Context: The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs invest billions of dollars annually in the development of new technologies by small businesses. Rise Policy’s client had studied the effectiveness of these programs and identified improvements that Congress could make when reauthorizing them.

Challenge: SBIR and STTR were set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2022. Conflicting views among key congressional leaders about what to do with small businesses that won multiple awards threatened reauthorization, and with it the chance to strengthen the programs.

Solution: Rise Policy synthesized its client’s findings on SBIR and STTR and other data into persuasive content making the case for reauthorization and programmatic improvements. Through conversation with key congressional committees, Rise Policy helped its client make sense of the political dynamics surrounding reauthorization and put forward proposals to bridge the policy divides.

Impact: Congress incorporated several improvements identified by Rise Policy’s client in legislation it passed to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs for three years.

Context: Despite economic research confirming the value and, therefore, importance of entrepreneurship, national policy conversations leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election were dominated by other policy issues.

Challenge: The relative lack of issue salience made it more difficult for Rise Policy’s client to build support for policies that would expand entrepreneurial opportunities.

Solution: Rise Policy worked with its client to design and host a forum on entrepreneurship policy in which candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination engaged with the issue. Held in Iowa before voting began and when the field was still large, the goal was to spark wider discussion of entrepreneurship policy on the campaign trail and beyond.

Impact: Rise Policy helped its client secure four candidates’ participation in the forum, which was covered by local and national media outlets. Later, the Democratic nominee’s platform included several policies specifically aimed at helping Americans start and grow businesses.

Context: Students in an Executive MBA program offered by Rise Policy’s client participate in a days-long “residency” in Washington, DC. This immersive experience is designed to hone their understanding of the public policy process and its effects on private sector organizations so the businesses they lead can better navigate policy change.

Challenge: Rise Policy’s client needed to increase the relevance of its DC Residency for students working for local businesses based in the Heartland.

Solution: Rise Policy designed the 2022 residency to emphasize the ways in which the work of Washington is closely tied to the businesses its client’s students work for by securing meetings with speakers having local ties and Members of Congress who represent the client’s region.

Impact: The residency created connections between students’ local experience and federal policymaking, resulting in a program with deeper relevance for the students and enhanced value for the client.