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Manufacturing Innovation Highlights 2008
NSF Manufacturing Innovation Program In Response to Executive Order 13329
For more than nineyears NSF has explicitly included manufacturing under its solicitation topic
Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Chemical Processes (AM). SBA analysis of 2001- 2003 awards showed
that more than 30% of NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer
(STTR) awards had a manufacturing innovation component.
In 2004 the NSF Program received 750 SBIR/STTR Phase I proposals in response to the Manufacturing
Innovation topic solicitation and made 97 Phase I awards in FY 2005. Twenty three of these Phase I
awardees received a Phase II award in FY 2006 and 26 Phase II awards were recommended in FY2007. We expect
a comparable number of manufacturing-related Phase II awards in FY2008.
Results from these awards are being tracked and will be shared through the NSF Office of
Legislative and Public Affairs for media release as we identify significant success stories. A list of the
59 Phase II awards with a manufacturing component that were featured at the NSF 2008 SBIR/STTR Phase II
Grantee Conference is available: Manufacturing Innovations FY2007. These
awards represent 24 % of our total active awards.
The SBIR/STTR Solicitations in FY 2008, with topics containing manufacturing components, have
utilized the "manufacturing-related" projects as a tiebreaker in making funding decisions. This has
allowed the program to apply an additional preference without compromising the quality standards or
established criteria of the program.
NSF is continuing to support manufacturing innovation in Solicitation NSF 08-548 that closes in
June and December 2008. The program expects to make a significant number of Phase I awards from this
solicitation where manufacturing innovation is a major component of the research effort.
The Manufacturing Innovation topic continues to be widely promoted at National SBIR/STTR
Conferences, at regional conferences and with manufacturing organizations. We will continue to highlight
the opportunities to support manufacturing innovation at future conferences.
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