U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Procurement & Grants Management, 409 3rd St., S.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20416

R -- RESEARCH DISSERTATIONS SOL RFP-95-11-SB DUE 040395 POC Sheila F. Brooks, Contracting Officer/Contract Specialist; (202) 205-6622 The U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy is soliciting proposals from scholars in the areas listed below. Awards are for the purpose of promoting research on small business and current public policy issues listed below. Technical proposals will be limited to 5 pages, not including vitae and budget statements. Doctoral candidates may submit doctoral dissertation proposals. Each doctoral dissertation submission must be accompanied by a letter from a sponsoring faculty member or faculty advisor as part of the proposal package. The categories are: 1. Price discrimination against small businesses - This topic will investigate instances in which small firms pay per unit prices which are higher than those paid by larger firms. Suggested research areas include discrimination in input prices. Case studies by industry, region, or location will be considered. 2. Antitrust regulations - A review and evaluation of the impact on small business of enforcement of antitrust laws by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. 3. The effects of changing economies of scale on small business - This topic will examine how small firms compete in retail trade and services in today's more competitive environment. 4. The differential use of technology by small business - How do small firms use technology in ways which are different than that in large firms? How do they use computers differently? How do they learn about this technology? In manufacturing, what processes are more likely to be used by small firms rather than large firms? How do small firms acquire the capital to acquire this technology? Within constrained budgets? What additional services can/should governments provide? 5. Startup homebased businesses - Has the availability of new low-cost technology (computers, faxes, copiers, etc.) significantly changed the ways in which people get into business? What are the dimensions of this market and the future implications for homebased businesses? What are the probabilities that a small, homebased firm-representing self-employed individual-will grow into a larger firm with employees? 6. Gender effects on entrepreneurship - Women have been starting firms at twice the rate of men for more than a decade. But only 10-15 percent of these firms have employees. What strategies and/or sources of capital are available to enable women-owned firms to grow faster? 7. Increasing the rate of minority business ownership - This research will describe case studies of successful minority business entrepreneurship. Selected case studies may be chosen from the files (among others) of state economic development programs, local small business incubators, small business development centers. What characteristics did the affected individuals have in common? What differences did the successful and unsuccessful programs have in common? What policy implications were learned from the programs. 8. Increasing startup funds through community reinvestment - Banks are coming under increasing pressure to reinvest funds in the communities in which they do business. How will this affect the startup rate of small firms? Will it change any lending practices of small banks? 9. Increasing the rate of global startups - About 30 percent of exports come from small firms. How and why might this increase in the future? What measures are available to indicate exports by small firms via fax or other intellectual property? In what places, and in what kinds of industries are there likely to be increases in the percentage of small firms which export? 10. Open ended topic on small firm contributions - Doctural students are free to suggest their own research topics, but these must be policy relevant. They must either suggest changes in policy applicable to small firms, or derive or provide economic data which can be used to test policies which demonstrate some differential aspect of small firm versus large firm behavior. It is anticipated that the RFP will be issued O/A 02/22/95. The closing date for receipt of propsals will be O/A 04/01/95. Copies of the RFP will be provided upon written request only. NO TELEPHONE OR FAX REQUESTS WILL BE HONORED. This acquisition is a TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE. SIC 8732 ($5M) has been assigned for this acquisition. (See Note (0034)

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