USAF SBIR-STTR National Economic Impact Study: 2000 - 2013 (SBIR / STTR)

Summary

• Total cumulative direct sales generated from the Air Force SBIR/STTR Phase II contracts reached $14,691,776,039 across 2,631 commercialized contracts.p.18
• Commercial product and service sales totaled over $6.3 billion (43 percent of total sales), while sales to the U.S. military reached nearly $4.4 billion (30 percent of total sales).p.19
• Manufacturing represented the largest industry sector, accounting for around $9.4 billion or 64 percent of all commercialization sales.p.20
• The total economy-wide economic impact from the program was estimated at $47.87 billion in total sales output and $24.73 billion in value added.p.29

Key insights

1. The initial Air Force SBIR/STTR Phase II R&D investment of nearly $4 billion generated an overall economy-wide economic impact of nearly $48 billion.p.29
2. Commercialization performance was inversely related to the total number of SBIR/STTR awards a business received across federal agencies.p.22
3. Tier 1 companies with 4 or fewer total awards averaged $9,941,387 in sales per contract with sales, five times the $1,978,740 average for Tier 5 companies with 100 or more awards.p.22
4. Companies based in SBA-designated underserved states produced higher average sales per contract with sales ($6.6 million) than companies in other states ($5.5 million).p.23
5. SBA underserved states received only 6 percent of total Air Force SBIR/STTR Phase II contracts despite representing 21 percent of the U.S. population.p.24
6. A total of 447 recipient companies were acquired primarily due to their SBIR/STTR-developed technology, generating $6,768,331,783 in reported acquisition value.p.24
7. Every dollar in sales directly attributable to the Air Force SBIR/STTR Phase II contracts generated an additional $1.55 in sales economy-wide.p.26