SIDEBAR: For More Information
Some scientists are displeased that, as mandated in Congress's 1992 reauthorization of the SBIR program, the portion of NIH's R&D budget designated for SBIR is set to grow from 2 percent in 1996 to 2.5 percent in 1997. Critics charge that funded SBIR grants are of lower quality than funded grants for basic research, and that increasing the money reserved for applied science is inappropriate at a time when money for basic research is so hard to come by.
But the SBIR program has many supporters, and they have warded off efforts to keep its budget from increasing. In addition, supporters have foiled attempts that would have required priority scores earned by funded SBIR grants at NIH to be at least as good as the priority scores earned by funded investigator-initiated new research project (R01) awards. Meanwhile, SBIR boosters at NIH are looking for ways to ...
