(a) The Small Business Innovation Research Program Reauthorization Act of 2000, Public Law 106-554, amended section 9 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 638).
(1) The amendments:
(i) Continue the SBIR Program through September 30, 2008;
(ii) Clarify data rights pertaining to SBIR Phase I, Phase II, and Federally-funded Phase III awards.
(iii) Establish databases--one for the public and one for Government use--to collect and maintain in a common format information that is necessary to assist SBCs and assess the SBIR Program.
(iv) Require agencies with an SBIR budget of over $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences for the National Research Council to conduct a review of each agency's SBIR Program.
(v) Require SBIR agencies to report to SBA on the calculation of the agency's extramural budget within 4 months of enactment of each agency's annual Appropriations Act.
(vi) Establish the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program to strengthen the technological competitiveness of SBCs.
(vii) Extend the Rural Outreach Program through September 30, 2005.

(b) Each Federal agency with an extramural budget for R/R&D in excess of $100,000,000 must participate in the SBIR Program.

(c) The statutory requirements establish a uniform, simplified process for the operation of the SBIR Program while allowing the SBIR agencies flexibility in the operation of their individual SBIR Program. This Policy Directive fulfills the Congressional intent to minimize regulatory burden in the conduct of this program.

(d) Each SBIR agency must establish an SBIR Program by reserving, in each fiscal year, not less than 2.5 percent of its extramural budget for awards to SBCs for R/R&D through the following uniform, three-phase process:
(1) Phases I and II. These phases help SBIR agencies meet R/R&D and commercialization objectives through funding agreements.
(2) Phase III. This phase, where appropriate, helps Federal agencies participating in the SBIR Program by:
(i) providing Federal agencies the benefits of commercial applications derived from Government-funded R/R&D which stimulates technological innovation and enhances the national return on investment from R/R&D,
(ii) providing SBIR awardees access to the Federal market through non-SBIR funding agreements; and
(iii) providing SBIR awardees access to private sector markets to stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

(e) The Act directs each SBIR agency to report annually to SBA. The Act also requires SBA to obtain annual reports and monitor each agency's SBIR Program and to report these findings annually to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and to the House Committees on Science and Small Business.

(f) The competition requirements of the Armed Services Procurement Act of 1947 (10 U.S.C. 2302 et seq.) and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) must be read in conjunction with the procurement notice publication requirements of section 8(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)). The following notice publication requirements of section 8(e) of the Small Business Act apply to SBIR agencies using contracts as a SBIR funding agreement.
(1) Any Federal executive agency intending to solicit a proposal to contract for property or services valued above $25,000 must transmit a notice of the impending solicitation to the Governmentwide point of entry (GPE)for access by interested sources. See FAR 5.201. The GPE, located at http://www.fedbizopps.gov, is the single point where Government business opportunities greater than $25,000, including synopses of proposed contract actions, solicitations, and associated information, can be accessed electronically by the public. In addition, no agency must issue its solicitation for at least 15 days from the date of the publication of the GPE. The agency may not establish a deadline for submission of proposals in response to a solicitation earlier than 30 days after the date on which the solicitation was issued.
(2) The contracting officer must generally make available through the GPE those solicitations synopsized through the GPE, including specifications and other pertinent information determined necessary by the contracting officer. See FAR 5.102.
(3) Any executive agency awarding a contract for property or services valued at more than $25,000 must submit a synopsis of the award through the GPE if a subcontract is likely to result from such contract. See FAR 5.301.
(4) The following are exemptions from the notice publication requirements:
(i) In the case of agencies intending to solicit Phase I proposals for contracts in excess of $25,000, the head of the agency may exempt a particular solicitation from the notice publication requirements if that official makes a written determination, after consulting with the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the SBA Administrator, that it is inappropriate or unreasonable to publish a notice before issuing a solicitation.
(ii) The SBIR Phase II award process is exempt.
(iii) The SBIR Phase III award process is exempt.

(g) Under Executive Order 13329, ''Encouraging Innovation in Manufacturing,'' Federal agencies have an important role in helping to advance innovation, including innovation in manufacturing, through small businesses. Agencies must give high priority to SBIR projects that are focused on manufacturing related R&D, in a manner consistent with the missions of the agencies and the purpose of the SBIR program. Participating agencies must report annually to the SBA Administrator and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on its efforts to carry out Executive Order 13329. The Executive Order directs the SBA to establish formats and schedules for this reporting and to issue guidelines and directives as necessary to implement the Executive Order.