Statement from SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet on Roland Tibbetts, Father of the SBIR/STTR Programs

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "It saddens me, and the SBA community, to hear of the death on Monday of Roland Tibbetts, widely acknowledged as the father of today's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Mr. Tibbetts' legacy and accomplishments are some of the most important in the world of high-growth, technology-driven small business. The SBIR and STTR programs together have awarded approximately $40 billion through 150,000 grants across almost every field of endeavor – advancing the frontiers of human knowledge, our national competitiveness and economic vitality.

In 1977, Mr. Tibbetts initiated a bold experimental project for the support of the small business community with early-stage financial support for high-risk technologies with commercial promise. In 1982, based in part on the success of this program, Congress created the SBIR program which other agencies adopted after the passing of the Small Business Innovation Development Act.

Honoring that bold and smart thinking, each year SBA celebrates the very best of the SBIR program with the Tibbetts Awards.  The awards honor outstanding small businesses and individuals who participate in the SBIR and STTR programs and recognize those individuals, organizations, firms or projects that made a visible technological impact on the socio-economic front and exemplify the very best in SBIR achievements. Award winners are selected based on the economic impact of their technological innovation, and the extent to which that innovation served federal R&D needs, encouraged diverse participation, and increased the commercialization of federal research.

Through his innovation, Mr. Tibbetts has touched millions of lives around the globe over the last three plus decades. In the world of innovation and research surrounding small businesses, he was truly one of a kind."

Release Number: 14-64  

Contact: Tiffani S. Clements, (202) 401-0035
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

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