- (a) Grants, contracts and cooperative agreements for establishment of
small business development centers and for small business activities and purposes; role of Administration; non-Federal additional amount; amount of grant; eligibility
- (1) The Administration is authorized to make grants (including contracts and
cooperative agreements) to any State government or any agency thereof, any regional entity, any State-chartered development, credit or finance corporation, any public or private institution of higher education, including but not limited to any land-grant college or university, any college or school of business, engineering, commerce, or agriculture, community college or junior college, or to any entity formed by two or more of the above entities (herein referred to as "applicants") to assist in establishing small business development centers and to any such body for: small business oriented employment or natural resources development programs; studies, research, and counseling concerning the managing, financing, and operation of small business enterprises; management and technical assistance regarding small business participation in international markets, export promotion and technology transfer; delivery or distribution of such services and information; and providing access to business analysts who can refer small business concerns to available experts: Provided, That after December 31, 1990, the Administration shall not make a grant to any applicant other than an institution of higher education as a Small Business Development Center unless the applicant was receiving a grant (including a contract or cooperative agreement) on such date. The Administration shall require any applicant for a small business development center grant with performance commencing on or after January 1, 1992 to have its own budget and to primarily utilize institutions of higher education to provide services to the small business community. The term of such grants shall be made on a calendar year basis or to coincide with the Federal fiscal year.
- (2) The Small Business Development Centers shall work in close cooperation
with the Administration's regional and local offices, the Department of Commerce, appropriate Federal, State and local agencies and the small business community to serve as an active information dissemination and service delivery mechanism for existing trade promotion, trade finance, trade adjustment, trade remedy and trade data collection programs of particular utility for small businesses.
- (3) The Small Business Development Center Program shall be under the general
management and oversight of the Administration, but with recognition that a partnership exists under this section between the Administration and the applicant for the delivery of assistance to the small business community. Services shall be provided pursuant to a negotiated cooperative agreement with full participation of both parties.
- (A) Small business development centers are authorized to form an association
to pursue matters of common concern. If more than a majority of the small business development centers which are operating pursuant to agreements with the Administration are members of such an association, the Administration is authorized and directed to recognize the existence and activities of such an association and to consult with it and develop documents (i) announcing the annual scope of activities pursuant to this section, (ii) requesting proposals to deliver assistance as provided in this section and (iii) governing the general operations and administration of the Small Business Development Center Program, specifically including the development of regulations and a uniform negotiated cooperative agreement for use on an annual basis when entering into individual negotiated agreements with small business development centers.
- (B) Provisions governing audits, cost principles and administrative requirements
for Federal grants, contracts and cooperative agreements which are included in uniform requirements of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars shall be incorporated by reference and shall not be set forth in summary or other form in regulations.
- (4) Small business development center program level. -
- (A) In general. - The Administration shall require as a condition of any
grant (or amendment or modification thereof) made to an applicant under this section, that a matching amount (excluding any fees collected from recipients of such assistance) equal to the amount of such grant be provided from sources other than the Federal Government, to be comprised of not less than 50 percent cash and not more than 50 percent of indirect costs and in-kind contributions.
- (B) Restriction. - The matching amount described in subparagraph (A) shall
not include any indirect costs or in-kind contributions derived from any Federal program.
- (C) National program. -
- (i) In general. - Except as provided in clause (ii), no State receiving funds
under this section shall receive a grant that exceeds - (I) for fiscal year 1995, the sum of such State's pro rata share of a national program based upon the population of the State as compared to the total population in the United States, and $125,000; or (II) in each succeeding fiscal year, the sum of such State's pro rata share of a national program based upon the population of the State as compared to the total population in the United States, and $200,000.
- (ii) Exception. - Grants provided to a small business development center by
the Administration or another agency to carry out the provisions of subsection (c)(3)(G) of this section shall not be included in the calculation of maximum funding of a small business development center.
- (iii) Amount. - The amount of the national program shall be - (I)
$70,000,000 through September 30, 1996; (II) $77,500,000 from October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997; and (III) $85,000,000 beginning October 1, 1997. The amount for which a small business development center is eligible under this paragraph shall be based upon the amount of the national program in effect as of the date for commencement of performance of the small business development center's grant.
- (5) Federal contracts with small business development centers. -
- (A) In general. - Subject to the conditions set forth in subparagraph (B), a
small business development center may enter into a contract with a Federal department or agency to provide specific assistance to small business concerns.
- (B) Contract prerequisites. - Before bidding on a contract described in
subparagraph (A), a small business development center shall receive approval from the Associate Administrator of the small business development center program of the subject and general scope of the contract. Each approval under subparagraph
- (A) shall be based upon a determination that the contract will provide
assistance to small business concerns and that performance of the contract will not hinder the small business development center in carrying out the terms of the grant received by the small business development center from the Administration.
- (C) Exemption from matching requirement. - A contract under this paragraph
shall not be subject to the matching funds or eligibility requirements of paragraph (4).
- (D) Additional provision. - Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
contract for assistance under this paragraph shall not be applied to any Federal department or agency's small business, woman-owned business, or socially and economically disadvantaged business contracting goal under section 644(g) of this title.
- (6) Any applicant which is funded by the Administration as a Small Business
Development Center may apply for an additional grant to be used solely to assist -
- (A) with the development and enhancement of exports by small business
concerns; and
- (B) in technology transfer, as provided under subparagraphs (B) through (G)
of subsection (c)(3) of this section. Applicants for such additional grants shall comply with all of the provisions of this section, including providing matching funds, except that funding under this paragraph shall be effective for any fiscal year to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts and shall be in addition to the dollar program limitations specified in paragraphs (4) and (5). No recipient of funds under this paragraph shall receive a grant which would exceed its pro rata share of a $15,000,000 program based upon the populations to be served by the Small Business Development Center as compared to the total population of the United States. The minimum amount of eligibility for any State shall be $100,000.
- (b) Area plan inconsistent with applicant's plan: assistance unavailable
1981 through 1983; plan of applicant: submittal to Administration, action on plan, review by Administration, assistance to out-of-State businesses
- (1) Financial assistance shall not be made available to any applicant if
approving such assistance would be inconsistent with a plan for the area involved which has been adopted by an agency recognized by the State government as authorized to do so and approved by the Administration in accordance with the standards and requirements established pursuant to this section.
- (2) An applicant may apply to participate in the program by submitting to the
Administration for approval a plan naming those authorized in subsection (a) of this section to participate in the program, the geographic area to be served, the services that it would provide, the method for delivering services, a budget, and any other information and assurances the Administration may require to insure that the applicant will carry out the activities eligible for assistance. The Administration is authorized to approve, conditionally approve or reject a plan or combination of plans submitted. In all cases, the Administration shall review plans for conformity with the plan submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, and with a view toward providing small business with the most comprehensive and coordinated assistance in the State or part thereof to be served.
- (3) At the discretion of the Administration, the Administration is authorized
to permit a small business development center to provide advice, information and assistance, as described in subsection (c) of this section, to small businesses located outside the State, but only to the extent such businesses are located within close geographical proximity to the small business development center, as determined by the Administration.
- (c) Problem-solving assistance; development center extension services;
staff and access requirements; assistance services; changing services for evolving needs; qualified small business vendors; non-profit entities; cooperation with regional and local offices, etc.; information sharing system
- (1) Applicants receiving grants under this section shall assist small
businesses in solving problems concerning operations, manufacturing, engineering, technology exchange and development, personnel administration, marketing, sales, merchandising, finance, accounting, business strategy development, and other disciplines increased productivity, and management improvement, and for decreasing industry economic concentrations.
- (2) A small business development center shall provide services as close as
possible to small businesses by providing extension services and utilizing satellite locations when necessary. The facilities and staff of each Small Business Development Center shall be located in such places as to provide maximum accessibility and benefits to the small businesses which the center is intended to serve. To the extent possible, it also shall make full use of other Federal and State government programs that are concerned with aiding small business. A small business development center shall have -
- (A) a full-time staff, including a full-time director who shall have the
authority to make expenditures under the center's budget and who shall manage the program activities;
- (B) access to business analysts to counsel, assist, and inform small business
clients;
- (C) access to technology transfer agents to provide state of art technology
to small businesses through coupling with national and regional technology data sources;
- (D) access to information specialist to assist in providing information
searches and referrals to small business;
- (E) access to part-time professional specialist to conduct research or to
provide counseling assistance whenever the need arises; and
- (F) access to laboratory and adaptive engineering facilities.
- (3) Services provided by a small business development center shall include,
but shall not be limited to -
- (A) furnishing one-to-one individual counseling to small businesses;
- (B) assisting in technology transfer, research and development, including
applied research, and coupling from existing sources to small businesses, including -
- (i) working to increase the access of small businesses to the capabilities of
automated flexible manufacturing systems;
- (ii) working through existing networks and developing new networks for
technology transfer that encourage partnership between the small business and academic communities to help commercialize university-based research and development and introduce university-based engineers and scientists to their counterparts in small technology-based firms; and
- (iii) exploring the viability of developing shared production facilities,
under appropriate circumstances;
- (C) in cooperation with the Department of Commerce and other relevant Federal
agencies, actively assisting small businesses in exporting by identifying and developing potential export markets, facilitating export transactions, developing linkages between United States small business firms and prescreened foreign buyers, assisting small businesses to participate in international trade shows, assisting small businesses in obtaining export financing, and facilitating the development or reorientation of marketing and production strategies; where appropriate, the Small Business Development Center may work in cooperation with the State to establish a State international trade center for these purposes;
- (D) developing a program in conjunction with the Export-Import Bank and local
and regional Administration offices that will enable Small Business Development Centers to serve as an information network and to assist small business applicants for Export-Import Bank financing programs, and otherwise identify and help to make available export financing programs to small businesses;
- (E) working closely with the small business community, small business
consultants, State agencies, universities and other appropriate groups to make translation services more readily available to small business firms doing business, or attempting to develop business, in foreign markets;
- (F) in providing assistance under this subsection, applicants shall cooperate
with the Department of Commerce and other relevant Federal agencies to increase access to available export market information systems, including the CIMS system;
- (G) assisting small businesses to develop and implement strategic business
plans to timely and effectively respond to the planned closure (or reduction) of a Department of Defense facility within the community, or actual or projected reductions in such firms' business base due to the actual or projected termination (or reduction) of a Department of Defense program or a contract in support of such program -
- (i) by developing broad economic assessments of the adverse impacts of - (I)
the closure (or reduction) of the Department of Defense facility on the small business concerns providing goods or services to such facility or to the military and civilian personnel currently stationed or working at such facility; and (II) the termination (or reduction) of a Department of Defense program (or contracts under such program) on the small business concerns participating in such program as a prime contractor, subcontractor or supplier at any tier;
- (ii) by developing, in conjunction with appropriate Federal, State, and local
governmental entities and other private sector organizations, the parameters of a transition adjustment program adaptable to the needs of individual small business concerns;
- (iii) by conducting appropriate programs to inform the affected small
business community regarding the anticipated adverse impacts identified under clause (i) and the economic adjustment assistance available to such firms; and
- (iv) by assisting small business concerns to develop and implement an
individualized transition business plan.
- (H) maintaining current information concerning Federal, State, and local
regulations that affect small businesses and counsel small businesses on methods of compliance. Counseling and technology development shall be provided when necessary to help small businesses find solutions for complying with environmental, energy, health, safety, and other Federal, State, and local regulations;
- (I) coordinating and conducting research into technical and general small
business problems for which there are no ready solutions;
- (J) providing and maintaining a comprehensive library that contains current
information and statistical data needed by small businesses;
- (K) maintaining a working relationship and open communications with the
financial and investment communities, legal associations, local and regional private consultants, and local and regional small business groups and associates in order to help address the various needs of the small business community;
- (L) conducting in-depth surveys for local small business groups in order to
develop general information regarding the local economy and general small business strengths and weaknesses in the locality;
- (M) in cooperation with the Department of Commerce, the Administration and
other relevant Federal agencies, actively assisting rural small businesses in exporting by identifying and developing potential export markets for rural small businesses, facilitating export transactions for rural small businesses, developing linkages between United States' rural small businesses and prescreened foreign buyers, assisting rural small businesses to participate in international trade shows, assisting rural small businesses in obtaining export financing and developing marketing and production strategies;
- (N) assisting rural small businesses -
- (i) in developing marketing and production strategies that will enable them
to better compete in the domestic market -
- (ii) by providing technical assistance needed by rural small businesses;
- (iii) by making available managerial assistance to rural small business
concerns; and
- (iv) by providing information and assistance in obtaining financing for
business startups and expansion;
- (O) in conjunction with the United States Travel and Tourism Administration,
assist rural small business in developing the tourism potential of rural communities by -
- (i) identifying the cultural, historic, recreational, and scenic resources of
such communities;
- (ii) providing assistance to small businesses in developing tourism marketing
and promotion plans relating to tourism in rural areas; and
- (iii) assisting small business concerns to obtain capital for starting or
expanding businesses primarily serving tourists; and
- (P) maintaining lists of local and regional private consultants to whom small
businesses can be referred. A small business development center shall continue to upgrade and modify its services, as needed, in order to meet the changing and evolving needs of the small business community.
- (4) In addition to the methods prescribed in paragraph (2), a small business
development center shall utilize and compensate as one of its resources qualified small business vendors, including but not limited to, private management consultants, private consulting engineers and private testing laboratories, to provide services as described in this subsection to small businesses on behalf of such small business development center.
- (5) In any State (A) in which the Administration has not made a grant
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this section, or (B) in which no application for a grant has been made by a Small Business Development Center pursuant to paragraph (6) of such subsection within 60 days after the effective date of any grant under paragraph (FOOTNOTE 1) (a)(1) to such center or the date the Administration notifies the grantee funded under subsection (a)(1) of this section that funds are available for grant applications pursuant to subsection (a)(6) of this section, which ever (FOOTNOTE 2) date occurs last,, (FOOTNOTE 3) the Administration may make grants to a non-profit entity in that State to carry out the activities specified in paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this section. Any such applicants shall comply with the matching funds requirement of paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this section. Such grants shall be effective for any fiscal year only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, and each State shall be limited to the pro rata share provisions of paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this section.
(FOOTNOTE 1) So in original. Probably should be "subsection".
(FOOTNOTE 2) So in original. Probably should be "whichever".
(FOOTNOTE 3) So in original.
- (6) In performing the services identified in paragraph (3), the Small
Business Development Centers shall work in close cooperation with the Administration's regional and local offices, the local small business community, and appropriate State and local agencies.
- (7) The Deputy Associate Administrator of the Small Business Development
Center program, in consultation with the Small Business Development Centers, shall develop and implement an information sharing system. Subject to amounts approved in advance in appropriations Acts, the Administration may make grants or enter
(FOOTNOTE 4) cooperative agreements with one or more centers to carry out the
provisions of this paragraph. Said grants or cooperative agreements shall be awarded for periods of no more than five years duration. The matching funds provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not be applicable to grants or cooperative agreements under this paragraph. The system shall -
(FOOTNOTE 4) So in original. Probably should be "enter into".
- (A) allow Small Business Development Centers participating in the program to
exchange information about their programs; and
- (B) provide information central to technology transfer.
- (d) Enhancing export potential of businesses within State; State Office
of International Trade
Where appropriate, the Small Business Development Centers shall work in
conjunction with the relevant State agency and the Department of Commerce to develop a comprehensive plan for enhancing the export potential of small businesses located within the State. This plan may involve the cofunding and staffing of a State Office of International Trade within the State Small Business Development Center, using joint State and Federal funding, and any other appropriate measures directed at improving the export performance of small businesses within the State.
- (e) Laboratory assistance; reimbursement for services
Laboratories operated and funded by the Federal Government are authorized and
directed to cooperate with the Administration in developing and establishing programs to support small business development centers by making facilities and equipment available; providing experiment station capabilities in adaptive engineering; providing library and technical information processing capabilities; and providing professional staff for consulting. The Administration is authorized to reimburse the laboratories for such services.
- (f) National Science Foundation; cooperation with Administration and
Small Business Development Centers; center support
The National Science Foundation is authorized and directed to cooperate with
the Administration and with the Small Business Development Centers in developing and establishing programs to support the centers.
- (g) National Aeronautics and Space Administration and regional technology
transfer centers
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and regional technology
transfer centers supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are authorized and directed to cooperate with small business development centers participating in the program.
- (h) Associate Administrator for Small Business Development Centers;
appointment and compensation; administration of small business development center program; scope of duties; advice and counsel of Board