Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Chris Coons, D-Del., members of the Small Business Committee, have proposed a bipartisan bill aimed at empowering innovative small businesses to commercialize their technologies.
What Is the RAMP for Innovators Act?
Curtis said Thursday the Research Advancing to Market Production, RAMP, for Innovators Act is designed to strengthen the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, collectively known as “America’s seed fund,” and other existing programs intended to support small businesses in conducting research and development efforts to enhance potential for commercialization.
The RAMP for Innovators Act, which also aims to promote entrepreneurship and competitiveness in emerging technologies, is designed to streamline the SBIR and STTR application and award processes, introduce a fast-track option for funding small businesses and assign a Technology Commercialization Officer at agencies with an SBIR/STTR program. In addition, the legislation is meant to provide awardees with technical assistance, I-Corps training access, clearer commercialization performance metrics and a faster patent examination process.
Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., also introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan bill received endorsements from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the University City Science Center, BPC Action and the Delaware Small Business Development Center.
“By improving programs that foster innovation and commercialization, our bipartisan legislation helps entrepreneurs develop new technologies and bring them to market — strengthening our economy and our competitiveness on the world stage,” said Curtis.
“The bipartisan RAMP for Innovators Act helps bring the best ideas to the market — strengthening our place as the global leader in innovation and helping small businesses thrive,” stated Coons.
