LANSING – Mark Clevey, Vice President for Entrepreneurial Development for the Small Business Association of Michigan, has been appointed to the National Science Foundation’s Office of Industrial Innovation SBIR/STTR Program Advisory Committee.
The office oversees the awarding of federal research grants to small businesses seeking to research and develop breakthrough technology innovations. The NSF is seeking to improve the commercialization of research projects it funds with federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. Clevey, a nationally recognized and expert in SBIR/STTR commercialization will review and help the NSF craft related policies, programs and initiatives.
Clevey said that innovation and entrepreneurship are the lifeblood of the economy and the federal and state governments fund most of the research and innovation in the United States.
?More than any other federal program, NSF research grant opportunities closely mirror the Michigan economy,? he said. Federal and state technology development programs historically fall dismally short, however, with regard to the commercialization of the research they fund with tax-payer dollars.
?It is only when research is commercialized in the form of technology innovations that the tax-payers receive a return on their investment in research. Much to my chagrin, Michigan falls well below the national average in terms of SBIR/STTR grant awards and, more importantly, related commercialization. In my opinion, any public-sector dollars spent on programs whose primary mission is other than the robust commercialization of technology is money that is wasted.
This is especially true with regard to both the Michigan 21st Century Jobs Fund and the SBIR/STTR programs. State dollars should be used to accelerate the commercialization of federally funded research, not duplicate or replace this research funding,? he said.
Clevey gained national prominence in 1989 by hosting, in Michigan, the nation?s first conference (?Winners Conference?) focused exclusively on the commercialization of federal SBIR/STTR grants. Clevey received awards from the Michigan Small Business Development Center and the National Science Foundation for this conference ? an event labeled as ?the most important event in the history of the entire SBIR program,? and, ?a model for the entire nation.?
