Yanik A.A. Peculiarities of commercialization of the results of private research and development for NASA: the experience of the Small Business Innovation Research Program

Abstract: The research subject is the analysis of the specificity of NASA’s interrelation with small and medium businesses in the sphere of scientific research and development. The research is based on the results of NASA’s public-private partnership programs in the sphere of space activities, primarily the long-term Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Special attention is given to the methods used for the evaluation of the progress of commercialization of the results of small businesses’ R&D for the aerospace agency. To solve the research tasks, the author uses general scientific research methods – formal-logical, comparative, transition from concrete to abstract, analysis, synthesis and others. Based on the results of the regular effectiveness audit of the SBIR program, conducted by national academies of sciences of the USA, the author concludes that the development of NASA’s management systems, including the level of its adaptability, ability to transform, and transparency, is a necessary condition, but it is not enough for the improvement of the research intensity of the related economic sector. The author concludes that within NASA’s area of responsibility, including its key state partners, general contractors, the academic community and other participants of scientific and innovation activities, the models of evaluation of the level of commercialization in terms of common economic activities (for example, the volume of sales or gross proceeds) have limited applicability. The main criteria are the broadening of the total volume of technological knowledge in space and missile sector, and the potential commercial value of R&D results, even if they haven’t entered the market yet. Another criterion is the development level of the information infrastructure of the sector, which is also the key instrument of functioning of the modern system of space activities. 

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