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Does NIH select the right healthcare ventures through the SBIR grant program?

Author

Listed:
  • Supradeep Dutta

    (Rutgers University)

  • Jenna Rodrigues

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Timothy B. Folta

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

One way governments aim to spur entrepreneurship is through providing startup capital to qualified ventures. In the United States, the government does so through federal grant programs like the SBIR/STTR program. Despite the government’s efforts to spur entrepreneurship through capital distribution, we don’t know much about the selection capabilities that government agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have in place to choose qualified ventures for funding. Through exploiting a quasi-natural experiment enabled by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009, we seek to determine whether the NIH selects ventures with the most innovation and commercialization potential. Overall, our findings suggest that the NIH effectively identifies and prioritizes ventures with superior observable innovation capabilities. Yet, they could do more to discern the underlying tacit value of the innovation to prioritize selecting high-risk ventures that have the potential to create impactful innovation in the future. Our analyses should help policymakers orient their thinking around selection capabilities when assessing the impact of government programs with the broader objective of supporting novel healthcare innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Supradeep Dutta & Jenna Rodrigues & Timothy B. Folta, 2023. "Does NIH select the right healthcare ventures through the SBIR grant program?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1206-1220, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:48:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10961-022-09964-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-022-09964-8
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federal grants; Selection effect; NIH; Innovation; Natural Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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