEDERAL LABORATORIES AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by this title, is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(ee) COLLABORATING WITH FEDERAL LABORATORIES AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the limitations under this section, the head of each participating Federal agency may
make SBIR and STTR awards to any eligible small business concern that—
‘‘(A) intends to enter into an agreement with a Federal laboratory or federally funded research and development center
for portions of the activities to be performed under that award; or
‘‘(B) has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (as defined in section 12(d) of the StevensonWydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.10 3710a(d))) with a Federal laboratory.
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—No Federal agency shall—
‘‘(A) condition an SBIR or STTR award upon entering into agreement with any Federal laboratory or any federally
funded laboratory or research and development center for any portion of the activities to be performed under that award;
‘‘(B) approve an agreement between a small business concern receiving an SBIR or STTR award and a Federal laboratory
or federally funded laboratory or research and development center, if the small business concern performs a lesser portion of
the activities to be performed under that award than required by this section and by the SBIR Policy Directive and the STTR
Policy Directive of the Administrator; or
‘‘(C) approve an agreement that violates any provision, including any data rights protections provision, of this section or
the SBIR and the STTR Policy Directives.
‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall
modify the SBIR Policy Directive and the STTR Policy Directive issued under this section to ensure that small business
concerns—
‘‘(A) have the flexibility to use the resources of the Federal laboratories or federally funded research and development
centers; and
‘‘(B) are not mandated to enter into agreement with any Federal laboratory or any federally funded laboratory or
research and development center as a condition of an award.
‘‘(4) ADVANCE PAYMENT.—If a small business concern receiving an award under this section enters into an agreement with a
Federal laboratory or federally funded research and development center for portions of the activities to be performed under
that award, the Federal laboratory or federally funded research and development center may not require advance payment
from the small business concern in an amount greater than the amount necessary to pay for 30 days of such activities.’’.