| Description |
7 boxes (8.3 linear ft.) |
| Organization |
Organized into the following series: I. Arthur S. Obermayer; II. 1980 White House Conference on Small Business/National Council for Small Business Innovation; III. Small Business Innovation Research and National Science Foundation/Bayh-Dole Patent Act; IV. Federal Legislation/Policy Documents; V. Economic Conversion; VI. U.S. and Massachusetts Government Response; VII. Arthur S. Obermayer Addenda. |
| Note |
Correspondence, biographical materials, manuscripts, abstracts, congressional testimony, copies of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives legislation, copies of congressional records, and publications of the Small Business Innovation Research Program, which were collected and maintained by American businessman and philanthropist Arthur S. Obermayer. |
| History |
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a United States Government program, coordinated by the Small Business Administration. The program grew out of a 1965 proposal for a State Technical Services Act which would have provided support for commercial research. This act was never ratified into law, but by 1970, with the Vietnam War coming to an end, cut-backs in government defense spending created a crisis for research and development (R and D) firms dependent upon government contracts. Under the rubric "economic conversion," shifting from a military to civilian market, the federal and state governments began looking for ways to alleviate the problems of unemployment in the technology sector and a loss of confidence in the financial sector. The Small Business Innovation Research program was to be administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), creating concerns among NSF's established academic constituency that this would be used by for-profit businesses on funds badly needed for their own research. U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 was especially favored by the small business community in that it provided a set-aside for support of small high-tech firms and the accompanying Bayh-Dole Patent Bill would provide protection for any patent-worthy innovations arising out of government-funded research. The Bayh-Dole Patent Act (Public Law 96-517) was signed into law by U.S. President Jimmy Carter on December 12, 1980. The SBIR program was established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-219) with the purpose of strengthening the role of innovative small business concerns in Federally-funded research and development. The Act awarded federal research grants to small businesses. Arthur S. Obermayer played a major role in promoting the passage through the U.S. Congress of the Small Business Innovation Development Act and the Bayh-Dole Patent Act. |
| Summary |
The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records contain the institutional records of the organization and the personal records of Arthur S. Obermayer. The collection is broadly organized along the lines of "who did what": Series I concerns the contributions of Arthur S. Obermayer; Series II concerns the activities of the National Council for Small Business Innovation (NCSBI); Series III concerns the contributions of U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" M. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts), who became the program's foremost congressional champion; Series IV concerns the SBIR Act and its accompanying legislation, the Bayh-Dole Patent Act; Series V-VI provide the background to the legislation that was finally produced and to deal with the problem of economic conversion in the wake of the Vietnam War. |
| Access Restrictions |
There are no access restrictions on the materials. |
| Use |
The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. |
| Note |
There are three known archival collections created by Arthur S. Obermayer at the date of processing: 1. Arthur S. Obermayer Papers, American Jewish Historical Society, New York, New York. 2. Arthur S. Obermayer Cube Suit Collection, Strong National Museum of Play, Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Rochester, New York. 3. Arthur S. Obermayer Collection, Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. |
|
The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records were processed by Andrew Mangravite in 2017 and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher in 2021. |
| Language |
Text in English. |
| Finding Aids |
Finding aid is available. |
| Cite As |
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Small Business Innovation Research Program Records, 1956-2006, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| Local Note |
This collection has been identified as having inactive mold due to a previous exposure to water. |
| Gift |
gift; Arthur S. Obermayer; 2012. |
| Subject(s) |
Obermayer, Arthur S.
|
|
Drinan, Robert F.
|
|
Economic conversion -- Law and legislation.
|
|
Economic conversion -- United States.
|
|
National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Small Business Innovation Research Program.
|
|
National Science Foundation Advisory Council (U.S.)
|
|
Smaller Business Association of New England.
|
|
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Small Business.
|
|
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Small Business.
|
|
United States. Congress -- Committees.
|
|
United States. Department of Commerce. Small Business Innovation Research Program.
|
|
White House Conference on Small Business
|
|
Legislative hearings -- United States.
|
|
United States. Department of Defense. SBIR Program Office.
|
|
Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009.
|
|
United States. Small Business Administration. Small Business Innovation Research Program.
|
|
McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922-2012.
|
|
Obermayer, Arthur S. fast (OCoLC)fst00263827 |
| Alternate Author |
National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Small Business Innovation Research Program.
|
|
National Science Foundation (U.S.)
|
| Additional Title |
National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research Program records |
|
SBIR records |
|
NIH SBIR records |
|
