Title: Spurring Small Business Innovation Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Spurring Small Business Innovation Act
This bill establishes the Regional High-Growth Collaborative Pilot Program to provide specialized resources for starting and scaling small businesses in high-growth industries.
The program shall be a five-year, two-phase program to establish one regional high-growth collaborative in each of the 10 regions of the Small Business Administration. Each collaborative shall establish connections between small businesses in technology industries and other entities to provide small businesses with assistance and training related to technology and innovation.
Following the program's expiration, the Government Accountability Office shall report on the program's impact and effectiveness.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2150 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2150

To establish a regional high-growth collaborative pilot program in the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 17, 2019

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a regional high-growth collaborative pilot program in the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Spurring Small Business Innovation 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REGIONAL HIGH-GROWTH COLLABORATIVE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Administration'' means the Small Business 
        Administration;
            (2) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Administration;
            (3) the term ``covered period'' means the 5-fiscal year 
        period beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the 
        date of enactment of this Act;
            (4) the term ``eligible entity'' includes--
                    (A) a nonprofit organization;
                    (B) a public or nonprofit private institution of 
                higher education;
                    (C) a State government or any agency of a State 
                government;
                    (D) a regional entity, as described in section 
                21(a)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                648(a)(1));
                    (E) a State-chartered development, credit, or 
                finance corporation;
                    (F) a small business development center;
                    (G) a women's business center;
                    (H) a veteran business outreach center;
                    (I) a small business growth accelerator;
                    (J) a small business incubator; and
                    (K) a combination of entities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (J);
            (5) the term ``institution of higher education'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001);
            (6) the term ``Office'' means the Office of Innovation and 
        Technology of the Administration;
            (7) the term ``pilot program'' means the Regional High-
        Growth Collaborative Pilot Program established under subsection 
        (b);
            (8) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632(a));
            (9) the term ``small business development center'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3(t) of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 632(t));
            (10) the terms ``Small Business Innovation Research 
        Program'' and ``Small Business Technology Transfer Program'' 
        have the meanings given the terms in section 9(e) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)); and
            (11) the term ``women's business center'' means a women's 
        business center operating pursuant to section 29 of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656).
    (b) Establishment of Pilot Program.--There is established in the 
Administration, for the covered period, a Regional High-Growth 
Collaborative Pilot Program, the purpose of which is to provide the 
specialized resources that are necessary in order to start and scale 
small business concerns in high-growth industries.
    (c) Phases of Pilot Program.--
            (1) Phase i.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall--
                            (i) carry out a competition to establish a 
                        total of 10 entities that shall serve as 
                        regional high-growth collaboratives during the 
                        first 2 fiscal years of the covered period; and
                            (ii) in carrying out the competition 
                        required under clause (i), ensure that there is 
                        established 1 regional high-growth 
                        collaborative in each of the 10 regions of the 
                        Administration, as in existence on the day 
                        before the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Duties.--Each collaborative established under 
                subparagraph (A) shall, during the 2-fiscal year period 
                described in subparagraph (A)(i), establish connections 
                between small business concerns in industries relating 
                to technology and other entities in order to--
                            (i) offer to those small business 
                        concerns--
                                    (I) access to appropriate technical 
                                and managerial resources; and
                                    (II) connections to the programs 
                                overseen by the Office of 
                                Entrepreneurial Development of the 
                                Administration;
                            (ii) provide to those small business 
                        concerns--
                                    (I) market research relating to 
                                potential customers for the products 
                                and services offered by the small 
                                business concerns; and
                                    (II) other types of business 
                                training relating to technology and 
                                innovation;
                            (iii) facilitate access to capital for 
                        those small business concerns;
                            (iv) refer those small business concerns to 
                        other assistance programs, as appropriate; and
                            (v) provide those small business concerns 
                        with assistance in preparing applications with 
                        respect to the Small Business Innovation 
                        Research Program and other similar programs.
                    (C) Evaluations.--
                            (i) In general.--The Office shall evaluate 
                        the success of each collaborative established 
                        under subparagraph (A) by analyzing, for the 2-
                        fiscal year period described in subparagraph 
                        (A)(i)--
                                    (I) the number of small business 
                                concerns assisted by the collaborative;
                                    (II) the number of small business 
                                concerns assisted by the collaborative 
                                that submitted proposals under the 
                                Small Business Innovation Research 
                                Program, the Small Business Technology 
                                Transfer Program, and other similar 
                                programs;
                                    (III) the rates of hiring by small 
                                business concerns assisted by the 
                                collaborative;
                                    (IV) the amount of capital provided 
                                to small business concerns assisted by 
                                the collaborative;
                                    (V) the percentage of small 
                                business concerns assisted by the 
                                collaborative that operate in rural 
                                areas;
                                    (VI) the degree to which the 
                                services provided by the collaborative 
                                are geographically dispersed;
                                    (VII) the number of small business 
                                concerns created as a result of the 
                                activities carried out by the 
                                collaborative; and
                                    (VIII) any additional metric that 
                                the Office determines to be 
                                appropriate.
                            (ii) Factor weighting.--The Office shall--
                                    (I) in performing evaluations under 
                                clause (i), determine how much weight 
                                should be given to each metric 
                                described in subclauses (I) through 
                                (VIII) of that clause; and
                                    (II) make the determination of the 
                                Office under subclause (I) publicly 
                                available.
                    (D) Award of funds through cooperative agreement.--
                            (i) In general.--The Administrator shall 
                        enter into a cooperative agreement with each 
                        collaborative established under subparagraph 
                        (A), under which the Administrator shall award 
                        to the collaborative $300,000--
                                    (I) for each fiscal year in which 
                                the collaborative carries out the 
                                duties described in subparagraph (B); 
                                and
                                    (II) to carry out the duties 
                                described in subparagraph (B).
                            (ii) Administrator discretion.--With 
                        respect to an award under clause (i), the 
                        Administrator may distribute the award as 
                        determined appropriate by the Administrator, 
                        including by distributing the award in 
                        installments.
                    (E) Relationship to phase ii.--
                            (i) Highest scoring collaborative.--The 
                        collaborative that scores the highest with 
                        respect to the evaluations performed under 
                        subparagraph (C) (referred to in this 
                        subparagraph as the ``highest scoring 
                        collaborative'') shall--
                                    (I) subject to clause (ii), serve 
                                as the model with respect to how to 
                                structure the high-growth 
                                collaboratives established under phase 
                                II of the pilot program under paragraph 
                                (2); and
                                    (II) be guaranteed to receive an 
                                award under paragraph (2) for the first 
                                fiscal year in which phase II of the 
                                pilot program is in effect under that 
                                paragraph.
                            (ii) Other collaboratives.--The 
                        Administrator--
                                    (I) may incorporate elements from 
                                collaboratives other than the highest 
                                scoring collaborative when determining 
                                how to structure the high-growth 
                                collaboratives established under phase 
                                II of the pilot program under paragraph 
                                (2); and
                                    (II) if the Administrator makes an 
                                incorporation described in subclause 
                                (I), shall make the methodology 
                                regarding that incorporation publicly 
                                available.
            (2) Phase ii.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall enter into a 
                total of 10 cooperative agreements, under which the 
                Office shall make awards to eligible entities to 
                establish, for the third, fourth, and fifth fiscal 
                years of the covered period, 1 regional high-growth 
                collaborative in each of the 10 regions of the 
                Administration, as in existence on the day before the 
                date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Application.--An eligible entity that wishes to 
                enter into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph 
                (A) shall submit to the Office an application--
                            (i) in such form and manner as the Office 
                        may require; and
                            (ii) that contains--
                                    (I) a plan describing--
                                            (aa) how the eligible 
                                        entity will provide the 
                                        services described in clauses 
                                        (i) through (v) of paragraph 
                                        (1)(B) (referred to in this 
                                        subparagraph as ``covered 
                                        services'');
                                            (bb) the means by which the 
                                        eligible entity will provide 
                                        covered services;
                                            (cc) the partnerships into 
                                        which the eligible entity will 
                                        enter in order to provide 
                                        covered services;
                                            (dd) how the eligible 
                                        entity will encourage 
                                        participation by small business 
                                        concerns that operate in rural 
                                        areas;
                                            (ee) the method used by the 
                                        eligible entity to tailor 
                                        covered services to account for 
                                        the various geographic areas 
                                        and economic conditions in the 
                                        region in which the eligible 
                                        entity will serve as a 
                                        collaborative; and
                                            (ff) the geographic area 
                                        that the eligible entity will 
                                        serve;
                                    (II) a budget for the provision of 
                                covered services by the eligible 
                                entity;
                                    (III) the name of the individual 
                                who will serve as executive director of 
                                the collaborative or a plan to appoint 
                                such an individual; and
                                    (IV) any other information that the 
                                Office determines to be necessary.
                    (C) Amount of award.--
                            (i) In general.--Each award to an eligible 
                        entity under this paragraph shall be--
                                    (I) in an amount that is $500,000; 
                                and
                                    (II) obligated during the fiscal 
                                year in which the eligible entity 
                                receives the award.
                            (ii) Matching funds.--An eligible entity to 
                        which the Office makes an award under clause 
                        (i) shall be required to match 50 percent of 
                        that award, which may be satisfied through the 
                        use of an in-kind match.
                    (D) Evaluations.--The Office shall, with respect to 
                each award made under this paragraph, evaluate the 
                eligible entity to which the award is made using the 
                same metrics used under paragraph (1)(C).
                    (E) Renewal.--The Office may, for each of the 
                fourth and fifth fiscal years of the covered period, 
                renew an award made to an eligible entity under this 
                paragraph in the third or fourth fiscal year of the 
                covered period, as applicable, if, with respect to that 
                third or fourth fiscal year, the eligible entity scores 
                highly on the evaluation conducted under subparagraph 
                (D) with respect to the eligible entity.
    (d) Administrator Responsibilities.--The Administrator shall--
            (1) provide oversight of the Office with respect to the 
        carrying out of the pilot program; and
            (2) ensure that--
                    (A) the pilot program is consistent with statutory 
                requirements, including the requirements of this Act; 
                and
                    (B) the district and regional offices of the 
                Administration work closely to ensure the success of 
                the pilot program.
    (e) Reports.--
            (1) SBA.--For each fiscal year in which the pilot program 
        is in effect, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 
        report that contains, with respect to the year covered by the 
        report--
                    (A) the information collected by the Office in 
                order to carry out the evaluations required under 
                paragraphs (1)(C) and (2)(D) of subsection (c);
                    (B) a description of the services provided by 
                collaboratives under the pilot program;
                    (C) a list of--
                            (i) with respect to phase I of the pilot 
                        program under subsection (c)(1), each entity 
                        established as a collaborative under such 
                        subsection (c)(1); and
                            (ii) with respect to phase II of the pilot 
                        program under subsection (c)(2), each eligible 
                        entity with which the Office entered into a 
                        cooperative agreement under such subsection 
                        (c)(2); and
                    (D) with respect to phase II of the pilot program 
                under subsection (c)(2), an analysis of how the Office 
                determined whether to renew an award under subsection 
                (c)(2)(E).
            (2) GAO.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
        pilot program expires, the Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall submit to Congress a report that analyzes--
                    (A) the impact of the pilot program; and
                    (B) the effectiveness of the oversight required 
                under subsection (d)(1).
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