SBA reviews its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program policy directives regularly to determine areas that need updating and further clarification. On November 7, 2014, SBA issued an advance notice of policy directive amendments and request for comments at 77 FR 66342. SBA explained that it intended to update the directives on a regular basis and to restructure and reorganize the directives, as well as address certain policy issues relating to SBIR and STTR data rights and Phase III work. In this ANPRM, SBA outlined what it believed were the issues concerning data rights and Phase III awards and requested feedback on several questions posed. The comments SBA received were generally in agreement that the sections of the directives relating to data rights and Phase III awards need further clarification. 

On April 7, 2016, SBA issued a notice of proposed policy directive amendments with a request for comments at 81 FR 20484. In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, SBA proposed clarification of the issues relating to both programs concerning data rights, Phase III awards, and miscellaneous issues such as benchmarks to commercialization achievement and the calculation of extramural budget. SBA also proposed combining both the SBIR and STTR policy directives into one because the general structure of both programs is the same.