,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #baej ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ag1 #bjai,mr4 ,kennedy introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,small ,business and ,entrepreneurship ,a ,,bill ,to establish a regional high-growth collaborative pilot program in the ,small ,business ,administration1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,spurring ,small ,business ,innovation ,act4 #b4 ,regional high-growth collaborative pilot program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term ,administration means the ,small ,business ,administration2 7#b7 the term ,administrator means the ,administrator of the ,administration2 7#c7 the term covered period means the #e-;fiscal year period beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this ,act2 7#d7 the term eligible entity includes-- 7,a7 a nonprofit organization2 7,b7 a public or nonprofit private institution of higher education2 7,c7 a ,state government or any agency of a ,state government2 7,d7 a regional entity1 as described in section #ba7;a77#a7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fdh7;a77#a772 7,e7 a ,state-chartered development1 credit1 or finance corporation2 7,f7 a small business development center2 7,g7 a women's business center2 7,h7 a veteran business outreach center2 7,i7 a small business growth accelerator2 7,j7 a small business incubator2 and 7,k7 a combination of entities described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,j72 7#e7 the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja72 7#f7 the term ,office means the ,office of ,innovation and ,technology of the ,administration2 7#g7 the term pilot program means the ,regional ,high-,growth ,collaborative ,pilot ,program established under subsection 7b72 7#h7 the term small business concern has the meaning given the term in section #c7;a7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7;a772 7#i7 the term small business development center has the meaning given the term in section #c7t7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7t772 7#aj7 the terms ,small ,business ,innovation ,research ,program and ,small ,business ,technology ,transfer ,program have the meanings given the terms in section #i7;e7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fch7;e772 and 7#aa7 the term women's business center means a women's business center operating pursuant to section #bi of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fef74 7b7 ,establishment of pilot program ,there is established in the ,administration1 for the covered period1 a ,regional ,high-,growth ,collaborative ,pilot ,program1 the purpose of which is to provide the specialized resources that are necessary in order to start and scale small business concerns in high-growth industries4 7c7 ,phases of pilot program 7#a7 ,phase ,i 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,office shall-- 7i7 carry out a competition to establish a total of #aj entities that shall serve as regional high-growth collaboratives during the first #b fiscal years of the covered period2 and 7ii7 in carrying out the competition required under clause 7i71 ensure that there is established #a regional high-growth collaborative in each of the #aj regions of the ,administration1 as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this ,act4 7,b7 ,duties ,each collaborative established under subparagraph 7,a7 shall1 during the #b-;fiscal year period described in subparagraph 7,a77i71 establish connections between small business concerns in industries relating to technology and other entities in order to-- 7i7 offer to those small business concerns-- 7,i7 access to appropriate technical and managerial resources2 and 7,,ii7 connections to the programs overseen by the ,office of ,entrepreneurial ,development of the ,administration2 7ii7 provide to those small business concerns-- 7,i7 market research relating to potential customers for the products and services offered by the small business concerns2 and 7,,ii7 other types of business training relating to technology and innovation2 7iii7 facilitate access to capital for those small business concerns2 7iv7 refer those small business concerns to other assistance programs1 as appropriate2 and 7v7 provide those small business concerns with assistance in preparing applications with respect to the ,small ,business ,innovation ,research ,program and other similar programs4 7,c7 ,evaluations 7i7 ,in general ,the ,office shall evaluate the success of each collaborative established under subparagraph 7,a7 by analyzing1 for the #b-;fiscal year period described in subparagraph 7,a77i7-- 7,i7 the number of small business concerns assisted by the collaborative2 7,,ii7 the number of small business concerns assisted by the collaborative that submitted proposals under the ,small ,business ,innovation ,research ,program1 the ,small ,business ,technology ,transfer ,program1 and other similar programs2 7,,iii7 the rates of hiring by small business concerns assisted by the collaborative2 7,,iv7 the amount of capital provided to small business concerns assisted by the collaborative2 7,v7 the percentage of small business concerns assisted by the collaborative that operate in rural areas2 7,,vi7 the degree to which the services provided by the collaborative are geographically dispersed2 7,,vii7 the number of small business concerns created as a result of the activities carried out by the collaborative2 and 7,,viii7 any additional metric that the ,office determines to be appropriate4 7ii7 ,factor weighting ,the ,office shall-- 7,i7 in performing evaluations under clause 7i71 determine how much weight should be given to each metric described in subclauses 7,i7 through 7,,viii7 of that clause2 and 7,,ii7 make the determination of the ,office under subclause 7,i7 publicly available4 7,d7 ,award of funds through cooperative agreement 7i7 ,in general ,the ,administrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement with each collaborative established under subparagraph 7,a71 under which the ,administrator shall award to the collaborative #cjj1jjj-- 7,i7 for each fiscal year in which the collaborative carries out the duties described in subparagraph 7,b72 and 7,,ii7 to carry out the duties described in subparagraph 7,b74 7ii7 ,administrator discretion ,with respect to an award under clause 7i71 the ,administrator may distribute the award as determined appropriate by the ,administrator1 including by distributing the award in installments4 7,e7 ,relationship to phase ,,ii 7i7 ,highest scoring collaborative ,the collaborative that scores the highest with respect to the evaluations performed under subparagraph 7,c7 7referred to in this subparagraph as the highest scoring collaborative7 shall-- 7,i7 subject to clause 7ii71 serve as the model with respect to how to structure the high-growth collaboratives established under phase ,,ii of the pilot program under paragraph 7#b72 and 7,,ii7 be guaranteed to receive an award under paragraph 7#b7 for the first fiscal year in which phase ,,ii of the pilot program is in effect under that paragraph4 7ii7 ,other collaboratives ,the ,administrator-- 7,i7 may incorporate elements from collaboratives other than the highest scoring collaborative when determining how to structure the high-growth collaboratives established under phase ,,ii of the pilot program under paragraph 7#b72 and 7,,ii7 if the ,administrator makes an incorporation described in subclause 7,i71 shall make the methodology regarding that incorporation publicly available4 7#b7 ,phase ,,ii 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,office shall enter into a total of #aj cooperative agreements1 under which the ,office shall make awards to eligible entities to establish1 for the third1 fourth1 and fifth fiscal years of the covered period1 #a regional high-growth collaborative in each of the #aj regions of the ,administration1 as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of this ,act4 7,b7 ,application ,an eligible entity that wishes to enter into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph 7,a7 shall submit to the ,office an application-- 7i7 in such form and manner as the ,office may require2 and 7ii7 that contains-- 7,i7 a plan describing-- 7aa7 how the eligible entity will provide the services described in clauses 7i7 through 7v7 of paragraph 7#a77;,b7 7referred to in this subparagraph as covered services72 7bb7 the means by which the eligible entity will provide covered services2 7cc7 the partnerships into which the eligible entity will enter in order to provide covered services2 7dd7 how the eligible entity will encourage participation by small business concerns that operate in rural areas2 7ee7 the method used by the eligible entity to tailor covered services to account for the various geographic areas and economic conditions in the region in which the eligible entity will serve as a collaborative2 and 7ff7 the geographic area that the eligible entity will serve2 7,,ii7 a budget for the provision of covered services by the eligible entity2 7,,iii7 the name of the individual who will serve as executive director of the collaborative or a plan to appoint such an individual2 and 7,,iv7 any other information that the ,office determines to be necessary4 7,c7 ,amount of award 7i7 ,in general ,each award to an eligible entity under this paragraph shall be-- 7,i7 in an amount that is #ejj1jjj2 and 7,,ii7 obligated during the fiscal year in which the eligible entity receives the award4 7ii7 ,matching funds ,an eligible entity to which the ,office makes an award under clause 7i7 shall be required to match #ej percent of that award1 which may be satisfied through the use of an in-kind match4 7,d7 ,evaluations ,the ,office shall1 with respect to each award made under this paragraph1 evaluate the eligible entity to which the award is made using the same metrics used under paragraph 7#a77;,c74 7,e7 ,renewal ,the ,office may1 for each of the fourth and fifth fiscal years of the covered period1 renew an award made to an eligible entity under this paragraph in the third or fourth fiscal year of the covered period1 as applicable1 if1 with respect to that third or fourth fiscal year1 the eligible entity scores highly on the evaluation conducted under subparagraph 7,d7 with respect to the eligible entity4 7d7 ,administrator responsibilities ,the ,administrator shall-- 7#a7 provide oversight of the ,office with respect to the carrying out of the pilot program2 and 7#b7 ensure that-- 7,a7 the pilot program is consistent with statutory requirements1 including the requirements of this ,act2 and 7,b7 the district and regional offices of the ,administration work closely to ensure the success of the pilot program4 7e7 ,reports 7#a7 ,,sba ,for each fiscal year in which the pilot program is in effect1 the ,administrator shall submit to ,congress a report that contains1 with respect to the year covered by the report-- 7,a7 the information collected by the ,office in order to carry out the evaluations required under paragraphs 7#a77;,c7 and 7#b77;,d7 of subsection 7c72 7,b7 a description of the services provided by collaboratives under the pilot program2 7,c7 a list of-- 7i7 with respect to phase ,i of the pilot program under subsection 7c77#a71 each entity established as a collaborative under such subsection 7c77#a72 and 7ii7 with respect to phase ,,ii of the pilot program under subsection 7c77#b71 each eligible entity with which the ,office entered into a cooperative agreement under such subsection 7c77#b72 and 7,d7 with respect to phase ,,ii of the pilot program under subsection 7c77#b71 an analysis of how the ,office determined whether to renew an award under subsection 7c77#b77;,e74 7#b7 ,,gao ,not later than #a year after the date on which the pilot program expires1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report that analyzes-- 7,a7 the impact of the pilot program2 and 7,b7 the effectiveness of the oversight required under subsection 7d77#a74