The Department of Energy has executed more than 500 cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) since April 1991 and twenty-nine percent of them are with small businesses. CRADAs are contractual agreements in which a DOE laboratory or facility and one or more partners outside the federal government agree to collaborate on, share the costs of, and pool the results from a particular research and development program. DOE's CRADAs include a wide variety of technologies. Twenty-six percent of the agreements are in information; twenty-two percent in manufacturing; and others include pollution minimization and remediation, biotechnology and life sciences, energy, aerospace, and transportation. The Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) uses CRADAs to conduct cooperative R&D between DOE national laboratories and industry. These partnerships provide a leveraging of the federal R&D dollar while providing industry access to DOE's scientists and facilities. EM currently supports 24 CRADAs with a federal investment of approximately $7.5 million.
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) conducts research and development with significant industry participation through its Integrated Demonstrations and Integrated Programs (IDs/IPs). The IDs and IPs provide partnerships with industry, universities, and other government agencies. IDs couple technologies to deliver a systems solution to a specific problem representing a generic environmental issue, for example, mixed waste landfill and underground storage tanks. IPs focus on crosscutting technical areas having multiple applications. For example, in situ remediation; and characterization, monitoring, and sensor technology. In fiscal year 1993, thirty-six percent of the OTD research and design budget went to the private sector. Industry and academia may inquire about business and research opportunities within OTD through the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Central Point-of-Contact (see "Technology TIP just a phone call away" this issue).
DOE provides direct funding to industry through the following procurement vehicles. Research and Opportunity Announcements (ROAs) for basic and applied research and design are open for a full year and contain a small business set-aside. Program Research & Development Announcements (PRDAs) solicit proposals for research and design approaches within a defined area of interest. PRDAs are typically used for applied R&D but can include testing and demonstration. To date, more than $20 million has been provided to industry through PRDAs and ROAs -- approximately 40 percent of the bidders receiving awards via PRDAs were small businesses. The small business share of PRDA funding is about 70 percent. For ROAs, small business awards represent 57 percent and 84 percent of the number of awards and funding level, respectively.
DOE also participates in the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) for Defense Technology Conversion, Reinvestment, and Transition Assistance. The SBIR program is a collaborative effort between the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense; the Department of Energy, Defense Programs; the Department of Commerce; National Institute of Standards and Technology; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and the National Science Foundation to promote opportunities for small businesses in the conversion of federally sponsored research and development work. The next SBIR solicitation will include EM related topics and will be issued December 8, 1993. It will close March 4, 1994. Phase I funding available is $75,000. Phase II is $750,000.
