(a) SBA's Office of Technology will annually obtain available information on the current critical technologies from the National Critical Technologies panel (or its successor) and the Secretary of Defense and provide such information to the STTR agencies.

(b) SBA will request this information in June of each year. The data received will be submitted to each of the participating Federal agencies and will also be published in the September issue of the STTR Pre-Solicitation Announcement.

(c) Examples of STTR Areas to be Monitored by SBA.

(1) STTR Funding Allocations. The magnitude and source of each STTR agency's annual allocation reserved for STTR awards are critical to the success of the STTR Program. The Act defines the STTR effort (R/R&D), the source of the funds for financing the STTR Program (extramural budget), and the percentage of such funds to be reserved for the STTR Program (0.15 percent through 2003, 0.3 percent thereafter). The Act requires that SBA monitor these annual allocations.

(2) STTR Program Solicitation and Award Status. The accomplishment of scheduled STTR events, such as STTR Program solicitation release and the issuance of funding agreements is critical to meeting statutory mandates and to operating an effective, useful program. SBA monitors these and other operational features of the STTR Program. SBA does not plan to monitor administration of the awards except in instances where SBA assistance is requested and is related to a specific STTR project or funding agreement.

(3) Follow-on Funding Commitments. SBA will monitor whether follow- on non-Federal funding commitments obtained by Phase II awardees for Phase III were considered in the evaluation of Phase II proposals as required by the Act.

(4) Agency Rules and Regulations. It is essential that no policy, rule, regulation, or interpretation be promulgated by the STTR agencies that are inconsistent with the Act or this Policy Directive. SBA's monitoring activity will include review of policies, rules, regulations, interpretations, and procedures generated to facilitate intra-or interagency STTR Program implementation.

(e) Standardized Collection of Data--``Technology Resources Access Network'' (Tech-Net) Database System Overview.

(1) SBA's Office of Technology, as functional program manager for the STTR and the SBIR Programs, is required to collect and report to the Congress, information regarding awards made to SBCs by each Federal agency participating in these programs.

(2) The Office of Technology maintains an internal database of awards and uses the system to report on technology and demographical statistics regarding the STTR and the SBIR Programs. The system also stores the 200-word technical abstract for each STTR and SBIR award that is prepared by the awardee summarizing the research effort that has been supported by the Federal Government. The system also provides the Office of Technology with the ability to perform keyword searches in many areas, including any part of the name, address, and technical abstract of the awardee. The system produces many reports that are used in the conduct of audits performed by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and to expose potential duplication of research and development efforts funded by the STTR agencies.

(3) The Office of Technology, in a joint effort with SBA's Office of the Chief Information Officer, has redesigned the Office of Technology's internal awards database system to operate on the Internet. The Internet system is titled the ``Technology Resources Access Network,'' or Tech-Net.

(4) Tech-Net offers a vast array of user-friendly capabilities, and is accessible by the public at no charge. Tech-Net allows for the online submission of STTR/SBIR awards data from all STTR agencies. Tech-Net also allows any end-user to perform keyword searches and create formatted reports of STTR/SBIR awards information. Tech-Net will allow for potential research partners to view research and development efforts that are ongoing in the STTR and the SBIR Programs, increasing the investment opportunities of the STTR/ SBIR SBCs in the high tech arena. Tech-Net serves as an excellent marketing tool for the small, high tech business community, allowing investors to view first-hand the technical capabilities of STTR/SBIR awardees. This will ultimately produce investments, partnerships, and strategic alliances resulting in commercialization of STTR/SBIR research.

(5) Tech-Net also houses legislatively mandated information on all STTR and SBIR awards, as well as confidential outcome and output information that will be relevant to measuring the effectiveness and success of the programs.

(6) Awardees can update their information and add project commercialization and sales data with user names and passwords. Username and passwords will be assigned only to awardees to provide access to their respective awards information maintained in the Tech- Net system. Award and commercialization data maintained in the Tech-Net database can be changed only by the awardee, SBA, or the awarding STTR /SBIR Federal agency.

(7) Project commercialization and sales data can only be viewed by Congress, the General Accounting Office (GAO), agencies participating in the STTR and the SBIR Programs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), and other authorized persons (for example, authorized contractors) who are subject to a use and nondisclosure agreement with the Federal government covering the use of the database.

(8) To use the Tech-Net database system, visit the Web site http://tech-net.sba.gov. Online help is available.

(9) Public Tech-Net Database (See Appendix II for Data Fields). The public Tech-Net database is a searchable, up-to-date, electronic database that includes:

(i) The name, size, location, funding agreement number, and identification number assigned by the Administrator of each SBC that has received an STTR or SBIR Phase I or Phase II award from a Federal agency;

(ii) A description of each STTR or SBIR Phase I or Phase II award received by the SBC including:

(A) An abstract of the project funded by the award, excluding any proprietary information so identified by the awardee;

(B) The Federal agency making the award; and

(C) The date and amount of the award.

(iii) An identification of any business concern or subsidiary established for the commercial application of a product or service for which an STTR or SBIR award is made; and

(iv) Information regarding mentors and Mentoring networks, as required in the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program established under section 35(d) of the Act and described on the SBA's Internet site at http://www.sba.gov/sbir/indexfast.html.

(v) With respect to assistance under the STTR Program (as required under section 9(k)(1) of the Act):

(A) Whether the SBC or the research institution initiated their collaboration on each assisted STTR project;

(B) Whether the SBC or the research institution originated any technology relating to the assisted STTR project;

(C) The length of time it took to negotiate any licensing agreement between the SBC and the research institution under each assisted STTR project; and

(D) The percentage allocated between the SBC and the research institution of the proceeds from commercialization, marketing, or sale of technology resulting from each assisted STTR project.

(10) Government Tech-Net Database. SBA, in consultation with the Federal agencies participating in the STTR and the SBIR Programs, develops and maintains a secure database that:

(i) Contains, for each Phase II award:

(A) Information on revenue from the sale of new products or services resulting from the research conducted under each Phase II award; (B) Information on additional investment from any source, other than Phase I or Phase II STTR or SBIR awards, to further the research and development conducted under each Phase II award; and

(C) Any other information received in connection with the award that the Administrator, in conjunction with the STTR Program managers of the participating agencies, considers relevant and appropriate;

(ii) Includes any narrative information that a Phase II awardee voluntarily submits to further describe the outputs and outcomes of its awards;

(iii) Includes for each applicant that does not receive a Phase I or Phase II award: (A) The name, size, location, and identifying number assigned by SBA, and identification number assigned by SBA; (B) an abstract of the project; and (C) the Federal agency to which the application was made;

(iv) Includes any other data collected by or available to any Federal agency that such agency considers to be useful for STTR Program evaluation; and

(v) Is available for use solely for program evaluation purposes by the Federal government or, in accordance with Policy Directives issued by SBA, by other authorized persons who are subject to a use and nondisclosure agreement with the Federal government covering the use of the database.

(11) Data Collection for Government Tech-Net Database.

(i) Each SBC applying for a Phase II award is required to update the appropriate information in the Tech-Net database for any of its prior Phase II awards. In meeting this requirement, the SBC may apportion sales or additional investment information relating to more than one Phase II award among those awards, if it notes the apportionment for each award.

(ii) Each Phase II awardee is required to update the appropriate information in the Tech-Net database on that award upon completion of the last deliverable under the funding agreement. In addition, the awardee is requested to voluntarily update the appropriate information on that award in the Tech-Net database annually thereafter for a minimum period of 5 years.

(iii) Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 638(k)(4), information provided to the government Tech-Net Database is privileged and confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 (Government Organization and Employees); nor must it be considered to be publication for purposes of 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) or (b).

(iv) SBA will minimize the data reporting requirements of SBCs, make updating available electronically, and provide standardized procedures.