A LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO MASSACHUSETTS

Small Business

Senator Kennedy helped create the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program which requires federal agencies to dedicate a percentage of their research contracts to help companies with fewer than 500 employees bring innovative new technologies to market.  Small companies in Massachusetts have secured more SBIR grants than those in any other state except California, which has six times as many people as Massachusetts. Since 2000, companies throughout Massachusetts have earned hundreds of SBIR awards totaling millions of dollars to develop new technologies.  The Small Business Administration estimates that each dollar of SBIR investment creates $7 of economic impact. These investments have had a tremendous economic impact throughout the Commonwealth.