Microbusiness, Innovation Science and Technology Survey for Calendar Year 2010

MIST Questionnaire DRAFT November 10, 2010

Microbusiness, Innovation Science and Technology Survey

for Calendar Year 2010

DRAFT

Survey introduction

This objective of this survey is to understand the innovation and technology that is taking place among the smallest companies in the United States. The survey is conducted for the National Science Foundation, a federal agency responsible for the nation’s statistics on science and technology.

Your answers are important to understanding how the smallest companies change and grow to keep ahead in a competitive world.

This information is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. All information you provide is protected under the NSF Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, and will be used only for research or statistical purposes for the purposes of analyzing data. Any information publicly released (such as statistical summaries) will be in a form that does not personally identify you or your company. Your response is voluntary and failure to provide some or all of the requested information will not in any way adversely affect you. Response to this survey is estimated to require 20 minutes.

If the survey envelope is missing, please return this questionnaire to:

Audrey Kindlon

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington, VA 22230

For questions, please call 703-292-2332.

Overall company information

NOTE: Please answer the next three questions to find out whether you should fill out this questionnaire.

1. Did your company cease operations prior to April 1, 2010?

[ ]	Yes  Stop here. Please enter the date your company ceased operations and return the survey form. Date: __________________
[ ]	No  Continue with next question

2. Did another company own more than 50 percent of your company during 2010?

[ ]	Yes  Stop here. Please enter the date your company was purchased and return the survey questionnaire. Date: __________________
[ ]	No  Continue with next question

3. How many employees did your company have on March 12, 2010? (Enter numbers)

Please include full-time and part-time employees working within the United States or in other countries

Males
Females
Total employees on March 12, 2010

STOP  If your company had 5 or more employees as of March 12, 2010, please stop now and return the questionnaire.

NOTE: During the testing phase questions 1 – 3 should be confirmed prior to the interview.

4. How many contractors did your company employ on March 12, 2010? (Enter numbers)

Please include full-time and part-time contractors.

Total contractors on March 12, 2010

5. What year did you start your company? (Check one.)

Give the first year you obtained an EIN (Employer Identification Number) or the year you filed your first tax return for this company.

[ ]	2003 or earlier
[ ]	2004
[ ]	2005
[ ]	2006
[ ]	2007
[ ]	2008
[ ]	2009
[ ]	Uncertain

6. Was your company located in a research-dedicated facility (science park, incubator, etc.) during any of the first five years you were in business? (Check one)

[ ]	Yes
[ ]	No
[ ]	Other (Please specify)

7. Did one or more academic institutions have an ownership stake in your company during 2010? (Check one)

[ ]	Yes
[ ]	No
[ ]	Other (Please specify)

9. Did your company try to get any funding over the past three years from the sources in the list below?

	Yes, tried to get funding	Yes, got funding	No, did not try
Banks or credit unions			
Other companies as investors			
Family and friends			
Angel capital funding			
Venture capital funding			
Federal government’s Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR)			
Federal government’s small business innovation research program (SBIR)			

10. During the last three years, did your company do any of the following? (Check one for each row)

	Yes	No	Don’t Know
Hired university professors for short-term projects in science and engineering			
Hosted student interns pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in science or engineering for at least one month			
Employed postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) in science or engineering for at least one month			
Partnered with a government (state or federal) agency			
Partnered with a company/corporation			

11. Did you work with any of the following on your company’s business strategy over the past three years?

[ ]	Another company
[ ]	A private consultant
[ ]	University tech transfer office
[ ]	Other university personnel
[ ]	Non- profit organization
[ ]	Federal lab
[ ]	Federal agency
[ ]	Other (Please specify)

12. How much did your company spend, if any, on upgrading or purchasing machinery or equipment during 2010? (Check one)

Machinery or equipment includes advanced machinery, equipment and computer hardware or software for the purpose of implementing a new or improved method of production or delivery of a service or to produce new or significantly improved goods or services.

[ ]	None
[ ]	Less than $10,000
[ ]	$10,000 to $100,000
[ ]	$100,001 to $1,000,000
[ ]	$1,000,001 to $5,000,000
[ ]	More than $5,000,001
[ ]	Uncertain

13. Where did your company sell goods and/or services during the past three years?

    	Yes	No
    Within your state		
    Other states or U.S. territories		
    Canada or Mexico		
    Other nations besides Canada or Mexico		

14. Considering where your company is today, how positive or negative are you about your company’s growth over the next 12 months?

    [ ]	Very Positive
    [ ]	Positive
    [ ]	Not positive or negative
    [ ]	Negative
    [ ]	Very Negative
    [ ]	Uncertain

15. How many additional employees do you plan to hire in the next 12 months?

[ ]	None
[ ]	1-2
[ ]	3-4
[ ]	5-10
[ ]	11-20
[ ]	21-50
[ ]	51 or more
[ ]	Uncertain

Sales of Goods and Services

16. What were your company’s 2010 net sales including both domestic and foreign sales? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

Net sales are the value of goods and services sold during the year, net of discounts, returns, and allowances.

$

If none, check here and skip to Question 18.



17. Approximately, what share of your company’s 2010 revenues came from the following? (Enter percentage; percentages should equal 100%; if none, enter zero)

Source of revenue	Percent
Selling products to customers, including other companies	______%
Selling services to customers, including other companies	______%
Licensing technologies not including product sales to end customers	______%
TOTAL	100%

18. What percent of your net sales and operating revenues for 2010 were domestic (sold in the United States and its territories)? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

%

Improvements to Goods and Services

19. Did you or your company introduce any of the following during the three year period 2007 to 2010?

	Yes	No
a. New or significantly improved goods		
Exclude - The simple resale of new goods purchased from others - Changes of a solely aesthetic nature
b. New or significantly improved services		
c. New or significantly improved methods of manufacturing or producing goods or services		
d. New or significantly improved logistics, delivery, or distribution methods for your inputs, goods, or services		
e. New or significantly improved support activities for your processes		
Examples of processes: - Maintenance systems - Operations for purchasing, accounting, or computing

20. Did you sell any new or significantly improved goods during 2010 with the following improvements? (Check yes or no for each row.)

If you did not sell any new or significantly improved goods during 2010, please check here and skip to Question 24.		
	Yes	No
Improved performance		
More user-friendly		
Reduced costs		
New features		
Other improvements (Please specify)		

21. During the last three years, did your company start selling any new or significantly improved goods or services before your competitors in at least one of your markets?

Include a product even if it was available in another market.

[ ]	Yes
[ ]	No
[ ]	Uncertain

22. During the last three years, did your company start selling any new or significantly improved goods or services after your competitors in at least one of your markets?

[ ]	Yes
[ ]	No
[ ]	Uncertain

23. What percent of your company’s 2010 sales were new or significantly improved goods? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

%

24. What percent of your company’s 2010 sales of new or significantly improved goods were to domestic customers rather than foreign customers? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

%

25. Did you sell any new or significantly improved services during 2010 with the following improvements? (Check yes or no for each row.)

If you did not have any revenues from new or significantly improved services during 2010, please check here and skip to Question 27.



	Yes	No
Improved performance		
More user-friendly		
Reduced costs		
New features		
Other improvements (Please specify.)		

26. What percent of your company’s 2010 sales revenue was from new or significantly improved services? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

%

27. What percent of your company’s 2010 sales revenue was from new or significantly improved services provided to domestic customers rather than foreign customers? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

%

28. During 2010, did your company make any significant improvements in its operations in the following areas? (Check yes or no for each row.)

	Yes	No
Reduced our company’s use of energy		
Reduced our company’s production costs		
Increased our company’s productivity		
Updated our company’s operations with better technology		
Please list any other significant improvements in your company’s operations ­­

29. During the last three years, did your company make significant improvements in any of the following production, marketing or distribution areas?

	Yes	No
How you produce your products		
How you distribute/deliver your products		
How you market your products		
How you sell your products		
Please list any other significant improvements in your company over the last three years.

30. During the last three years, how important was each of the following for increasing your company’s technical knowledge? (Check one for each row)

	Very important	Moderately important	Somewhat important	Not very important	Did not use
Scientific publications (journals, technical newsletters, etc.)					
Conferences or other technical meetings					
Patent data					
Internet					

5. Please list others below.

31. Over the past 12 months, what portion of your company’s total staff time was spent on government regulations? (Include local, state, regional and federal.)

[ ]	None
[ ]	Less than 10%
[ ]	11 – 20%
[ ]	21 – 30%
[ ]	31 – 40%
[ ]	41 – 50%
[ ]	51 – 60%
[ ]	61 – 70%
[ ]	71 – 80%
[ ]	81 – 90%
[ ]	91 – 100%
[ ]	Uncertain

Patents and licensing

32. Did your company own any patents during 2010? (Check one)

[ ]	Yes  Continue with next question
[ ]	No  Skip to Question 39

33. How many U.S. patents did your company own as of December 31, 2010? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

patents

34. In 2010, how much revenue, if any, did your company earn licensing your company’s patents to other organizations? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

$

35. How many new agreements did your company enter into during 2010 to license patents to other organizations? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

    agreements

36. How many U.S. patents were issued to your company in 2010? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

    patents

37. How many U.S. patent applications did your company file in 2010? (Enter number; if none, enter zero)

Do not include applications for provisional patents.

patent applications

 If you reported “0,” skip to Question 39.

38. For the U.S. patents you filed in 2010, how many did you seek any additional patent protection in foreign countries or from the international patent system? (Enter numbers; if none, enter zero.)

patents

39. How many patent applications do you expect to file during 2009? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

patent applications

Intellectual property transfers

40. Did your company participate in the following activities relating

to intellectual property in 2010? (Check one for each row)

	Yes	No	Uncertain
Transferred intellectual property (patents, trade secrets, copyrights, etc.) to others using a technical assistance or “know-how” agreements			
Received intellectual property from others using a technical assistance or “know-how” agreements			
Participated in cross-licensing agreements to permit one party to use the invention that is the subject of one or more patents owned by the other party			
Allowed free use of patents or other intellectual property owned by your company (for example, allowing free use of software patents by the open source community)			
Made use of patents or other intellectual property that is available for free use, such as patents made available by the open source community			

41. During the last three years, how important were the following to your strategy for protecting your company’s intellectual property? (Check one for each row)

	Very important	Moderately important	Somewhat important	Not very important		Uncertain
Utility patents (patents for inventions)						
Design patents (patents for appearance)						
Trademarks						
Copyrights						
Trade secrets						
Nondisclosure agreements						

7. Please list any others below.

R&D

42. What was your company’s total R&D expense for 2010 worldwide (both domestic and foreign)? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

R&D is planned, creative work aimed at discovering new knowledge or developing new or significantly improved goods or services.

R&D does not include expenditures for:

• Routine quality control testing

• Market research

• Efficiency surveys or management studies

• Literary, artistic, or historical projects such as films, music, or books and other publications

• Prospecting or exploration for natural resources

$

43. What is your company’s projected R&D expense for 2009? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

$

44. Which five-digit business code from the list on pages 12 and 13 best describes your company at end of 2010? (Enter number; if none, enter zero.)

45. How much of your company’s 2010 R&D is related to the business code you selected in Question 43? (Check one)

If no R&D in 2010, check here and skip to Question 58.



[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

46. How much of your company’s 2010 purchases of new machinery or equipment (that is, your answer to Question 11) was used for R&D operations? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

Business segment codes for Question 34

Aerospace & Defense

33641 Aircraft manufacturing

33642 Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing

33643 Other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing

33644 Guided missiles, space vehicles and parts manufacturing

33692 Military armored vehicle, tank, and tank components manufacturing

33452 Search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical system and instruments manufacturing

33660 Ship and boat building

Automobiles, Motorcycles & Components

33610 Motor vehicles manufacturing

33620 Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing

33630 Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

33691 Motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manufacturing

33699 All other transportation equipment manufacturing

Capital Goods

33430 Audio and video equipment manufacturing

33330 Commercial, service industry, temperature control, and air-flow control machinery manufacturing

33312 Construction machinery manufacturing

23600 Construction of buildings

33360 Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing

33200 Fabricated metal products manufacturing

33311 Farm machinery and equipment manufacturing

23700 Heavy and civil engineering construction

33322 Industrial machinery manufacturing, except semiconductor machinery

33390 Metalworking and other general purpose machinery manufacturing

33313 Mining machinery and equipment manufacturing

33651 Railroad rolling stock manufacturing

33660 Ship and boat building

23800 Specialty trade contractors

Commercial and Professional Services (including contract research)

54120 Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services

54180 Advertising and related services

54130 Architectural, engineering, and related services

56140 Business support services

53240 Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing

54110 Legal services

54160 Management, scientific, and technical consulting services

56190 Office administrative, facilities, employment, and other support services

54190 Professional, scientific, and technical services (Not listed elsewhere in this category)

32300 Printing and related support activities

56290 Remediation and other waste management services

54170 Scientific research & development services

54140 Specialized design services

56150 Travel arrangement and reservation services

56210 Waste collection, treatment, and disposal

Consumer Goods & Services

71300 Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries

31500 Apparel manufacturing

33430 Audio and video equipment manufacturing

81110 Automotive repair and maintenance

31210 Beverage manufacturing

51520 Cable and other subscription programming (except Internet)

62440 Child day care services

44800 Clothing and clothing accessories stores

23600 Construction of buildings

53220 Consumer goods and general rental centers

61100 Educational services

33500 Electrical equipment, appliances, and components manufacturing

45410 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses

44300 Electronics and appliance stores

44500 Food and beverage stores

31100 Food manufacturing

72200 Food services and drinking places

33700 Furniture and related products manufacturing

45200 General merchandise stores

51600 Internet publishing and broadcasting

56160 Investigation, security, and services to buildings and dwellings

31600 Leather and allied products manufacturing

33990 Miscellaneous manufacturing (Not elsewhere listed in this category)

51200 Motion picture and sound recording (except Internet)

44100 Motor vehicle and parts dealers

71200 Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions

51110 Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory

45490 Nonstore retailers, except electronic shopping and mail-order houses

71100 Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries

81200 Personal care, death care, laundry, and other personal services

51510 Radio and television broadcasting (except Internet)

81190 Repair and maintenance, except automotive

45990 Retail trade stores, including gasoline stations (Not elsewhere listed in this category)

32591 Soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparations manufacturing

62400 Social assistance (except child day care services)

31300 Textile mill products

31220 Tobacco manufacturing

56150 Travel arrangement and reservation services

72100 Traveler accommodation services

Energy

21210 Coal mining

22110 Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution

21100 Oil and gas extraction

33313 Oil and gas field machinery and equipment manufacturing

32400 Petroleum and coal products manufacturing

48610 Pipeline transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum, and miscellaneous products, except natural gas

48620 Pipeline transportation of natural gas

21300 Support activities for oil and gas operations

Financials

52230 Activities related to credit intermediation

52420 Agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities

52210 Depository credit intermediation

52500 Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles

52410 Insurance carriers

52100 Monetary authorities-central bank

52220 Nondepository credit intermediation

53100 Real estate

52300 Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities

Health Care

33451 Electromedical, electrotherapeutic and irradiation apparatus manufacturing

62210 General medical and surgical hospitals

62160 Home health care services

32543 In-vitro diagnostic substances manufacturing

62150 Medical and diagnostic laboratories

33910 Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing

62300 Nursing and residential care facilities

62120 Offices of dentists and other health practitioners

62110 Offices of physicians

62190 Outpatient care centers and other ambulatory health care services

32541 Pharmaceutical, medicinal, botanical, and biological products (except diagnostic) manufacturing

62220 Psychiatric, substance abuse, and specialty hospitals

54170 Scientific research & development services

Information Technology - Goods and services

33429 Communication equipment manufacturing, except broadcasting, wireless, and telephone apparatus

54150 Computer systems design and related services

33410 Computers and peripheral equipment manufacturing

51820 Data processing, hosting, and related services

33500 Electrical equipment, appliances, and components manufacturing

51900 Information services (Not elsewhere listed in this category)

51810 Internet service providers and web search portals

33460 Manufacturing and reproducing magnetic and optical media manufacturing

33459 Measuring and control instruments manufacturing (Not listed elsewhere in this category)

33422 Radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing

33452 Search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical system and instruments manufacturing

33440 Semiconductor and other electronic components manufacturing

33321 Semiconductor machinery manufacturing

51120 Software

33421 Telephone apparatus manufacturing

Materials

32511 Basic chemicals manufacturing

32790 Cement, concrete, lime, gypsum, and other nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing

32710 Clay and glass products manufacturing

33150 Ferrous and nonferrous foundries

33110 Iron and steel mills, ferroalloy, and steel product from purchased steel

21220 Metal ore mining

33130 Nonferrous metals production and processing

21230 Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying

32592 Paint, adhesive, and other chemical manufacturing

32200 Paper manufacturing

32530 Pesticide, fertilizer, and other agricultural chemical manufacturing

32600 Plastics and rubber products manufacturing

32512 Resin, synthetic rubber, and artificial synthetic fibers and filaments manufacturing

32591 Soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparations manufacturing

21310 Support activities for solid mineral operations

32100 Wood products manufacturing

Telecommunication Services

51750 Cable and other program distribution

51740 Satellite telecommunications

51790 Telecommunications services (Not listed elsewhere in this category)

51710 Wired telecommunications carriers

51720 Wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite)

Transportation

48100 Air transportation

53210 Automotive equipment rental and leasing

49200 Couriers and messengers

48200 Rail transportation

48700 Scenic and sightseeing transportation

48800 Support activities for transportation

48500 Transit and ground passenger transportation

48400 Truck transportation

49300 Warehousing and storage

48300 Water transportation

Utilities

22110 Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution

22120 Natural gas distribution

56290 Remediation and other waste management services

56210 Waste collection, treatment, and disposal

22130 Water, sewage, and other systems

47. How would you characterize the R&D you conducted in 2010? (Check one)

[ ]	One-time project
[ ]	Part of company’s on-going or regular R&D
[ ]	Uncertain
[ ]	Other (Please specify)

48. Of the 2010 R&D expense reported in Question 41, how much was performed by your company? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

49. How many of your company’s employees worked at least part of the time on 2010 R&D-related activities? (Enter numbers)

Males
Females
Total

50. How many full-time equivalents (FTEs) did your company employ for 2010 R&D-related activities? (Enter nearest whole number)

Full-time equivalent (FTE) adjusts for (1) part-time employees, and (2) full-time employees who do not always work on R&D.

Examples:

An employee working half-time on R&D would be counted as .5 FTE.

A full-time employee who worked 6 of the 12 months on R&D would be counted as .5 FTE.

Whole	Tenths
		FTEs

51. Were any of your employees working on R&D-related activities employed outside the 50 United States and D.C. during 2010? (Check one)

[ ]	Yes
[ ]	No
[ ]	Uncertain

52. How much of your employees’ 2010 R&D work was funded by the U.S. federal government? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

53. How much of your company’s 2010 R&D expense was used for wages, salaries, and fringe benefits? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

54. Was any of your company’s 2010 R&D expense part of an R&D agreement with any of the following? (Check one for each row)

	Yes	No	Uncertain
Companies located in the United States			
Companies located outside the United States			
Universities, colleges, and academic researchers, including individual principal investigators			
Other nonprofit organizations and foundations			
U.S. federal government labs or agencies			
Foreign government labs or agencies			
State and local governments			

 If you mark “yes” for any of rows a to g, please continue to next question; otherwise, skip to Question 55.

55. How much of your company’s 2010 R&D expense involved R&D agreements? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

56. What percentage of your company’s 2010 R&D was a) applied research, b) basic research, and

c) development? (Enter numbers)

Applied research – the research aimed at solving a specific problem or meeting a specific, recognized need.
		%
Basic research – the research aimed at acquiring new knowledge or understanding without a specific application or use in view.
		%
Development – the systematic use of knowledge gained from research that is used in the production of a useful goods, methods, or services.
		%
Total
		100 %

57. Did your 2010 R&D apply to any the following research areas? (Check one for each row)

You may use more than one category for the same R&D project

	Yes	No	Uncertain
Agriculture			
Biotechnology			
Defense			
Energy			
Environmental protection			
Health/Medical			
Nanotechnology			

58. How much of your company’s 2010 R&D expense was for developing software products? (Check one)

[ ]	All
[ ]	Almost all
[ ]	More than half
[ ]	About half
[ ]	Less than half
[ ]	Only a little
[ ]	None
[ ]	Uncertain

Reporting

59. Is the time period covered by this report a calendar year?

□ Yes

□ No  What is the time period covered?

From					To
Month	Year			Month		Year

60. Please provide the following information for a person we may contact regarding the answers to this survey.

Name

Title

Telephone			Extension
Fax			Extension
E-mail address

61. Please provide any comments or remarks below.

Thanks for your participation in this survey.

Definitions:

Angel Capital - An “angel” is a high net worth individual who invests directly into promising entrepreneurial businesses in return for stock in the companies.

Consultants - An individual who contributes labor and expertise to an established business. Contractors are usually, but not always, considered temporary. A contractor is not an employee and receives 1099 for their expenses.

Employees – An individual, either full time or part time, who contributes labor and expertise to an established business. Employees are usually, but not always considered permanent. An employee is not a contractor and receives a W-2 at the end of the year.

Intellectual property – A product that has commercial value, including copyrighted property such as literary or artistic works, and ideational property, such as patents, appellations of origin, business methods, and industrial processes.

Research and Development - The planned, systematic pursuit of new knowledge or understanding toward general application (basic research); the acquisition of knowledge or understanding to meet a specific, recognized need (applied research); and the application of knowledge or understanding toward the production or improvement of a product, service, process, or method (development).

Venture Capital - Financial support (usually capital) provided to early-stage, high-potential companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in.

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