This project explores Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding, analyzing patterns in grant distribution, agency contributions, and company characteristics. The study investigates key research questions related to funding amounts, geographical differences, and predictive modeling.
- Total Records: 33,708 observations
- Variables: 39 columns containing company details, award amounts, agency classifications, and other key attributes.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
Award.Amount |
Funding amount granted to the company |
Agency |
Funding agency name |
Program |
Program classification (SBIR/STTR) |
Phase |
Project phase (Phase I or Phase II) |
Company |
Name of the company awarded funding |
State |
Location of the company (e.g., NC, AL) |
Hubzone.Owned |
Whether the company is in a designated HubZone (Yes/No) |
Socially.and.Economically.Disadvantaged |
Social disadvantage status (Yes/No) |
Woman.Owned |
Woman-owned business indicator (Yes/No) |
The analysis covers various statistical and visual insights to explore funding trends and company characteristics.
- Removed outliers using Z-scores for award amounts.
- Converted categorical variables into factors for analysis.
- Dropped high-missing-value columns to improve data integrity.
- What was the distribution of grants from 1984 to 2022?
- Which agencies contributed the most in North Carolina (NC) and Alabama (AL)?
- How did funding change over the years?
The project explores multiple research questions using statistical hypothesis tests:
- Question: Do socially disadvantaged businesses receive higher funding?
- Test Used: Two-tailed two-sample t-test
- Result: The p-value (0.00000258) is statistically significant, meaning socially disadvantaged businesses receive higher average award amounts.
- Question: Is there a significant difference between award amounts in NC vs AL in 2023?
- Test Used: One-tailed two-sample t-test
- Result: The p-value (0.0238) suggests NC companies received significantly higher funding than AL companies in 2023.
- Question: Does the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) release 200 solicitations per year on average?
- Test Used: One-sample t-test
- Result: The p-value (0.1592) indicates no significant difference, meaning the HHS solicitation rate is close to expectations.
- Can we reliably predict award amounts based on company attributes?
- What factors most influence funding decisions?
- Weak correlation (R² = 0.05931) between Award Year and Award Amount, suggesting limited predictability.
- Social disadvantage & woman-owned status have some correlation, but overall effects are small.
- Socially disadvantaged companies receive significantly higher awards, suggesting funding prioritization based on diversity factors.
- NC received significantly higher funding than AL, indicating regional disparities in funding allocation.
- Predictive modeling showed weak correlations, meaning external factors beyond company attributes influence award decisions.
If you’d like to contribute, feel free to share feedback or improvements.
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
🚀 Explore the company award data trends and insights!