The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced in late July the establishment of two new federal advisory committees to accelerate support for startups driving critical innovation in the U.S., as well to increase small business access to patient capital.

Through the Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee (IIEAC), and the Investment Capital Advisory Committee (ICAC), the SBA will offer diverse perspective occupational backgrounds and experiences to provide policies, program advice, and recommendations to new entrepreneurs.

“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that innovation and entrepreneurship are big driving forces of America’s historic economic boom and will play key roles in our nation’s transition to stable and steady economic growth and prosperity. These new advisory committees will help us gain valuable insights into not only how the SBA can improve programs and policies to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across the nation, but also how the agency can better serve our customers while accelerating the flow of patient private and public capital to innovative startups and small businesses,” stated SBA Administrator Isabel Guzmán.

The New Committees

While the IIEAC will focus on the commercialization of innovation, the translation from the laboratory to the market, and the construction of a more equitable and inclusive federal innovation ecosystem, the ICAC, for its part, will be oriented towards the development of a more inclusive investment ecosystem for small businesses and national private funds, committing capital to small businesses, and emphasizing access to patient investment capital and affordable long-term private loans.

“One of the SBA’s top priorities is to provide American main street small businesses and innovative startups with access to critical patient capital and R&D funds to advance innovation and support the small businesses located across communities in every corner of our country. The foundation of our support for innovation is the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program which, for 40 years, has served as America’s Seed Fund, providing startups with the R&D funding necessary to pursue big ideas. Since 1958, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC)  Program has worked with private equity and private credit funds to accelerate the flow of patient capital and long-term loans to small businesses old and new across industries and geographies. The new federal advisory committees will foster dialogue and identification of opportunities to accelerate and diversify SBA’s support for innovative startups and small businesses,” said Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator, SBA Office of Investment and Innovation. 

Audience Nominations

To serve on these committees, the SBA has invited the public to submit their nominees. Requirements for IIEAC nominations include:

• Be a former or current owner of a small business
• Community leader
• Official of a small business trade association or academic institution
• Member of the innovation community

For its part, for nominations to the ICAC, two additional requirements are included:

• Being an officer of a trade association or investment institution
• Member of the investment community

Candidates must submit a self-nomination letter or a nomination letter from a peer, professional organization, society, or member of Congress. The letter should highlight achievements and experience working with small businesses in relevant subject areas related to innovation and investment. Along with the nominee information form and resume, nominees must include the following:

1. Candidate's full name
2. Occupation
3. Physical address
4. Phone number
5. Email address

About the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation

The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) runs programs that provide the high-growth small business community with access to financial capital and R&D funds to develop commercially viable innovations.